HC Deb 06 March 1980 vol 980 cc333-4W
Mr. Dobson

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he had before deciding to reduce substantially the insulation grants available to councils and private householders.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

On past trends, the £12.5 million allocation made under the homes insulation scheme for 1980–81 will allow a high proportion of the demand for grants to be met. Under the new single block arrangements introduced for 1980–81, authorities will be free to use as much as they wish of their housing investment programme allocation for insulation of their own housing. There were no consultations about these allocations, which form part of the annual public expenditure review, details of which will be published in the forthcoming White Paper.