§ Mr. Rostasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost of Government expenditure on housing improvement grants in each of the past three years; and how much of this is estimated to have been allocated for improvement of domestic insulation and the energy efficiency of buildings.
§ Sir George YoungExpenditure by local authorities on homes improvement grants in each of the last three years is as follows:
£ million 1981–82 197 1982–83 430 For 1983-84 outturn is expected to be over £800 million.
These grants are primarily for the improvement and repair of substandard housing. Insulation is only eligible for a home improvement grant as part of a comprehensive improvement scheme and it is not possible to say how much has been spent on this specific item.
The first time provision of loft insulation is covered under the separate homes insulation scheme. Expenditure in each of the last three years on these grants is as follows:
£ million 1981–82 22.7 1982–83 27.0 *1983–84 15.4 * First 9 months provisional. It is not yet practicable to assess the twelve-month outturn.