§ Mr. Andrew MacKayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have bid for city challenge funds.
§ Mr. HeseltineTwenty-one. In addition to the 15 local authorities invited to participate in the pacemaker round of city challenge on 23 May [Official Report, column 549], Coventry, Newham, Sandwell, St. Helens, Stockton-on-Tees and Sunderland have submitted bids.
Next week my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government, and I are due to visit the 15 invited authorities to receive presentations of the bids.
525WI have been impressed by the hard work, enthusiasm and commitment behind all the bids. This is precisely the spirit we are aiming to foster through city challenge.
I have considered carefully six additional bids that we have received and decided that Sunderland and Stockton-on-Tees should also be asked to present their bids to a Minister. We shall then consider their case alongside the invited bids.
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is today writing to the other four authorities to thank them very much for their bids, but to let them know that they will not be successful in this year's pacemaker round of city challenge.
We hope that they will build on what they have achieved and that they will participate in the further round of city challenge which we intend to hold next year, subject to the successful progress of the first round.