§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the initiatives undertaken by his Department since 1 May 1997 which have involved the establishment of(a) action zones and (b) pilot schemes limited to particular geographical areas, indicating the name of the programme and the action zone or pilot scheme areas covered in each instance. [47052]
§ Angela EagleThere have been no initiatives announced by my Department since 1 May 1997 to establish new area based regeneration "action zones". However, in the recent Budget statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £15 million funding for New Deal for Communities pathfinder projects for 1998–99. My Department is taking forward the development of the New Deal for Communities initiative in England with the Treasury, the Social Exclusion Unit and other Government Departments. The exact location of these projects is yet to be decided.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave in reply to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) about Best Value pilots and the Joint Commissioning of new social housing schemes on 11 June 1998, Official Report, columns 632–34.