§ Mr. Amessasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the present status of New Town Commission tenants; and what decisions have been reached concerning their future landlords.
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§ Mr. John PattenTenants of the Commission for the New Towns at Basildon have exactly the same status as regards security of tenure and the right to buy as they had before the wind-up of the Basildon development corporation last year. No decision has been taken about the future ownership of the new town housing at Basildon, and none will be until the tenants have been fully consulted.
§ Mr. Amessasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the disposal of the New Town Commission's assets.
§ Mr. John PattenThe purposes for which the Commission for the New Towns exists are set out in section 36 of the New Towns Act 1981 (as amended by the New Towns and Urban Development Corporations Act 1985) and include the disposal, as soon as it considers expedient to do so, of property transferred to it from former development corporations and any other property held by it. By virtue of section 37 of the 1981 Act (as amended) the commission may not, other than with the general or special authority of the Secretary of State, dispose of any property by way of gift or for a consideration less than the best reasonably obtainable.