§ 58. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what have been the effects on the construction industry of cuts in local government expenditure.
§ Mr. StanleyIn his Budget Statement in June my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced reductions in planned capital expenditure for 1979–80 for housing and education which includes some spending by local authorities on construction. The provision made for 1979–80 for housing capital left local authorities with sufficient resources to enable them to continue the prevailing level of new building and to increase spending on improvement of local authority dwellings. For education, capital expenditure on the building programme involved reductions amounting to about £6 million in 1979–80.