asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make financial resources available to help to ensure that the Grand National horse race continues.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has given any advice or assistance to ensure that the Grand National horse race continues to take place at Aintree racecourse.

Under an agreement signed on 5 November between the trustees of the Jockey Club's Grand National campaign and the private owner of the Aintree racecourse, the former has been granted an option to acquire the freehold of the racecourse and the permanent rights to the race for £4 million at any time up to 1 May 1983. The holding of the 1983 Grand National has been guaranteed under separate arrangements.

I sincerely hope that the long-term future of this great steeplechase can now be assured, although I fully appreciate that much depends upon the fund-raising ability of the Jockey Club to reach its target over the coming months.

If this assurance is not fulfilled, will the Government be prepared to give some financial support? Does the hon. Gentleman agree that this is not a parochial event, but a major event in world sport that is watched on television by 49 countries and therefore should not be allowed to die?

I echo the hon. Gentleman's final sentiments, but I can give the House no guarantees or assurances that the Government will provide any money. It is very much the responsibility of the racehorse fraternity. I understand that much will depend upon how these funds can be raised over the next few months. I draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to the press statement by the Jockey Club, which he might read and thereby understand a few further matters.

I congratulate the Jockey Club and the Merseyside county council on their efforts to ensure that next year's race will be run, and I hope that financial assistance will be raised to enable it to be run in future years. Will the Government consider providing financial assistance for a sports complex, which would be a tremendous boost to Merseyside and the North-West and would provide some urgently needed jobs?

It is difficult to hypothecate what might happen in future. Much depends on what happens between now and the middle of next year, but the future depends on the ability of the Jockey Club to raise funds. I am certain that many Government agencies are interested in the future of the steeplechase and will consider the observations and suggestions of local people.

At some future stage the regional sports council may receive overtures from people in this area, which it might consider. However, I make it clear—

Order. The answer is becoming very long.

Will my hon. Friend be a great deal firmer and tell the House that there is no intention of giving taxpayers' money to maintain the Grand National? Will he state that when a Tory Government are necessarily cutting back on public spending in the Welfare State it is wrong to give money to activities that ought to be no part of the business of any Government?

I thought that I had made it clear that the Government have not made any contributions. This is naturally a matter for the Jockey Club and the racehorse fraternity.

I appreciate the initiative of the Jockey Club, but how does the price compare with the known price of the district valuer? How will the money be raised, and how much will be needed to replace the stands under the provisions of the Safety of Sports Grounds Act? As there is a desperate shortage of play space in Merseyside, is not the greatest priority to get Aintree opened up to the people in the area?

The whole concept of the continuation of this race, together with the facilities and acreage, depend on its viability. Everybody must understand that the Government are not in the business of giving subsidies for this type of activity. I shall happily find some of the answers to the detailed statistics, but I should point out that the Home Office also has a major interest in organisations involved in racing in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether local authorities have taken up his invitation to increase capital spending.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the instructions he is giving to local authorities on capital spending limits for the year 1982–83.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of capital spending plans by local authorities for the year 1982–83.

Returns from local authorities suggest that there will be an underspend on capital investment by English authorities by over £1 billion in 1982–83. I have urged local authorities to bring forward worthwhile capital schemes and have offered additional expenditure allocations for that. I have also asked my regional offices to approach individual authorities, as has happened many times in the past, to establish what schemes they may have available suitable for acceleration. I hope that will lead to a reduction in the underspend, with consequent benefit for the construction industry, but applications from local authorities are still being received and it is too early to forecast the extent of the response. For 1983–84, allocations will be made shortly in the usual way.

Has the Secretary of State had an opportunity to explain to the Prime Minister that, contrary to what she said in the House last week, money allocated for capital schemes cannot be transferred by local authorities to pay for wage demands? How are councils to deal with the revenue implications? Will they not face clawback if they spend money on capital projects and incur revenue implications? Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that taking decisions against the clock will result—

Order. I have twice this week appealed that when an hon. Member is called to ask a supplementary question he asks what is his right—one supplementary question—or he takes up the time of other hon. Members.

I believe that the hon. Gentleman was asking me about the jerry-building that local authorities will propose as a result of the schemes that they put forward. We shall ensure that local authorities do not do that. There is not the slightest evidence that they will.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has expressed herself clearly. I see no reason for doubt.

