asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the ending of the operation clean-up scheme as a separately financed programme.

The Government have streamlined and simplified the arrangements for the urban programme. As a result, operation clean-up will cease to exist as a separate exercise at the end of this financial year. The resources originally set aside for the next financial year will be shared between the partnership and programme authorities. Resources will also be made available to complete existing projects. It remains the Government's view that there is a real place in the urban programme for environmental improvements. What this change does is to allow local authorities more flexibility in the way they can include environmental schemes in their inner area programmes, by removing the need for authorities to apply under separate procedures.