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Public Bodies (Running Costs)

Volume 952: debated on Tuesday 20 June 1978

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asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total cost of running each regional economic planning council in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what is the estimated charge on public funds for each council for 1978–79.

Figures for the annual cost of running the economic planning councils are not available in the form requested. They are included in the cost of the Department's regional organisation and cannot be separately identified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total cost of running the Nature Conservancy Council in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what is the estimated charge to public funds for 1978–79.

The accounts for 1976–77 included in the Nature Conservancy Council's latest annual report show expenditure of £5,028,000. For 1977–78 the provisional figure will be £6,142,000.The present approved estimated cost to public funds for 1978–79 is £6·4 million. I shall be seeking the approval of Parliament to increase this to £8 million.An announcement will be made later about appropriate cash block adjustments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total cost of running each of the new town development corporations in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what is the estimated charge to public funds for each for 1978–79.

Full details of the income and expenditure of the English development corporations are given in their annual reports. These are published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in one volume and are available in the Library. The figures for 1977–78 are not yet available but in 1976–77 the administration costs of the English corporations, covering such items as salaries, professional fees, rent, rates, maintenance of offices, travel and subsistence and publicity, were as set out in the following table, which also gives the estimated comparable costs for 1978–79.

Total administration costsEstimated administration costs
Corporation1976–771978–79
Aycliffe1,383,970904,000
Basildon3,267,0743,598,000
Bracknell1,968,2521,259,000
Central Lancashire2,416,0173,362,000
Corby1,042,029878,370
Harlow2,223,4671,100,000
Milton Keynes9,483,28412,508,710
Northampton2,599,5262,970,000
Peterborough4,385,5205,576,600
Peterlee1,394,7531,176,150
Redditch2,772,8803,675,000
Runcorn2,820,8903,036,000
Skelmersdale2,568,4212,850,000
Stevenage2,268,6541,400,000
Telford5,098,3776,553,000
Warrington3,472,6224,390,515
Washington2,721,1823,075,170
Apart from housing subsidies and, in some cases, regional development grants, the corporations are financed from income and borrowing from the National Loans Fund rather than from voted moneys.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total cost of running the National Water Council in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what is the estimated charge to public funds for 1978–79.

The accounts for 1976–77 included in the Council's latest annual report show total expenditure of nearly £4 million. The Council's expenditure is almost entirely financed by the water authorities. I am advised by the National Water Council that its projected budget for 1978–79 amounts to just under £5 million at outturn prices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total cost of running the Location of Offices Bureau in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what is the estimated charge to public funds for 1978–79.

The last published accounts of the Bureau, for 1976–77, showed expenditure of £202,000. The accounts for the year ending 31st March 1978 are expected to be published next month; I understand the total costs for that year were £254,000. The estimated charge to public funds for 1978–79 is £521,000, the increase reflecting the new roles of the Bureau.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total cost of running the National Building Agency in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what is the estimated charge to public funds.

The total expenditure of the Agency in 1976–77 was £1,883,145. Of this, £1,075,064 was expenditure on the staff remuneration. My Department paid a net amount of £320,360 to the Agency in grant-in-aid to cover work commissioned by central Government together with a contribution to certain of the Agency's costs.

Tuesday 6th June 1978Wednesday 7th June 1978Thursday 8th June 1978Friday 9th June 1978Monday 12th June 1978Tuesday 13th June 1978Wednesday 14th June 1978Thursday 15th June 1978
11 a.m.8183797671677469
2 p.m.8184777572727071
7 p.m.83777772727270
The high temperatures recorded from 6th to 8th June—the effects of which were not assessed—resulted from a malfunction in the air-cooling control system.The Factory Acts do not prescribe maximum temperatures.