asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what are the reasons for the different procedures undertaken by different divisions within his Department for approving local authority projects; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will institute in conjunction with the Welsh Counties Committee a review of the capital programming practices of his Department in order to ensure that delays in announcement of financial and planning allocations do not continue to take place.

The Welsh Office is considering what changes might be made in the administration of local authority capital expenditure allocations, where present practices have developed separately for particular services.