§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each health board(a) the square footage of unused properties and (b) the square footage or acreage of unused land and the estimated value of each category as a percentage of total land and property and as a percentage of the total land and property value of each board; and if he will make a statement as to his Department's policy on the sale of unused land and property.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 3 February 1989]: The information requested is not collected routinely and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. There were some 1,497 acres of surplus National Health Service property in Scotland—about 15 per cent. of the National Health Service estate. The information by health board is 345W listed in the following table. My Department's policy is that surplus land should be sold as expeditiously as possible having regard to the state of the market and good market practice and normally on the open market for the best price or consideration obtainable. To encourage boards to identify and dispose of their unused property, I have arranged for them to retain all the income from such disposals between now and 31 March 1991 for use within their own area.
Board Total estate Acres Surplus Acres Estate Per cent. Argyll and Clyde 972 94 12 Ayrshire and Arran 506 50 10 Borders 190 26 14 Dumfries and Galloway 383 20 5 Fife 420 21 5 Forth Valley 551 144 26 Grampian 730 5 1 Greater Glasgow 2,500 624 25 Highland 707 98 14 Lothian 1,222 196 16 Orkney 12 4 33 Shetland 5 — — Tayside 970 56 6 Western Isles 40 — — TOTAL 9,741 1,497 15