§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to alleviate the problems which local authorities currently receiving partnership money will face when central Government funding ends and they are faced with either ending the projects or taking over the entire financing themselves.
§ Sir George YoungMy right hon. Friend and other partnership chairmen consider applications for renewal of urban programme funding for some schemes whose grant is about to expire, or for a phased or partial reapproval. It is our policy that such renewals of funding should be kept to the minimum in order to leave scope for funding new projects.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that where local authorities take over the Government's proportion of the financing of partnership schemes, such spending should be exempted from holdback of rate support grant.
§ Sir George YoungMy right hon. Friend will consider carefully the representations which may be made to him for this expenditure to be disregarded under section 84 of the Local Government Finance Act 1982.