§ Sir Hugh RossiTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the outcome of the meeting held at his Department on 9 November with representatives of the Association of London Authorities and certain London boroughs and with hon. Members in response to their requests for financial assistance in respect of the extra expenditure incurred by authorities in 1989–90 as a result of the recent influx of asylum seekers from Turkey.
§ Mr. David HuntAt the meeting at which my hon. Friends the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Home Affairs were also present, I announced a scheme of Government grants to help local authorities with substantial unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure incurred this year directly as a result of the influx. Grant will be payable towards eligible expenditure on the basis of claims submitted by local authorities. The scheme will be administered by the Department of the Environment. Proposals for detailed rules will be discussed with the local authority associations.
I also said that that we would look at the boroughs' case for meeting extra housing needs in the context of this year's and future housing investment programme rounds, and that the Housing Corporation had indicated that it would take account of bids from housing associations for schemes for housing asylum seekers when making allocations to associations.
The association was also told that the Government were reviewing current arrangements for receiving unplanned arrivals and would consult the local authority associations as appropriate.