§ 1. Sir J. Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the council houses in Scotland built before 1939 have been modernised; and how many still require to be modernised at the present date.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Development, Scottish Office (Mr. George Younger)About 80,000 houses built by local authorities have been included in improvement proposals approved for Government grant. I regret that I cannot say how many of these were built before 1939 or how many pre-1939 houses still require modernisation.
§ Sir J. GilmourWould my hon. Friend agree that there is a very large job to be done in bringing houses up to the proper standards for modern requirements? Is he satisfied that the date he set for the extra improvement grants gives sufficient time for this work to be undertaken?
§ Mr. YoungerI agree that there is a lot of work to be done on this in the coming years. I am sure my hon. Friend will be as encouraged as I am to know that the total number of houses owned by 1232 local authorities which were improved in the year 1971 was 24,859. This compares with 10,790 in 1960, 9,700 in 1968 and 3,500 in 1967. The object of the terminal date on the scheme is to encourage authorities to get ahead as quickly as possible with the work.
§ Mr. SillarsIn any modernisation programme will the Under-Secretary give consideration in the very near future to making coal-fired central heating an integral part of the programme, to safeguard jobs in mining areas?
§ Mr. YoungerThat is a matter for consideration by the local authorities concerned.