To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will publish the total amount of expenditure on provision within the responsibility of his Department in (a) England, (b) Greater London and (c) the south-east, excluding Greater London, for each year from 1982–83 distinguishing between current and capital expenditure, though excluding local authority credit approvals/capital allocations.

The information is not available within my Department and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. The great majority of this Department's expenditure goes to agencies and bodies sponsored by the Department of National Heritage. My Department seeks to ensure that the money is used in pursuit of the aims and objectives of the bodies concerned, but detailed spending decisions are the responsibility of these bodies. No systematic analysis of expenditure by geographical region is made.