§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the level of public funding provided for housing improvement grants in 1979, 1980,1981 and 1982, respectively.
§ Mr. StanleyHousing investment programme allocations are made in a single block. It is for authorities themselves to determine their own priorities for investment within the total resources available to them, including since 1 April 1981 their capital receipts. For 1982–83, however, an extra £79.5 million was made available to English local authorities following the last Budget specifically for expenditure on home improvement grants. Authorities were also told on 29 October 1982 that they could spend without limit on improvement grants this year. Additional allocations will be made retrospectively in the light of outturn. Actual expenditure by local authorities in England on home improvement grants is as follows:
£ million 1979–80 120 1980–81 130 1981–82 197 *1982–83 267 * First three quarter only.