Will the Secretary of State place on record that local authorities can use their capital receipts to pay interest charges on borrowings that arise from the use of the £1 billion that is being made available to them on a wider basis? Is he aware that my local authority is applying to him for £1,250,000 extra to pursue the programme that he has set as an objective, because it is worried about what will happen at the year-end on carryover? Will he introduce flexibility in that area?

It is early days, but the hon. Gentleman's local authority is one of those that have responded with a number of schemes. That proves that it is possible for local authorities to do exactly what we requested. No Minister has expressed the view that the total underspend predicted for this year can be made up on any significant scale. It is too large and too late. That is the difficulty facing the Government. Local authorities have underspent on such an enormous scale for this year that that capital resource is lost to the construction industry. The Government are doing their best to make up some of the shortfall that the local authorities have created.

If the Secretary of State's exhortations to local authorities are successful, will he give an assurance that any increased revenue expenditure arising from increased capital expenditure this year will be exempt from any future controls on local authority revenue expenditure?

The hon. Gentleman knows that we cannot separate the accounts of 420 local authorities to find the revenue consequences arising from any decisions in the way that he suggests. Local authorities understand that fully, as they have always done. They will use their own judgment. The real world is made up of a large number of local authorities, many of them represented by Opposition Members, which are now trying to find schemes to create jobs in the construction industry. If the Opposition would concentrate on helping those local authorities, as opposed to raising difficulties, more jobs would be created.

Has my right hon. Friend seen the proposal by the House-Builders Federation that local authorities should use part of their capital underspend this year to buy houses already built and to offer them to people on their waiting lists on a shared equity basis? Will he encourage that proposal?

That is a classic example of a constructive approach to what the Government are trying to do. I am looking at that idea.

After halving housing expenditure in three years and bringing council house building to almost nothing, is there not something indecent in the Secretary of State now telling local authorities to increase capital expenditure? If he is aware of the misery that he is causing, he is a stinking hypocrite.

Order. The hon. Member knows that it is out of order to refer to another hon. Member in those terms. One cannot say "If' and add that a man is a hypocrite, or we shall be crawling on the floor, without standards.

I withdraw that remark, Mr. Speaker, and say that this is a stinking hypocrisy.

I shall do my best to draw those interesting observations to the hon. Gentleman's local authority, which happens to be putting in one of the longest lists of bids.

Will my right hon. Friend continue to review the need to make a commitment to local authorities on future capital expenditure and borrowing powers, because the main deterrent is against sudden capital expenditure on fairly minor schemes. Anything that has happened during the past few weeks cannot change the position on major schemes, unless they have a greater expectation of support in future years on capital spending.

I understand the point made by my hon. Friend, but he will realise that as local authorities have £600 million of capital underused from last year, £1 billion capital underspent this year and substantial projected capital receipts next year, the level of allocation by the Government becomes less important in their forward capital planning.

First, will the right hon. Gentleman answer the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Wokington (Mr. Campbell-Savours)—a question that he dodged—on whether local authorities can use capital receipts to service loans? Secondly, will he summon up the honesty to admit that his and the Prime Minister's new spend, spend, spend stunt is nothing but a phoney and a sham? He is simply asking local authorities to bring forward by four months next year's capital spending projects. If they are incautious enough to obey him, the revenue consequences, plus the abolition of the GREA amnesty and the planned reduction in their spending ceilings, will make them liable to savage penalties for doing what the Secretary of State is telling them to do.

The right hon. Gentleman is an expert in trying to frustrate any scheme that is to the benefit of the construction industry. It is fortunate that Labour-controlled local authorities take absolutely no notice of what he says. Significant numbers of local authorities are producing capital schemes to help the construction industry, and the right hon. Gentleman is deliberately trying to frustrate them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has further to encourage the sale of council houses.

The Housing and Building Control Bill, published last Friday, will extend the right to buy to council tenants whose dwellings are on leasehold land and to certain tenants of charitable housing associations.

It will also further extend the right to buy by giving tenants who are not able to afford to buy outright the right to buy on a shared ownership basis instead. In addition, the Bill will remove certain obstacles which some councils have used to obstruct and dissuade tenants from exercising their legal right to buy their homes.

That will be a welcome extension to the right-to-buy provisions. Does my hon. Friend agree that, bearing in mind the substantial reduction in mortgage interest rates that has taken place this year and the fact that there is more to come on Friday, this is a propitious moment to draw to the attention of council tenants their right to buy under the Housing Act 1980?

