§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake an audit into the level of public spending on infrastructure projects in Mid-Sussex. [28857]
§ Mr. Andrew Smith[holding answer 21 January 2002]: No. Public spending on infrastructure projects is divided between local, regional and national bodies. It is not possible to identify without disproportionate cost what proportion of central Government infrastructure funding is spent in a particular local authority area or parliamentary constituency. However, the Treasury seeks to ensure value for money in all public spending and works with other Government Departments to ensure that a rigorous evaluation framework is in place to assess the costs and benefits of particular projects. While the Treasury delegates authority to Departments to spend regular budgets, it nevertheless scrutinises particularly large, novel or contentious proposals individually to ensure they offer good value.