§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in the light of the conclusions of paragraph 5.21 of his Department's report. "Local Authority Empty Dwellings", issued in January, about the need for expenditure to halt the pattern of decay, what steps he intends to take to implement this conclusion in relation to the repair and improvement of local authority dwellings.
§ Sir George YoungThe public expenditure plans announced in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement allow 267W local authorities in England to spend £2.3 billion on housing capital investment, a very considerable sum by any standard. It is for local authorities to decide how best to use the resources available to them.
However, capital expenditure on repair and improvement has often been wasted because it has not been accompanied by improvements in housing management. As a result of the empty dwellings report, my Department will shortly issue a circular to authorities setting out ways in which better management can help to reduce numbers of empty dwellings.