asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what have been the total level of grants made for the acquisition and clearance of derelict land in the North Midlands derelict land clearance area in each year since such grants were introduced; and what progress this represents towards the total clearance of derelict land in that area.

The information in the following table relates to the area of the North Midland derelict land clearance area as established in 1970. The rate of grant rose from 75 per cent. to 100 per cent. in December 1975.

Year	Total expenditure covered by grant approvals	Area of derelict land for reclamation covered by grant approval
	(£'s)	(hectares)
1969–70	445,538	137
1970–71	1,114,997	178
1971–72	1,515,326	372
1972–73	1,522,014	336
1973–74	1,210,669	241
1974–75	1,402,244	210
1975–76	2,663,521	336
1976–77	2,270,018	241
1977–78	1,558,487	194
Totals	13,702,814	2,245

On 31 March 1974 there were estimated to be 3,802 hectares of derelict land in the local authority areas which coincided most closely with the North Midlands derelict land clearance area. In the four subsequent years about 1,000 hectares were reclaimed by all agencies, of which 761 were reclaimed by local authorities with the aid of grant.