§ Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if. in view of the uncertainty caused to local authorities' expenditure plans, he will take steps to remedy the effects of part VIII of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, under which authorities seeking to promote private industrial investment by taking head leases of new factory units and subletting them to private firms find expenditure on the provision of those units classified as prescribed public expenditure subject to cash limits; and if he will a statement.
§ Mr. KingNo. Part VIII of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 gives local authorities substantial freedom to decide their own priorities for capital expenditure, including industrial development, within a national ceiling on local authority capital expenditure. The Act also allows individual local authorities to supplement their expenditure allocations by the use of capital receipts, which could include the freehold value of leased factory units.