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the success of the Government's policy in reducing inflation, interest rates and mortgage rates. He is also right to say that the weekly cost to many council tenants of buying their homes on a mortgage will be no more, and in some cases will be even less, than the cost of continuing to pay rent.

Will the Minister explain whether, under the shared ownership proposals for council houses, a tenant may join other members of his family resident in the dwelling to buy part of the house? If they can do that, in much the same way as they can buy the whole of the house jointly under the Housing Act 1980, what will happen if there is a dispute while half the house is owned and half is rented? Will the person who owns half of the house be able to ban a member of his family from that part of the house and make him live in the other half?

The rules on buying part of the equity on a shared ownership basis are the same as those on buying outright under the right-to-buy provisions. The provisions have applied satisfactorily in many voluntary sales under shared ownership arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the sections of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 relating to footpaths to come into operation.

My right hon. Friend expects to bring the rights of way provisions into operation early in the new year.

Will the Minister give us an assurance that there will be sufficient staff, locally and nationally, to carry out the footpath provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act? In the past 10 years most local authorities and the Government have not had sufficient staff to carry out their responsibilities.

No, I cannot give that guarantee. The hon. Gentleman is aware of the guidelines and the requirements and he knows what our consultations with other organisations involve. I hope that we shall have the regulations before Parliament in January and that they will come into operation one month later.

Does the Minister appreciate that many local authorities have done much work on the preparation of their footpath review maps? Will he take the opportunity to clarify the Government's plans for the outstanding reviews?

No, I cannot do that now. I know what the hon. Gentleman is worried about. We have had a dialogue on the matter previously, both inside and outside the House. As soon as I have anything to report, I shall let him and the House know.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received the latest report of the British Waterways Board; and if he will make a statement.

The board's annual report and statement of accounts for 1981 were laid before this House on 23 June.

Is it not a fact that the Government had to send in their own auditors, because the financial affairs of the board were in a mess, and that the board is now bringing in its own auditors again to check on the Government auditors?

The general review by the Inbucon consultants into the affairs of the board includes an examination of the efficiency of management and the structure of the board. Publication of the report is expected shortly.

Is my hon. Friend aware of the importance of keeping the maximum mileage of waterways open at all times in this era of increased leisure? It is essential, particularly in the Midlands areas, which are remote from the sea, that people should have waterways available for fishing and other recreation.

I agree with my hon. Friend. It is indeed important that we should optimise the benefits that waterways can offer, but I remind the House that it is also necessary to increase the income.

Is it not astonishing that the affairs of the board have got into such a serious state, administratively and in respect of the lack of repairs to waterways, that outside auditors have had to be brought in? Is it not even more astonishing that bureaucratic arguments are taking place between the Government's auditors and the board's auditors? Will the Minister accept the Government auditors' accounts, as we would do, and agree that that means that urgent action must be taken to open up the whole canal system and repair it properly, for the benefit of the nation and to ensure that it is run efficiently in the public interest?

I agree with the necessity of ensuring that the affairs of the board are run with maximum efficiency. I remind the right hon. Gentleman that the Government have increased substantially the grant-aid available to the board to make good some of the backlog of work.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on his proposals for responding to claims made by new town local authorities under section 51 of the New Towns Act 1981.

No representations have been received from the authorities concerned since the Department's letters of 13 October. I saw a group of hon. Members last Monday and had a most helpful discussion with them.

Does the hon. Gentleman not recognise that his refusal to meet more than a fraction of the cost of design defects in houses transferred to new town local authorities represents a gross breach of faith by the Government, in view of undertakings given in the past? Would not a commercial firm which attempted to renege on its liabilities be guilty of a flagrant breach of contract? Is the hon. Gentleman not prepared to make a more reasonable offer to the authorities which took over new town houses?

The Government have made a generous and realistic offer to the new towns. The problem with Harlow is that 85 per cent. of its claim relates to maintenance items and, under the criteria for the assessment of claims, normal maintenance is not eligible for grant.

Will my hon. Friend confirm that local authorities in second and third generation towns are unlikely to have to make such claims, because the design of houses in those towns is much more traditional?

I confirm that we do not expect the same problems on future transfers, for the reason that my hon. Friend has given. It is also worth saying that the new towns concerned have benefited financially from the transfer of the houses.

