§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the current level of capital receipts now held by each local authority as a result of the sale of council houses; and in what form such assets are currently held. [30447]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordA list of the amounts of accumulated usable capital receipts for each English local authority at 31 March 1995 was placed in the Library of the House in response to the question of Monday 22 January 1996,Official Report, column 85, from the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith). About 90 per cent. of these receipts are held by authorities whose responsibilities include housing, but it is not possible to say how much of the total derives from the sale of houses.
Figures for the amounts of set-aside capital receipts are not available. These form part of the provision for credit liabilities, which is reported to the Department, but which also includes amounts set aside from revenue.
Information on the way these assets are held is not available, but they are likely to be mainly invested in bank and building society accounts. Some may have been used temporarily to finance expenditure.