HC Deb 02 February 1983 vol 36 cc286-7
5. Mr. Norman Hogg

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many public sector houses have been built in Scotland since 1979; and how many have been withdrawn from the public housing stock.

The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Allan Stewart)

The number of houses reported as being completed in Scotland between 1 January 1980 and 30 September 1982 for the public sector is 17,300. A further 3,500 houses were financed by the public sector through housing associations. Nearly 28,500 houses were sold—about 27,000 under the right-to-buy—and 5,500 were demolished during the same period.

Mr. Hogg

Do not these figures show the reality of so-called Tory choice? What hope can the Minister hold out to the many people who wish to be housed by local authorities? Given the massive housing loss represented by the figures, what steps is the Minister taking to initiate a massive house-building programme in Scotland?

Mr. Stewart

Those figures do not represent a loss to the housing stock. The sale of council houses has no effect on the total housing stock or on the prospects of those seeking houses and transfers. During that period there were about 53,000 new house completions in Scotland. As an owner-occupier in Cumbernauld, the hon. Gentleman may be interested to know that, as a result of the sales policy, more than 1,300 tenants in Cumbernauld became owner-occupiers during that period.

Mr. Ancram

How many empty houses are there in the public sector in Scotland, and how many of them could be rehabilitated for use? Does my hon. Friend agree that in the present economic climate rehabilitation would be a better and cheaper way of dealing with housing waiting lists than a much lengthier and more costly new house-building programme?

Mr. Stewart

My hon. Friend is right. The Government are concentrating resources on rehabilitation. There are about 29,000 vacant public sector houses in Scotland, according to the last census figures.

Mr. Dewar

How can the Under-Secretary of State have the brass neck to say that the diminution in the size of the public sector housing stock, which is amply illustrated by the figures, has no effect on the prospects of those on waiting lists? Does the hon. Gentleman not know that every week constituents who are trapped in houses that are unsuitable to their needs and in areas that they do not like make representations to all hon. Members, because their choice has been destroyed by the Government's housing policies? Is it not true that by 1985–86 there will have been a cut, in real terms, of over 20 per cent., and that that is illustrated by the figures in the White Paper published yesterday?

Mr. Stewart

The sale of council houses to sitting tenants has no effect on the prospects of those currently seeking houses or transfers, for the simple reason that, if tenants do not buy their houses, they are likely to carry on renting. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will recognise that last year improvement and repair grants in Glasgow amounted to about £6.5 million and that Glasgow district council estimates its expenditure next year to be between £40 million and £50 million. Even the hon. Gentleman cannot define that as a cut.