Council Houses

HC Deb 18 October 1982 vol 29 cc3-4

3. Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many council houses have been sold to sitting tenants in Wales since May 1979.

The Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Wyn Roberts)

In the period May 1979 to June 1982, 18,247 council dwellings had been sold to sitting tenants in Wales. In addition, 846 dwellings had been sold by Cwmbran development corporation and the Development Board for Rural Wales.

Mr. Knox

Is my hon. Friend satisfied with the general rate of progress on the sale of council houses that has been achieved by Welsh local authorities?

Mr. Roberts

Steady overall progress is being made. In April my right hon. Friend asked all local authorities to ensure that 60 per cent. of all applications received before 31 December 1981 were dealt with by 30 September 1982. Present indications are that most authorities have either achieved that target or come very near to doing so. One or two local authorities may still not be progressing as quickly as they ought.

Mr. Anderson

Does the Minister share our anger that, yet again, as measured by the Order Paper, at a time of mounting homelessness and a virtual slump in both the public and private sectors, Conservative Members seem to be concerned solely with the sale of council houses, which will not generate one extra dwelling?

Mr. Roberts

The hon. Gentleman is quite mistaken in his view of the sale of council houses. In fact, it has resulted in a bonanza for the local authorities. The trouble is that they are applying that bonanza not to housing but to reducing debt.

Sir Anthony Meyer

Is my hon. Friend aware that his optimism that the sale of council houses is proceeding apace in Wales is not always shared by those directly involved? Is he satisfied that both the civil servants in his own Department and local government employees are bending their wills to carry out the law of the land, which confers an undoubted right on many private individuals?

Mr. Roberts

I certainly understand the position of tenants who have applied to buy but who, as yet, have not achieved completion of sale. We in the Welsh Office are doing all that we can to harry those laggard authorities that are not selling as quickly as we wish them to sell.

Mr. Coleman

What is the size of the current council house waiting list in Wales?

Mr. Roberts

That is a very different question from the one that I am answering, but the hon. Gentleman should understand that the sale of a council house to its sitting tenant does not reduce the housing stock.

Mr. D. E. Thomas

If the Minister is so proud of the Government's housing record, how does he explain his disappearance from the recent Welsh housing conference at Llandrindod before answering any questions from the local authority representatives?

Mr. Roberts

When I accepted the invitation I made it quite clear to the Council for the Principality that it was an acceptance only of the invitation to speak. I had another engagement, which I had to attend.