§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will authorise the London Docklands Development Corporation to raise part of its capital requirements from the market; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir George YoungNo. The Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 controls the way in which the urban development corporations may borrow. The UDCs are, in effect, restricted to borrowing from the national loans fund, reflecting Government policy that public corporations should borrow from the NLF on cost grounds. However, the aim of the London Docklands Development Corporation is to attract the maximum private investment into its area, using its own funds for "pump-priming" purposes to enable and encourage development which would not otherwise take place.