To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail by project of over £10,000 the moneys made available to local authorities under the spend-to-save programme for 1997–98; what projects have been earmarked for funding in (i) 1998–99 and (ii) 1999–2000, and how much funding has been allocated to each; what is the proposed total budget for the spend-to-save programme for each of the next three financial years; and what percentage of this will be under the control of the Scottish Parliament. [65935]

[holding answer 18 January 1999]: The spend-to-save scheme was introduced in 1997–1998 to allow councils flexibility between capital and revenue spending to deal with costs arising from reductions in revenue budgets. The spend-to-save initiatives and the amount of capital allocations surrendered for the purpose are entirely a matter for individual authorities. £37.3 million and £12.171 million was used in 1997–98 and 1998–99 respectively for spend-to-save purposes. There are no plans to continue the scheme beyond this year. From 1 July, local government finance will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.