To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list, by region, the amount of money in each of the last five financial years which English Partnerships allocated to (a) housing development, (b) employment, and (c) retail development. [16894]

[holding answer: 20 November 1997]: English Partnerships became fully operational in April 1994, with statutory objectives focusing on the sustainable regeneration of areas of need promoting job creation, inward investment and environmental improvements through the reclamation and development of vacant, derelict and underused land and buildings. It operates through broadly based strategic partnerships throughout the English regions with local authorities, the private sector, voluntary bodies and others.Although English Partnerships does not keep information in the form requested, the table sets out, by region, English Partnerships' approved investment by development type under its Partnership Investment Programme, over its first three years of operation.