While it is recognised that a house improvement grants scheme would help to promote the conservation and improvement of the housing stock, particular account must be taken of the cost of the previous scheme. The Government's priorities in the housing area, as set out in A Government of Renewal, are to expand the local authority and other social housing programmes and to upgrade deficient local authority dwellings. As the available resources will, accordingly, be concentrated on these programmes, there are no proposals, at this stage, to introduce a grants scheme to assist in the renovation or extension of houses, whether confined to rural areas or otherwise.