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that the new town with the worst problems is Peterlee in my constituency? Does he agree that Easington district council has followed his guidelines on rent policy, and will he tell us where he thinks the money will come from to pay for the vast number of repairs that will be needed? Surely this is a national, not a local, matter.

The Government intend that expenditure that has to be incurred will be taken into account in the HIP allocations to the local authorities concerned. I think that the hon. Gentleman knows that I am meeting the Association of District Councils tomorrow, and I hope that the matter can be satisfactorily resolved.

Is my hon. Friend saying in relation to third generation new towns that where properties are not built in the traditional way there may be a case for a claim?

The Government hope that in many cases there will be management arrangements between the district council and the new town so that the council that takes over the properties will have experience of them before the transfer takes place. It will be able to assess the value of the properties and they can be repaired by the new town corporation before the transfer, thereby obviating the problems to which hon. Members have referred.

When the hon. Gentleman meets new town representatives tomorrow, will he temper his present mean offer with the reflection that the causes of the financial problems and disasters that will fall on local ratepayers and rent payers are no fault of theirs, but are due to a breach of faith by, among others, the Secretary of State for the Environment?

That is not the case. The Government are under no legal obligation to make any offer in respect of these properties. We accept that there is a moral obligation and, in discharge of that, we have offered to pay 40 per cent. of admissible expenditure. In the light of the overall benefit to new town councils of the properties to be transferred, our offer is generous.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to give details of the level of council house rent increases devised by the Government in 1983–84.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he expects local authorities to increase council house rents in 1983; and, if so, by what amount.

I issued the statutory consultation paper to local authorities on Monday of this week, proposing that housing subsidy for 1983–84 should be calculated on the basis of an 85p increase in the local contribution. Actual rent increases are a matter for decision by individual authorities.

Is it not shameful that after three and a half years in office, during which time average council house rents have more than doubled, the Government should even contemplate the possibility of further increases? Ought not the Secretary of State to be thinking in terms of a rent freeze?

The hon. Gentleman will remember that the Labour Government believed that keeping rents broadly in line with the rate of inflation was a reasonable policy.

Is the Secretary of State aware that council tenants throughout the country are thoroughly fed up with being punished by the exorbitant rent increases of the past three years? Is it not a fact that council house rents have increased by more than double the increase in the retail prices index in the same period?

I am sure that the hon. Member is aware that the standards of maintenance on council estates—arising from the fact that capital projects were cut in half by the Labour Government—presented real difficulties, which we have had to put right. Now that we are in a position to get a better balance, we can ensure that council tenants gain from the fall in inflation.

Will my right hon. Friend join me in condemning the scaremongering tactics of the Labour Party, which, in the past two weeks, has circulated rumours about prospective excessive rent rises, which have caused unnatural and unfair concern to many people?

I understand why my hon. Friend raises the matter. It is not for me to apologise to the House for the shameless behaviour of the right hon. Member for Manchester, Ardwick (Mr. Kaufman), who cynically trudged round the country telling people that there would be a £2 a week council house rent increase. That was mainly to help the Labour Party in the by-elections—and what disastrous results it achieved.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that we are gratified to have scared him off the £2 increase that was proposed in his document? Is he further aware that even an 85p increase is twice as high as the Government's 3½ per cent. pay limit? As-no thanks to the Government—home-owners are at last to have mortgage interest payments reduced for the first time to below the level that the Government inherited from Labour, is it not unjust that council tenants are to have a 134 per cent. rent increase-five times as much as rents went up under Labour?

I think that we now understand the difficulty into which the right hon. Gentleman has got himself. The document to which he refers is a local authority document, and the figures in it were chosen by the local authorities. As those figures were not endorsed in any way by my Department, will he now have the grace to admit that the information on which he based his whole scaring attitude was phoney and that he has misled every council tenant in the land?

These were the right hon. Gentleman's proposals, and he knows it. If the Prime Minister had not got into a panic, preparing for the general election, it would have been a £2 increase.

I must tell the right hon. Gentleman that the proposals are not mine. It was his failure to understand that fact that caused him to indulge in this scare technique.

Did my right hon. Friend hear the Labour Party talking about rent increases of 134 per cent. over three and a half years, when the Labour-controlled Greater London Council increased rates by 97 per cent. in less than a year? Does he think that it is moral for the Labour Party to advocate rent freezes at the expense of the ratepayers?

