asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what consultations he has had with public landholders in the partnership areas with a view to freeing more publicly owned land for development; and what has been the result of the consultations;(2) what steps he has taken in the past year to secure the better use of publicly owned land particularly in the inner city areas.

I wrote to the chairmen of the nationalised industries and statutory undertakers in February 1978, asking them to review their holdings of surplus land in the partnership areas. Following these reviews negotiations with a view to the disposal of surplus sites are now in train.Local authorities, especially in partnership areas, have also been encouraged to review their land holdings with a view to bringing as much as practicable into early development; this they are doing.My Department's regional offices are in constant contact with local authorities and are closely involved in the negotiations for the disposal of nationalised industry surplus sites.