HC Deb 15 February 1984 vol 54 cc255-6
9. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current policy of the Scottish Office arising out of confirmation of deterioration in certain Orlit houses or their variants in Scotland.

Mr. Ancram

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction on 10 November 1983 and to my replies to him of 6 and 13 February 1984.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

Is my hon. Friend aware that if the Building Research Establishment finds that there is deterioration in those houses, it is essential that compensation should be paid to those who have bought their council houses, and that the situation should be fully dealt with in the Bill that the Government are about to introduce?

Mr. Ancram

I can confirm the Government's concern about owners of defective houses. It remains the Government's intention to introduce legislation as soon as possible to provide financial assistance in the form of reinstatement grant, or, in certain circumstances, to repurchase from owners defective houses sold by the public sector.

Mr. Hugh Brown

Some of us do not carry in our heads replies and statements given last November. Will the Minister recognise the difficult circumstances facing tenants, and not just those who have bought their houses? Will he at least listen to a bit of special pleading from those authorities that have many such houses?

Mr. Ancram

It is a matter for the owning authority, obviously, to assess the condition of the houses in its stock and to formulate its own plans for dealing with the problem. Obviously, local authority expenditure on defective houses remaining in their stock will be taken into account in the normal way in determining the housing capital allocations.

Mr. McQuarrie

Although I accept what my hon. Friend has just said, I must concur with the view expressed by the hon. Member for Glasgow, Provan (Mr. Brown), that local authorities that have Orlit houses in their area are unable to provide the necessary finance to reinstate them. Will my hon. Friend ask all Scottish local authorities to submit to him the number of defective houses and the relative cost involved in putting them right, and then see what steps can be taken by the Scottish Office to provide the necessary funds for their reinstatement?

Mr. Ancram

I accept the seriousness of that question, but the defects in Orlits must be put alongside other problems in the housing stock. It is for local authorities to assess those problems and their priorities, and to make their bids for allocations accordingly. I hope that that is what they will do.

Mr. Willie W. Hamilton

Is the Minister aware that Kirkcaldy district council has already made its assessment and estimates that it will cost £55 million for one housing authority alone to bring those non-traditional houses up to decent standards? The hon. Gentleman has refused to meet representatives to discuss such matters. Will he now undertake to meet them and Members of Parliament to discuss the disgusting state of those houses? The longer they stay as they are, the sooner they will fall down around the tenants' ears.

Mr. Ancram

Before the hon. Gentleman's words can ring out causing fear to some of those who live in Orlits, I must say that the reports of the Building Research Establishment show that no structurally unsafe conditions exist in the house types studied. Of course the problem is serious, but as I have said to the hon. Gentleman before, there are other serious problems involving houses. It is up to the local authorities to decide their priorities and to make their bids accordingly.