Mr. Robert AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the planned spending on(a) inner city task forces, (b) regional enterprise grants, (c) safer cities, (d) section II grants, (e) ethnic minority grants, (f) ethnic minority business initiative, (g) grants for education support and training, (h) the programme development fund, (i) education business partnerships, (j) teacher placement schemes, (k) compacts, (l) the business start-up scheme, (m) local initiative fund schemes under the single regeneration budget for 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97.
§ Mr. BaldryPlanned spending by my Department on each of these component items within the single regeneration budget in 1994–95 is as follows:
£ million Inner city task forces 16 Regional enterprise grants 9 Safer cities 4 Section 11—urban 60 Ethnic minority grants 6 Ethnic minority business initiative 1 Grants for education support and training—GEST19 5 Programme development fund 3 Education business partnerships 2 Teacher placement service 3 Compacts 6 Business start-up scheme 70 Local initiative fund 29 For 1995–96 and beyond, English partnerships, housing action trusts and urban development corporations will, as now, receive specific allocations; and the rest of the Budget, including items (a) to (m), will be combined.
On current plans, expenditure under the single regeneration budget will be worth some £1.3 billion in each of 1995–96 and 1996–97. The Department of the Environment's 1994 annual report provides more detailed information.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what changes he is proposing in relation to the urban priority areas; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what he projects the financial implications will be for the urban priority areas, arising from the single regeneration budget; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryRegeneration programmes that have previously been targeted on the existing list of 57 urban priority areas now form part of the single regeneration budget. Since the budget is available throughout England, and proposals for funding will be locally driven, the existing list will not be used to direct budget resources and is being discontinued after 1994–95.
In assessing proposals for funding from the budget which aim mainly at relieving deprivation, the Government offices for the regions will take account of detailed information about local conditions based on the 1991 index of local conditions and other data, including Employment Service information on labour market needs and gaps. The index will be published shortly.
Existing commitments under the programmes which have been combined to form the budget will be honoured.