§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much of the additional money announced for home improvement grants will be available for discretionary grant applications in Wales.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettWith the £80 million additional resources which my right hon. Friend announced last week, the provision for mandatory home renovation30W grants next year will be £143 million. Further provision will be made for local authority spending on discretionary grants. My right hon. Friend will be announcing details of Welsh local authority capital programmes in due course.
§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of applicants for home improvement grants who did not qualify after losing community charge benefit.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettNo application for house renovation grant will have become ineligible for assistance as a result of losing community charge benefit.
§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many(a) mandatory and (b) discretionary home improvement grants were made in Wales in 1989, 1990, and his latest estimate of the number for 1991; and how much these grants have cost.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettThe grants system based on the Housing Act 1985 was replaced by that of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in July 1990, from which time approvals for grants were made only under the new Act. However, since then, a number of grants already approved under the old Act have been completed. The numbers and amounts of completed mandatory and discretionary home improvement grants under the old and new Acts are given in the table:
Grant completions under the Housing Act 1985 Mandatory (intermediate) Discretionary (improvement, repair and special) Number Amount (£) Number Amount(£) 1989 2,511 6,954,543 17,563 58,889,413 1990 2,172 6,195,853 22,940 77,722,006 1991 665 2,203,782 6,801 29,891,532 Source: Welsh Office local authority returns.
Grant completions under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 Mandatory Discretionary Number Amount (£) Number Amount (£) 11990 55 329,138 78 62,171 21991 900 6,962,429 105 885,786 1Covers the period July to December 1990. 2Covers the period January to June 1991. Source: Welsh Office local authority returns.