§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of approved housing co-operatives currently in existence; what is the total number of units of accommodation controlled by them; and what were the corresponding figures for 1960 and 1970.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThere are 1,127 cooperative—commonly known as co-ownership—housing societies, providing approximately 35,000 units of accommodation, approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of Section 341 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970. The corresponding figure for 1960 was nil, and on 1st January 1970 there were 603 societies providing approximately 12,000 units.
There are 18 other co-operative housing associations, providing approximately 1,350 units, which are registered with the 684W Housing Corporation or manage accommodation owned by registered housing associations. All have been established since 1970.
The Secretary of State has not yet received any applications for the approval of local authority co-operatives under the provisions of paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Rents and Subsidies Act 1975, but several schemes are known to be in preparation.