§ 2. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what survey has been made of council housing left vacant because of administrative and other delays.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Ernest Armstrong)The Department's annual relets survey collects information about council housing revenue account dwellings which are vacant and available for letting at the end of each year and those undergoing modernisation, repairs or conversion.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonIs the figure for empty council houses still 56,000, and does it include short-life properties? Is the percentage on GLC estates in Essex still 2 per cent., as stated last year? Whatever the precise figures are, do they not argue that what is needed is not 1278 requisitioning powers but a proper survey and occupation of council property?
§ Mr. ArmstrongAbout half of 1 per cent. of local authority housing revenue account dwellings were vacant at our last inquiry and just under three-quarters of 1 per cent. were vacant for modernisation, repair or conversion. The figures that I gave the hon. Member in previous answers are about the percentage at present.
§ Mr. LoydenIs my hon. Friend aware, however, that in Liverpool the situation in respect of empty council dwellings has now reached scandalous proportions, and that in my constituency and other places there is a great deal of squatting going on, which will greatly increase if this sort of thing continues? People will simply not accept that they should be homeless while properties are empty.
§ Mr. HefferUnder the Liberals.
§ Mr. LoydenYes, under the Liberals.
§ Mr. ArmstrongAny dwellings that remain empty longer than necessary are of great concern and are contributing to housing stress, so we are concerned about the situation. It varies from place to place, but the picture for local authority housing is that local housing authorities are very eager to use their stock to the best advantage. If my hon. Friend has any particular examples in mind, we shall do our best to help.
§ Mr. RossiMay I go back to the original Question and press the Minister to say whether short-life properties awaiting redevelopment are included in the official figure of 56,000 empty council houses under the annual relet survey—yes or no? In view of what the hon. Member for Liverpool, Garston (Mr. Loyden) said about the scandalous number of empty properties, will the Minister oppose requisitioning powers while thousands of council properties remain empty—[Interruption]—and instead ensure that a proper survey of every empty council property, in whatever condition, is made, with reasons given by local councils why they are empty?
§ Mr. Armstrong rose—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. We are letting questions run amok again. Hon. Members—this applies to both sides—are 1279 making speeches. I hope that all hon. Members will bear that in mind.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThe collection of information is a great concern of ours, but that is not an answer to all the problems. We believe that local authorities know their own circumstances best. We are not anxious to dictate to them how they should allocate their stock.
§ Mr. Stephen RossWill the Minister accept that one answer to the problem of short-life houses is to pass them on to housing associations, which can do them up far more cheaply than local authorities and which should be encouraged to do just that in places like Liverpool?
§ Mr. ArmstrongOur experience in the country is that, under our municipalisation programme, authorities are buying property that is below standard, improving it and improving the general housing condition of their tenants.
§ Mr. WardDoes my hon. Friend not agree that although some authorities, like Liverpool, may be inefficient, in many cases these delays are caused by councils giving tenants a real choice in the properties available? Should he not therefore turn his attention to dealing with large empty houses, such as, for instance, the one at Totteridge, connected with the Pricerite chain?
§ Mr. ArmstrongThe second part of that question is due for answer later in today's Question Time. It is true that extra choice is being given, and many of the houses that are empty are empty for good reasons.