§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to draw advances from the Contingencies Fund in 1992–93.
§ Mr. HowardYes. In February my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that the Government would be providing £55 million of Government support towards Manchester's bid to host the 2000 Olympic games. Most of this funding will be used to provide sports facilities, but £2 million is to be used to help the Manchester Olympics bid committee fund the bid itself. Funding of the work on the bid will form a new service and parliamentary approval to it will be sought in a summer supplementary estimate for the urban aid and derelict land reclamation vote—class VIII, vote 3. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £900,000 will be met by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.
In addition, I shall be taking a further advance from the Contingencies Fund to meet the immediate administration and project development costs of the Birmingham Heartlands urban development corporation. Parliament approved the statutory order establishing this corporation on 10 March 1992 and Parliament's approval of the associated new expenditure will be sought in a supplementary estimate also for the urban aid and derelict land reclamation vote—class VIII, vote 3. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £300,000 will be met by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.