§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the terms on which the recently announced Government initiative on homelessness in the south-east is to operate; whether any additional grant is to be payable to councils with approved schemes; whether any subsidy is payable by Government on the revenue or capital costs of approved projects; and whether councils' housing revenue accounts will need to cover(a) initial and (b) consequential expenditure on the projects from rent income.
§ Mr. Michael Spicer[holding answer 18 April 1990]: We will allocate to local authorities in London and the south-east supplementary credit approvals in respect of capital expenditure they incur on approved schemes in 1990–91. Initial and consequential costs of those schemes which involve property held within the housing revenue account (HRA) or certain types of payments to tenants of such property will fall to be charged to the HRA of the authority concerned. Such approved schemes will include repair of empty council property, hostels held under part II of the Housing Act 1985 and cash incentives to tenants. To the extent that costs are chargeable to the HRA, the normal rules for all HRA schemes will apply in determining the extent to which they attract subsidy and the extent to which costs are met from rent income. The Housing Corporation will pay revenue grant to local authority-funded housing association schemes as appropriate under the normal funding arrangements. No additional grant, however, will be directly payable to any local authority for such schemes.