§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what statutory provisions govern the requirement on borough councils to devote receipts from sale of dwellings to their tenants solely to redeem accumulated debt.
§ Sir George YoungSection 59 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires local authorities to set aside as provision for credit liabilities 75 per cent. of their receipts from the disposal of dwellings and 50 per cent. of other receipts; the remainder may be spent. Those percentages are varied for certain receipts by the Local Authorities (Capital Finance) Regulations 1990, as amended, and in particular are reduced to nil for virtually all receipts obtained between 13 November 1992 and 31 December 1993.
Section 64 of the 1989 Act provides that amounts set aside may be used to repay borrowing or discharge credit liabilities; they may also be used for capital expenditure on the strength of a credit approval. The regulations give authorities without long-term debt greater freedom to spend these amounts.