§ Mr. Palmerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the effect in the central area of Bristol of the Government's public expenditure economies on housing improvement schemes, by both the local authority and housing associations, with special reference to the St. Paul's ward.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergLocal authorities are free to spend their housing allocations in accordance with their own priorities and it is for Bristol to decide the priority to be given to improvement programmes compared with other forms of investment. I understand that, from the funds available to them this year, the city council proposes to meet the most important improvement needs. These include the continuation of grants in housing action areas, two of which are in St. Paul's. Both the city council and the Housing Corporation have reduced their support to housing associations working in the inner city. Two or three major new renovation projects, none in St. Paul's, will be delayed, although a significant level of smaller scale work will continue. I appreciate that the city council cannot push forward as quickly as it would have liked but applaud its realism in adjusting its programme to the funds available.