§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated number of schemes which will now have to be vetted by his Department as a result of the Local Government (Prescribed Expenditure) (Amendment) Regulations.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 19 May 1988]: The regulations referred to in the question do not in themselves require any schemes to be submitted to my right hon. Friend for approval. It is too soon to say how many applications for additional capital allocations will be submitted as a result of the concessions announced by my right hon. Friend on 25 April at columns 103–104. The great majority of those so far received do not relate to schemes affected by the regulations.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if short-term leases of private properties taken by local authorities in order to provide temporary homes for the homeless will be exempt from the Local Government (Prescribed Expenditure) (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 19 May 1988]: The Local Government (Prescribed Expenditure) (Amendment) Regulations 1988 provide, inter alia, that, with certain 227W exceptions, expenditure by a local authority on the acquisition of a leasehold interest in land, including buildings, for a term not exceeding three years is not prescribed expenditure and thus is not subject to the limits on capital expenditure laid down in part VIII of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.