§ Sir Hector Monroasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the reason for his decision to switch grant aid for rural village halls to the urban aid programme; and what will be the loss of grant aid to village halls in 1982–83 and 1983–84.
§ Mr. YoungerI am sending my hon. Friend a copy of my Department's consultative letter seeking the views of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and other organisations on a proposal that from 1 April 1983 the existing scheme of capital grants to local voluntary youth and community organisations should be discontinued. The proposed transfer of funds to the urban programme would ensure continued central Government support for
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1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 January -June July-December January -June July-December January -June July-December January -June July-December January -June July-December January June Scotland Local Authority 4,829 2,743 3,044 2,785 2,472 1,713 2,985 1,873 1,798 972 1,123 Private 9,128 7,217 5,635 6,996 7,663 8,903 7,434 7,839 5,541 4,247 5,409* Edinburgh Local Authority 129 Nil 80 203 29 Nil 13 22 110 Nil Nil Private† 893 1,084 443 977 546 680 985 823 622 619 — * This figure does not include information on Edinburgh District. † These figures represent building warrants issued. community projects sponsored by those local authorities and voluntary organisations attempting to deal with the particularly serious social problems in urban areas. Total payments under the scheme for both youth and community purposes are at present about £600,000 a year, but I cannot estimate the loss of grant aid specifically to village halls, should the scheme be discontinued, because the amount of assistance given to such projects varies from year to year according to the number of applications received and the progress made with approved schemes. Grant would in any event be paid in 1982–83 in respect of outstanding commitments under the existing arrangements.
I shall make a further statement when I have received the views of all the interested bodies.