I sympathise with my hon. Friend, but it is not just a matter of rent freezes at the expense of ratepayers; it is rent freezes at the expense of appalling housing conditions for people who live on council estates.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that the Secretary of State would not wish to mislead the House about the document to which I referred. It has on it the words "Department of the Environment 18 June".

May I reply to that point, Mr. Speaker.

The assumptions in that document were produced by the local authority associations as a set of hypothetical calculations. They were their assumptions, not ours.

Bearing in mind the additional burden that high rates have on rents for council tenants and, indeed, many other house occupants, will the Secretary of State advise local authorities to use significant proportions of their capital receipts—to which he referred this afternoon—to reduce the rates burden; and possibly rents, too?

The right hon. Gentleman has a deep knowledge of these matters, but I am not sure how capital receipts could be used in that way. He was in the Department of the Environment long enough to know that the rules broadly divide the capital and current account programmes. I do not think that that has changed significantly in a way that would make his proposals possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to allow post-1919 houses to be subject to improvement grants; and if he will make a statement.

Of the four categories of grant, improvement and intermediate grants are already available for any dwelling provided before 2 October 1961. Special grants are already available to any house in multiple occupation, regardless of age. It is only repairs grants that are currently limited to dwellings built before 1919. I am however giving consideration, without any commitment at this stage, to making the cut-off date for repairs grants later than 1919.

Will the Minister bear in mind the position of householders and owner-occupiers in the Stockbridge area of Keighley, who have been blighted by motorway proposals since 1968 and have understandably delayed repairs for many years? In May 1982, when an alternative proposal was accepted, the blight was removed. Those people believe strongly that their properties have been blighted through no fault of their own and that their houses should be subject to grant-aid in some form, thus restoring them to the standard in which they would have been maintained had there been no blight. Will he consider the matter very carefully, because it is a just cause?

I am aware of the correspondence that the hon. Gentleman has had with my hon. Friend about the houses at Stockbridge, and I shall take it into account, with the representations that I have received from other hon. Members about the cut-off date for eligibility for repairs grants.

I welcome the Minister's statement to extend the time limit. Will he consider making those repairs grants obligatory on local authorities, rather than discretionary? People looking for house roofing grants find that many local authorities either do not have the staff to deal with them or are not prepared to make grants available.

As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, there are limited categories of repairs grants which are mandatory, as opposed to being discretionary. One has to decide as a matter of policy how far to circumscribe the freedom of local authorities in allocating money between the various types of grant. So far, the Government have taken the view that concentration should be focused on the provision of basic amenities—baths and inside WCs. Intermediate grants are mandatory, and local authorities are free to exercise their discretion on the remainder. I note what the hon. Gentleman has said.

Has my hon. Friend looked at the problem of those who commenced the purchase of Airey houses at high prices, at pre-Barnsley scare prices, but and where completion took place after the Barnsley scare, and who at present will be excluded from the help that he is offering?

The people who completed after the public statement was made about the defects in Airey houses should have had the valuation of their houses adjusted downwards to reflect the statement that was made. We have received representation from hon. Members—and, indeed, from individual owners of Airey houses—about people who bought at the inflated valuations after the date of the public announcement, and we are considering the matter further.

Is the Minister aware that 270 council houses, and houses built by the council and since sold to occupiers, in my constituency of Bradford have to be demolished because they are unsafe? What kind of grant will the council give to build the 330 new houses that are going up? What advice has he given the local authority on how to deal with the claims of tenants and owner-occupiers?

If the hon. Gentleman is referring to Airey houses, current owners can invite the local authority to buy back such houses. If that happens, the Government will meet the full cost to the local authority. If the local authority, of its own volition, demolishes dwellings, it is for the local authority to include in its HIP bid to the Department the capital implications of replacing such dwellings. That factor will be taken into account in making individual allocations to individual authorities.

My hon. Friend's comments on 1919 houses will be widely welcomed in the Midlands. When will he make a statement? That would be extraordinarily helpful to many householders in the Midlands.

