HC Deb 24 October 1973 vol 861 cc1237-8
9. Mr. Bruce-Gardyne

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the number of council houses standing vacant and unlet; and if he will identify the localities where this problem is currently most acute.

Mr. Younger

At the end of February this year, some 5,500 out of a total of more than 800,000 houses owned by local authorities had remained unlet for more than eight weeks. The authorities which reported the most serious problems in this respect were Edinburgh, Dundee, Paisley and West Lothian.

Mr. Bruce-Gardyne

I thank my hon. Friend for that information. He will be aware that my right hon. Friend told me last week that he did not propose to institute an independent inquiry into this matter. Will he look at this again? Is it not a scandal when the ratepayers of areas such as Dundee are expected to bear on their rates the burden of vacant houses in the proportion of almost one for every 10 citizens? Are they not entitled to know how this situation arose, the responsibility of successive local administrations with loyalty to the Labour Party, and the responsibility of the last Government in this matter?

Mr. Younger

I agree that in the areas where this problem exists it is serious. As my hon. Friend probably knows, the corporation in Dundee has a large modernisation programme, including environmental improvements, to make some of the less popular housing areas more attractive. I understand that a housing division is to be set up under a director of housing, and the aim will be to improve public relations, to speed up inspection, repair and reletting, and to improve estate management. This sort of measure is the only way to try to make what are unattractive houses to some tenants more attractive so that tenants will be prepared to live in them.

Mr. John Robertson

The hon. Gentleman is well aware that a special team from the Home Office is investigating the problem of Ferguslie Park, in Paisley, where houses built before the last war were quite unsuitable for the tenants. Will he agree that the techniques of the then Government created a ghetto in housing management, so much so that the only solution to the problem of the Ferguslie Park housing scheme is to knock it down and start again?

Mr. Younger

I should not like to pronounce upon the policies of any Government or local authority at the time those houses were built. I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's view about what the best solution would be, and he may well be right. I am concerned with finding the best way of dealing with houses that are clearly unattractive for people to live in. There are various ways of dealing with the matter. In some cases the houses can be improved, in other cases they have to be knocked down. There is no doubt about that. But local authorities with these problems will get every encouragement and help from me in trying to solve them in the best way possible for their areas.

Mr. Hugh D. Brown

Will the Minister consider setting up a high-powered committee to examine the underlying reasons why houses are empty and not accept the glib and superficial conclusions that some of his hon. Friends draw from them? There are deep-rooted social problems that make certain areas unattractive as well as the physical lack of attractions. Will he therefore consider setting up a high-powered committee rather than making political capital out of the situation?

Mr. Younger

I certainly do not rule out any solution or consideration of this matter. We are in close touch with the authorities involved. As I have indicated, there are four main authorities involved, and I should like to get the fullest results from our discussions and co-operation with them to see what the best methods are. These may not necessarily be the same in every place, but I would not rule out the possibility of an inquiry at any time it if should prove to be helpful.

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