§ Mr. Altonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to introduce 381W extended grants for housing co-operative developments to allow preliminary work to be done under section 121 of the Housing Act 1980.
§ Mr. John PattenUnder section 121 of the Housing Act 1980 the Housing Corporation makes grants to registered housing associations and other voluntary agencies for the purposes of encouraging, and advising on, the formation of new associations and providing services for, and advice to, existing associations. I consider that the382W present arrangements are satisfactory: the total provision for such grants in 1985–86 is £342,700 of which £94,700 has been set aside for co-operatives; decisions for 1986–87 have still to be taken. In addition to grants under section 121, Co-operatives can benefit from the co-operative promotion allowance which meets the extra costs incurred by co-operatives in seeking professional advice on specific development projects. It has recently been decided that this allowance, first introduced in 1984 for an initial period of one year, should be continued.