§ 23. Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next meet the new towns development corporation boards to discuss the future of new towns.
§ Mr. StewartIn the period between 1 June and 14 September this year I met with each corporation board. My right hon. Friend and I are due to meet the chairmen and senior officials of the five new town development corporations before the end of the year.
§ 26. Mr. Norman HoggTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made with the wind-up of the Scottish new town development corporations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangSince the orders providing for their wind-up were made on 24 February 1992, East Kilbride and Glenrothes development corporations have made significant progress in winding-up their affairs. Full details of progress to 31 March 1993 are contained in reports on wind-up which were published by the corporations in July along with their annual reports for that year. Significant further progress has been made since 1 April and will be published in the reports to 31 March 1994.
The three other new towns are also progressing successfully towards maturity, as a direct result of the major investments by the public and private sectors in commercial and industrial development, infrastructure and housing; and investment will continue.
Scottish Enterprise and the local enterprise companies have matured rapidly since their establishment in 1991, and are now ready to undertake the leading economic development role for all areas within their boundaries, including the New Towns.
Indeed, the process of transferring from New Towns to Scottish Enterprise strategic sites and premises for inward investment is already under way. Development corporations, in consultation with Locate in Scotland and the local enterprise companies, are taking active steps to ensure the continuity of provision of inward investment services and the retention, in either the public or private sector, of the expertise of new towns personnel in these areas.
In order to maintain continuity and an orderly transition of responsibility, as well as maintaining Scotland's ability to compete for inward investment, Locate in Scotland will assume, with effect from 1 April 1994, overall responsibility for the marketing, publicity and promotion 685W of the new town areas as locations for inward investment. SEN and LIS will be responsible for ensuring the continuing provision of a supply of suitable property for inward investors in the new town areas. The Government's objective remains that the private sector should play a much more active part than hitherto in the process of property development for industrial and commercial purposes, and SEN with LIS will therefore liaise closely with the private sector to ensure a balanced, complementary and rational approach to industrial property provision across Scotland. In the interim, SEN will adopt the practice of the new towns to undertake a limited and controlled programme of building modern, high quality advance factory premises in order to meet the needs of inward investors.
I shall shortly be bringing forward a Bill to create a new structure for local government in Scotland from 1 April 1996. I believe it is desirable that the new unitary authorities should have, so far as possible, the full range of their responsibilities from the outset of their existence. The responsibilities which Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine currently hold for planning and owning and maintaining certain community and environmental assets will be transferred, along with appropriate resources, to the new unitary authorities from 1 April 1996.
The corporations are actively pursuing the Government's policy of housing tenure diversification and this will continue until wind-up. I remain committed to giving tenants the right to choose their successor landlord and ballots will take place in each of the towns during 1996 with transfers to the new landlords completed by 31 December 1996.
It is now quite clear that preparations for wind-up in the new towns are well advanced—much more so than could have been envisaged four years ago, even on the most ambitious timetable. As a result, I am today initiating formal consultation on my proposal that the wind-up periods for Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine should be 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1966. The proposed wind-up timetable for Cumbernauld is as set out in the 1989 White Paper, "The Scottish New Towns—The Way Ahead' (CM 711); while my proposal accelerates by two and three years respectively the provisional timetable for Livingston and Irvine set out in the White Paper. A further period of three months to March 1997 is envisaged for final dissolution of the three corporations as legal entities.
As well as making good sense in practical terms, the accelerated timetable will preclude the need to spend significant additional resources on maintaining the original wind-up timetable. Agreed plans for infrastructure and other developments will be resourced. The rationalisation of inward investment-related activities, outlined above, also allows some scope for efficiency savings.
The new town development corporations have an impressive track record achieved by the commitment of their corporation boards, and the skill, energy and dedication of their staff. I believe that by their wind-up dates all of the corporations will have provided successful and mature towns, capable of further growth and development within the broader framework for local government and economic development. I look to the corporations and their staff to adapt their customary commitment and skills to ensure that the wind-up process is completed smoothly and on time.
686WIn order to ensure the widest possible understanding of what the wind-up will mean in practical terms, a leaflet will be distributed to every household and business in each of the new towns.