191Housing support grants: fixing of aggregate amount
(1)For the purpose of assisting local authorities to meet reasonable housing needs in their areas, the Secretary of State shall make housing support grants in accordance with the provisions of this Part.
(2)Subject to subsection (5), for the purpose of fixing the aggregate amount of the housing support grants for any year, the Secretary of State shall, in respect of all local authorities, estimate the following amounts—
(a)the aggregate amount of eligible expenditure which it is reasonable for local authorities to incur for that year; and
(b)the aggregate amount of relevant income (other than housing support grants) which could reasonably be expected to be credited to the local authorities' housing revenue accounts for that year,
and the amount remaining after deducting the amount mentioned in paragraph (b) from the amount mentioned in paragraph (a) shall, subject to subsection (4) and section 193, be the aggregate amount of the housing support grants for that year.
(3)Before estimating the amounts mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) for any year, the Secretary of State shall consult with such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be concerned and shall take into consideration—
(a)the latest information available to him as to the level of eligible expenditure and relevant income;
(b)the level of interest rates, remuneration, costs and prices which, in his opinion, would affect the amount of eligible expenditure for that year; and
(c)the latest information available to him as to changes in the general level of earnings which would affect the amount of relevant income which could reasonably be expected for that year.
(4)In fixing the aggregate amount of the housing support grants for any year, the Secretary of State may take into acccount the extent, if any, to which the aggregate amount of eligible expenditure which it was reasonable for local authorities to incur for any previous year differs or is likely to differ from the aggregate amount for that previous year which he estimated or re-estimated under this section or section 193 respectively.
(5)In estimating the amounts mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) the Secretary of State may leave out of account the eligible expenditure and relevant income of a local authority if (either or both)—
(a)he estimates that the amount of that income will exceed the amount of that expenditure;
(b)he determines, under section 192, that no proportion of the aggregate amount of the housing support grants is to be apportioned to that authority.
(6)In subsection (4), "local authorities" does not include an authority whose eligible expenditure was, for the purpose of the estimate, left out of an account under subsection (5).
(7)The aggregate amount of the housing support grants, fixed in accordance with subsection (2) for any year, shall be set out in a housing support grant order made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury.
(8)A housing support grant order may be made in respect of any year before the beginning of that year.
(9)No housing support grant order shall be made until that order has been laid in draft before the Commons House of Parliament, together with a report of the considerations leading to the provisions of the order, and has been approved by a resolution of that House.
(10)In this Act—
"eligible expenditure", in relation to any year, means the expenditure which a local authority are required to debit to their housing revenue account for that year in pursuance of Schedule 15;
"relevant income", in relation to any year, means the income, payments, contributions (including any rate fund contribution) and receipts which a local authority are required to credit to their housing revenue account for that year in pursuance of that Schedule.