I hope that we can shortly reach conclusions on that. However, as consultation with other Government Departments is involved, I cannot give a date today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the number of families who have become house owners under the right-to-buy legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the progress made so far with the sale of council houses to sitting tenants.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is generally satisfied with progress. Between April 1979 and the end of June 1982 an estimated 370,000 public sector dwellings were sold in Great Britain, some 182,000 of which were sold under the right-to-buy provisions. There remain a minority of councils where progress with the right to buy gives cause for concern.

Is my hon. Friend aware what good news the figure of 370,000 is? Will he perhaps consider setting a target of half a million sales within the lifetime of this Parliament? To achieve that end, will he ensure that the laggard authorities are forced to get on with such sales, which are the right of British citizens?

My hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction keeps a close watch on those authorities about which my Department receives complaints and will continue to do so.

The Government hope that the half million target will be achieved. The most welcome drop in mortgage rates, referred to a few minutes ago, will give a fresh impetus to the sale of council houses.

How many local authorities are still dragging their feet over the sale of council houses? Are they all Labour-controlled?

I have in front of me a rather long list of local authorities about which my Department has received complaints. The vast majority of them are under Labour control. My hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction has regular correspondence and meetings with them to bring home to them the importance of making swift progress in giving people their statutory right.

In view of the Minister's claim to success in that regard, will he now extend the right to buy to tenants of privately owned houses?

That has already been dealt with at a previous Question Time. Those houses are already in private ownership and the Government's mandate extends only to those in public ownership.

Has the Minister instructed his Department, or asked housing authorities, to commission research into the social consequences for people who are frustrated because they live in deprived areas with difficult to let housing, with low incomes, and whose chances of transferring to decent houses have been reduced?

The social consequences speak for themselves. Three hundred and seventy thousand people have exercised their right. What more evidence does the hon. Gentleman need?

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce proposals simplifying the arrangements for rate support grant.

I share the hon. Gentleman's concern to simplify grant arrangements as far as is possible, given the large sums involved and the importance of ensuring the fairest distribution for the more than 400 authorities involved. I am currently considering several options for simplification of the assessments of grant-related expenditure for the 1983–84 RSG settlement.

Are not the present rate support grant arrangements, which even the Minister has said are shrouded in complication and, I would say, excessive jargon, being used as a deliberate smokescreen to pass on to local authorities the blame for cuts in local services that are really being imposed by the Government?

No, Sir. The hon. Gentleman will recognise that the rate support grant has never been a simple matter. Substantial sums of money are involved and the formulae have always been complex. However, there is now a better understanding of the way in which the needs assessments are made for individual authorities and we should continue to simplify the system in that area.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the increased imposition of rates upon industry year by year is becoming serious? It is creating financial and job losses. Will my right hon. Friend consider giving additional support to those local authorities that give special rate concessions to industry? That is important for jobs and for industry generally.

I endorse my hon. Friend's opening remarks. At a time of recession we should reinforce the importance of all authorities not adding to the burdens of industry and commerce. There seems to be an illusion fostered by some political parties that rate levels do not matter to industry. However, they are a matter of the greatest concern. While I cannot go along the particular line that my hon. Friend suggests, I can tell him that we are most concerned about the general theme that he has put forward.

Will the Minister confirm—or deny—press statements to the effect that the Secretary of State intends to claw back from local authorities any benefits that might accrue from the reduction in interest rates? If that is the case, will he advise local authorities such as Wear Valley and Sedgefield district councils, which would dearly like to spend capital on land reclamation, how to do that without having some flexibility on revenue expenditure?

The matter that has been referred to in the press, over which there has been some confusion, deals with the supplementary report, which is presently under discussion. It has been the practice of successive Governments to deal with what are called "variable items" at the supplementary report stage. If interest rates rise local authorities are compensated, and if they go down there is some clawback. That is the standard practice, which the hon. Gentleman will find was followed by the Labour Government.

Will my hon. Friend assure the House that his simplified guidelines on the rate support grant will also provide some measure of equity to those authorities that have tried faithfully to follow the Government's guidelines but have so far seen little compensation for their efforts?

If I were to answer that question fully I would incur your wrath, Mr. Speaker. It is my constant ambition to do what my hon. Friend suggests. When she fully analyses the proposals that we shall put before the House, I hope that she will see that justice has been done.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he proposes to take steps to modify the inner city policy of his Department.

We are continually seeking new ways, such as the urban development grant, of achieving urban regeneration. The urban programme is relatively new. It offers the opportunity for considerable flexibility. It is continually under review as a consequence.

