I’m trying to get to the bottom of why the allocations of investment money that the government is handing out this year under the so-called “regional housing pot” (RHP) have changed so much from last year.

I pointed out a couple of weeks ago that the councils which have missed out are mainly in “old industrial towns” in East Lancashire, Oldham and Bolton, and on the Cumbrian coast.

Burnley and Pendle have both lost over a million pounds, not petty cash even in these days when billions and trillions “trip lightly on the tongue”.

It is being whispered that it’s all due to the “emerging Regional Strategy”.

But that’s something that has not yet been passed - it’s part of the Local Democracy (etc) Bill which has not even finished its passage through the House of Lords and still has to go to the Commons.

I put down some questions to try to tease out the reasons for the cuts and how the Government thinks they tie in with the Elevate housing market renewal programme in our area.

On the one hand our local councils are being told they should match-fund some of the Elevate money from their own capital budgets.

On the other hand the same Government that sets out the rules that Elevate operates under is slashing those very budgets.

So I asked how the changes to the RHP affect all the councils round the country that are included in the housing market renewal programme.

I asked how the councils in the North West that have had RHP cuts rank according to the number of unfit dwellings in their areas.

And I asked for the reasons for the changes.

To my astonishment I was told “Information on the regional housing pot budget of £4billion for 2009-10 is not available by local authority”.

But (I now find) the letter that told councils of their allocations said that they had been “determined” by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, and a list of the allocations to all the Councils in the north west was sent out with that letter.

Is it another “left hand” and “right hand” problem or have I touched a raw nerve?

I’ll keep on digging.