§ Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if his Department has any plans to carry out a housing condition survey in Scotland; if he will estimate the cost of such a survey; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas HamiltonLocal authorities have ample powers to carry out surveys of their areas to establish housing conditions. We are keeping the possibility of a national house condition survey under review but we are not, as yet, convinced of its merits. In particular, it is unlikely that such a survey would yield results at below district level unless the sample size was large, and consequently expensive. Our best assessment is that a national survey would cost over £5 million.