HL Deb 24 February 1987 vol 485 cc90-1

2.46 p.m.

Lord Sandys

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made by the Department of the Environment's Urban Housing Renewal Unit, now known as Estate Action, in tackling the problems of run-down council estates.

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, since the unit was set up in June 1985, 124 schemes in 63 local authorities have been approved, involving additional targeted resources of £50 million in 1986–87. Under Estate Action's homelessness initiative some £4 million within this total has been approved specifically to enable local authorities to bring nearly 1,000 empty council properties back into use to benefit the homeless. In the next financial year Estate Action will have resources of £75 million to support considerably more new and continuing schemes.

Lord Sandys

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that very encouraging reply. Can he tell the House whether housing action areas, with which your Lordships will be familiar, will be the same sort of areas as those involved in the present new scheme of Estate Action?

Lord Skelmersdale

Not exactly, my Lords. Estate Action is concerned with finding solutions to problems on difficult-to-manage council housing estates, whereas in housing action areas the prime concern is with modernising run-down private sector housing, typically the pre-1919 stock.

Lord Dean of Beswick

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for the list he read out and for his indication of the growth in this programme. But are the criteria wide enough to encompass council estates built in the last 25 years by industrial systems which are in need of urgent repair and which are deteriorating quickly? They represent one of our worst housing problems, and so far little or no additional funding has been received by local authorities to deal with the problem. If they are not being considered by Estate Action, will the Minister take back to the Secretary of State a request that they should be as a matter of urgency?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, the objective of the scheme is to improve the quality of life on council estates. As I said, Estate Action is supporting a wide range of initiatives by making the estates pleasanter, safer and more attractive places in which to live. Thus a substantial proportion of its resources have been used in support of, for example, measures to combat crime and vandalism; to improve security; to create defensible space; for heating and insulation packages to produce housing which tenants can afford to keep warm; for environmental improvements; and for the remodelling of unattractive open-plan estate lay-outs, sometimes through community refurbishment schemes carried out by local unemployed people funded by the Manpower Services Commission's Community Programme and the Department of the Environment's Urban Programme.

Lord Sandys

My Lords, can my noble friend tell the House whether Estate Action applies to England and Wales only or to all parts of the United Kingdom?

Lord Skelmersdale

England and Wales only, my Lords.

Baroness Fisher of Rednal

My Lords, can the noble Lord give the House details of any extra finance that has been given to local authorities which have properties in Estate Action areas? Is it over and above what would be given by rate support grant? In other words, is this a special grant that is given to a local authority?

Lord Skelmersdale

It is extra money, my Lords.