§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to offer alternative funding to local authorities which had planned to use the Partnership Investment Programme. [38053]
§ Ms KeebleThe Partnership Investment Programme was only available for use by English Partnerships and has never been available to local authorities.
Following its closure in 1999, significant extra resources were made available to RDAs to help compensate for the loss of PIP: £60 million in 2000–01, rising to £150 million in 2001–02; thereafter, land and property funding would form part of a new single RDA economic development and regeneration budget, with increases of £350 million in 2002–03 and £500 million in 2003–04.
In addition, we have introduced five new land and property regeneration schemes which partially replace PIP. The new schemes will enable RDAs and English Partnerships to support a wide range of land and 1590W property regeneration projects, including projects which can be taken forward in partnership with the private sector.