Is the Minister aware of the reported remarks of his noble Friend and ministerial colleague, Lord Bellwin, on South Tyneside? Is he aware that Lord Bellwin is reported to have said that the Department is considering rejigging the inner city policy to take away the concentration of funds from the partnership areas? Partnership areas such as my constituency of Lambeth, and that of Liverpool, amongst others, while they are grateful for the concentration of funds in the past, still regard such funds as being sadly inadequate for their desperate needs. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that they will regard such a switch in policy as a betrayal of past statements on the inner city areas?

If the hon. Gentleman keeps in mind the fact that his authority's allocation has been increased by 30 per cent. this year compared with last year, he will see the seriousness with which we treat the matter. He will already have a flavour of the fact—it cannot be more than that—that the urban development grant initiative, which is now under consideration, means that significant increased funds should be flowing in his direction if the scheme stands up to examination. I hope to say something further about that shortly.

Is the Secretary of State aware that over the past 12 months 10,000 trees have been planted in inner city Liverpool, that one job has been lost for every tree planted and that one crime is committed every four minutes? His remedies are wholly cosmetic and irrelevant to the basic problems of unemployment and crime.

I was not aware that 10,000 trees had been planted in Liverpool over the past 12 months. I shall give the deepest consideration to the implications of that.

Will my right hon. Friend ease planning restrictions in inner city areas, to try to encourage more private development?

I am very sympathetic to that view. The Government have amended the general development order. One of the consequences of that will be to help in that way. However, local authorities are now adopting a very practical approach—particularly in some of the industrially deprived areas and in some of our inner cities—to the need to attract industrial and commercial investment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local housing authorities are currently showing a surplus on their housing revenue accounts; and how many are estimated for 1983–84.

Actual data on authorities' housing revenue accounts for the current financial year will not be available until the summer of next year. No estimates can yet be made for 1983–84.

Do not the Secretary of State's departmental calculations show that, as a result of the £1 a week rent increase from April next year, at least 305 out of 367 housing authorities will have a profit on their housing revenue account? Will he confirm that it is the Government's intention to make maximum profits out of council house tenants, as demonstrated by the 133 per cent. rise in rents since May 1979, compared with an average rise in earnings, by April 1983, of only 51·7 per cent?

The hon. Gentleman says that that is "the Government's intention", but I hope that he will look at the rent increases made by individual local authorities. In particular, I hope that he will consider the rent increases levied by several Labour-controlled authorities. If he bears in mind the details of what has happened on the ground, he will realise that a significant number of Labour-controlled authorities, in both the last financial year and this one, are voluntarily choosing to raise rents by an amount in excess of the assumption used by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

Did not the Labour Government resolve to increase the proportion of the revenue account that is met by rents? If so, have we not had an example of the Labour Party saying one thing in Government and something else in Opposition?

My hon. Friend is right. Since we came to office it has been necessary to increase rents in real terms because, contrary to the protestations of the Labour Party there was a substantial decrease, in real terms, when that party was in Government.

As the Minister has accepted that Labour councils have had to increase rents because of the Government's direction, will he now have words with the Secretary of State? As the Secretary of State has changed his mind on the policy of local government spending, will he suggest to him that he should also change his mind on the "no profits" rule and reinstate that rule on housing revenue accounts, to ensure that the profits that he is forcing local authorities to make are ploughed back into council housing and that tenants derive some benefit from them?

I do not think that the hon. Member listened to my reply to the original question. Contrary to what she says, a significant number of authorities—as I have already made clear—including many Labour-controlled councils, have voluntarily chosen to increase rents by an amount greater than the assumption used by the Secretary of State.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a list of all the statutory functions of the Greater London Council which relate to his responsibilities.

The Library already has, I understand, a copy of the comprehensive "Index of Statutes affecting Local Government in Greater London". This covers not only the London Government Act 1963 but the numerous local Acts in force in the GLC's area.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the matters that are the responsibility of his Department and of his colleagues in Government have often, in the past 100 years or so, been the responsibility of London's local government, under the London County Council and its successor? Does he really believe that he can administer those matters without a uniform body covering the whole of London?

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that our primary concern is with local authority expenditure and the overall level of expenditure. Against that background, the hon. Gentleman would be singularly ignorant—which I know he is not—if he did not know that the GLC's recent performance has hardly contributed to the collective effort by local authorities to meet the Government's public expenditure target.

