§ Lord Dormand of Easingtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proposals they have for the future of the Rural Development Commission.
§ Baroness HaymanMay I refer my noble friend to the Statement about the English regions which I read to the House on 3 December 1997 (Official Report col. 1391), and to the answer I gave to the subsequent question from the noble Lord, Lord Shuttleworth (Official Report col. 1405). We are considering the future of the Rural Development Commission as part of 50WA the comprehensive spending review. We expect to reach conclusions in the New Year.