§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the names of the priority estates which the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has identified; how many houses and flats each estate contains; and in which year the estate was constructed;
(2) what are the occupancy rates in each of the priority estates identified by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive; what is the dwelling type mix of each priority estate; what is the family type mix; in what percentage of households the head of household is unemployed in each estate; what percentage of households are in receipt of housing benefit in each estate; what is the percentage of dwellings which have been purchased by sitting tenants in priority estates; and how all these factors compare with those for non-priority estates;
(3) what schemes the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has planned for each priority estate identified by the executive; and how much money has been earmarked for each estate.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[pursuant to his reply, 27 June 1984, c. 447]: These are matters for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and I understand from the chairman that the information is not readily available in the form requested but that the available information is as follows 745W
District council area Priority estates No. of houses No. of flats Date of construction Occupancy rate No. of house sales (per cent. in brackets)* Housing benefit (numbers of households) and Schemes planned per cent. per cent. Belfast Suffolk 415 119 1952, 1961 94 5(1) 61 Environmental work. Belfast Divis 223 572 1968 67 0(-) 79 Physical improvement. Package and selective demolition. Belfast Moyard 302 28 1963–66 67 1(-) 78 Selective demolition. Completion of physical improvement package. Belfast Mount Vernon 325 138 1960s 99 8(2) 46 Physical improvement package. Sale of high rise block. Belfast Unity 25 300 1960s 97 2(1) 71 Physical improvement package. Sale of high rise block. Belfast Carlisle 700 384 1961–62 99 55(5) 70 Rehabilitation scheme. Belfast Lower Shankill 664 160 1960s 91 13(2) 70 Environmental work. Belfast Highfield 775 40 1953 100 8(1) 83 Environmental work and physical improvement package. Belfast Glencairn 1,076 141 1968–75 83 75(6) 82 Sale of 4 maisonette blocks. Rehabilitation scheme. Belfast Wheatfield 121 138 1968–69 99 3(1) 85 Physical improvement package. Belfast Ardoyne 1,000 10 1960s 85 22(2) 90 Environmental improvement and rehabilitation scheme. Belfast Tyndale 290 — 1952 99 12(4) 48 Physical improvement package Belfast Annadale 85 339 1952 98 25(6) 54 Physical improvement package. Derry Creggan 1,598 375 1948–70 83 53(3) 76 Physical improvement package. Derry Rossville flats — 178 1965 79 0(-) 62 Physical imnprovement package. Derry Shantallow 541 110 1964–70 92 25(4) 71 Environmental work. Dungannon Ballygawley 234 8 1963–64 86 17(7) 70 Homesteading scheme, general improvement work. Ballymena Doury road 414 112 1966–68 75 35(7) 65 Selective demolition. Environmental repairs. Ballymena Ballykeel II 641 62 1970–73 86 24(3) 62 Environmental work. Craigavon Craigavon 3,028 — 1971–78 55 301(10) 52 Physical improvement package. Homesteading sales initiative. Craigavon Churchill park 354 — 1963 65 1(-) 65 Rehabilitation scheme. Newry and Mourne Derrybeg estate 210 139 1962 75 0(-) 67 Physical improvement package. NTHE overall — — — 98 (12) 63 * (-) indicates a percentage of less than 0.5 per cent.
§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultation arrangements the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has made with local tenant's associations in each priority estate to involve them in these schemes; and what management structures have been devised for workers in priority estates.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[pursuant to his reply, 27 June 1984, c. 447] This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I understand from the chairman that consultation arrangements depend on the extent to which the tenant group undertakes to inform individual tenants of proposals and acts as a source of feedback on their views. The executive's staff working on priority estates operate within normal management structures.
§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisations the Northern Ireland Housing Executive is funding to work in priority estates; and how much money has been allocated to each group.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[pursuant to his reply, 27 June 1984, c. 446]: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I understand from the chairman that the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust has been funded by the executive to work in priority estates. This funding amounted to £17,000 in 1983–84 and is estimated at £21,000 for the current financial year.
746WIn addition, the executive provides materials and partially funds the labour costs of a number of tenants' groups undertaking work on its behalf in priority estates. In 1983–84 a total of £183,128 was spent on such projects.
§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Northern Ireland Housing Executive employs a special staff in priority estates; and how many are employed in each estate.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[pursuant to his reply, 27 June 1984, c. 447]: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I understand from the chairman that existing staff are used to manage priority estates, usually from a sub-office set up in the area. The number of staff involved varies from time to time and is adjusted to suit the requirements of the work on the estate.
§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what surveys have been undertaken by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to establish priority estates; what factors were taken into consideration in defining a priority estate; and what conditions must be fulfilled before they are declared.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[pursuant to his reply, 27 June 1984, c. 447]: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I understand from the chairman that a survey is not a prerequisite for the decision to designate 747W a priority estate, which is based on a range of factors including the difficulty of letting dwellings and the physical and environmental problems. These factors usually reflect serious social problems but the primary reason for the designation is to improve housing and environmental conditions and the overall image of an area.