Will my right hon. Friend consider abolishing the GLC? Will he further consider letting that building as a multi-storey car park, as the corridors are wide enough?

As I have said, our first concern is with expenditure, not structure. However, I well understand my hon. Friend's concern—it is shared by millions of Londoners—that the GLC's behaviour serves only to increase the totals given on the GLC's banner. The rate burdens imposed by the GLC have undoubtedly added directly to the number of London's unemployed.

With reference to the disclosure about the Strongbridge housing association and certain Tory members of the GLC, the Minister will recall that I raised such matters with one of his colleagues in the House last July. May we have an assurance that the Minister will come to the House at the earliest opportunity and make a full statement, recognising that the effectiveness of the monitoring function of the Housing Corporation must now be in question?

That point does not arise directly from this question. However, whether the issues affect Labour, Tory or other councillors, they must be properly investigated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, following the success of such a scheme in Southampton, he will seek the assistance of building societies for funding council house sales to reduce local authorities' mortgage lending to house buyers and to release funds for new building projects.

I understand that the scheme under consideration would involve the re-financing of council mortgages by a leading building society, where the mortgagor consents. This can offer benefits for all concerned. A number of building societies have arranged or expressed interest in such schemes, and I have urged local authorities to consider them.

Does my hon. Friend agree that this is a gentler form of privatisation, which will result in a cheque in the council coffers of some £21 million? It also means a lower mortgage rate for the tenants and can do nothing but good. There will be a reduction in the number of staff needed to administer the council house scheme and there will be better administration of the houses by the building society concerned.

My hon. Friend has succinctly identified many benefits that would result from the proposal. I hope that the local authorities will read his remarks and take note of them.

As the Minister has been discussing this issue with the building societies, can he let us know their attitude towards funding the purchase of part of a council house? How many building societies are interested in funding the purchase of council flats, a few of which are apparently being sold?

I am certainly aware of building societies financing properties under shared ownership schemes, and that has been a great success. I am sure that building societies will consider mortgages on council flats if such a proposition is put to them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why his Department has failed to provide adequate staff to complete and publish the findings of the Yates committee on the training of management for the recreational and sports service; and when he now expects to publish the report.

The secretariat of the Yates committee was reduced two years ago when it seemed likely that its work would soon be completed. This forecast proved optimistic, but I now expect to receive the report before Christmas.

Given that a committee was set up seven years ago to consider the important subject of public management and that it completed its work five years ago, what justification can there be—other than inadequate provision in the Department—for the fact that we are still waiting for secretarial help to produce the first draft? Now that the matter has been drawn to the Minister's attention, will he deal with it speedily?

I shall try to assist the right hon. Gentleman. He set up the committee in late 1976 and it had its first meeting in May 1977. I am informed that the final draft is with the chairman of the committee, awaiting approval. I hope that it will be cleared speedily so that the report can be presented.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of bankruptcies in the construction industry.

There were 1,124 bankruptcies in the construction industry in the first six months of this year including both individuals and partnerships going into receivership and companies going into liquidation.

Is there not a clear and tragic message for the Government in that answer in terms of the number of jobs lost? The industry has no confidence in the Government and cannot believe that the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State can think that local authorities can turn on their capital investment programmes like taps.

I agree with the hon. Gentleman in so far as I regret the level of bankruptcies in the construction industry and any other industry. However, to maintain perspective, the hon. Gentleman should take into account the fact that under the Government the level of bankruptcies in the construction industry has never approached the numbers achieved by the Labour Government in 1975 and 1976.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the construction industry has considerable confidence in the Prime Minister? Will he give further and deeper consideration to the issue of construction bonds that will attract private resources into the construction industry? Will he also consider further projects that are advanced by private enterprise companies, such as Tarmac Ltd., for the funding of major roadways, which could be built initially with private resources to help public expenditure?

I assure my hon. Friend that we have considered those matters in detail and have produced some practical results. We have, for example, increased the proportion of construction activity that can be financed privately. We have achieved much wider building society lending on house purchases than previously and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has pioneered many other schemes in Merseyside and elsewhere using public expenditure to attract substantial private input. I endorse what my hon. Friend said about the construction industry's confidence. That is reflected by the net increase in construction companies in the past two years. Some 8,000 such companies have registered for VAT.