§ Mr. Andersonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any evidence that property developers are misusing improvement grants by claiming grants under section 73 of the Housing Act 1974 for properties sold on a long lease; and whether he is generally satisfied with his Department's monitoring procedures in this field.
§ Sir George YoungThe payment of grant in any particular case is by statute a matter for the local authority concerned which in order to obtain the relevant exchequer contribution must certify to my Department that the conditions of payment of grant have been met. These payments are also subject to the scrutiny of the district auditor. My Department has no evidence that the practice to which the hon. Member refers is widespread but it does have a small number of inquiries outstanding with individual authorities.