§ Mr. Joel Barnettasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider providing that with an improvement grant for installing a bathroom a grant may be made to ensure an adequate water supply to the bathroom, in view of evidence sent to him by the hon. Member for Heywood and Royton.
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§ Mr. EyreIn the course of my right hon. and learned Friend's comprehensive review of the policy affecting older housing he is considering whether any changes are needed to the existing house improvement grants scheme. I will study carefully the evidence which has been provided by the hon. Member but I am not convinced that it would be right to extend the scope of a housing grant to cover the cost of works outside the curtilage of the particular dwelling. I will write more fully to the hon. Member as soon as I can.
§ Mr. Joel Barnettasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to amend the legislation whereby improvement grants are refused unless the expected life of the house is more than 15 years, and if he will reduce the number of years in order to ensure that there are not people living in houses without inside bathroom and toilet in 1988; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChannonLocal authorities have discretion to make grants in exceptional cases where the expected life of the house is only 10 years. The Government's aim is to ensure that within a decade no one is required to live in an unfit or substandard house. The current review of policy affecting older houses will include an appraisal of the existing grants scheme to see what changes are needed to help in achieving this objective.