To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the funds announced by the Minister for Social Justice in the ministerial statement on housing on 7 November 2002 will be made available to East Dunbartonshire Council

My statement referred to the potential funding arising from the Prudential Regime and changes to the arrangements for funding local authority expenditure on private housing. In relation to the Prudential Regime it will be for individual local authorities not the Scottish Executive to determine how much, if any, extra borrowing they might be able to afford. In relation to the new arrangements for funding local authority expenditure on private housing, for 2003-04, our intention is to write to local authorities for advice on the extent to which they wish to covert existing borrowing consents within their agreed, overall single capital allocation to private sector housing grant. Final allocations will be determined when this information is to hand. Allocations for 2004-05 and beyond, when the new arrangements are fully implemented, will be determined in due course.