§ Mr. MaxtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the most accurate recent estimate for(a) the number of Scottish houses affected by damp and (b) the number of people living in conditions of (i) damp, (ii) severe dampness and (c) the number of children in each category.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonOn the basis of returns made annually by local authorities to the Scottish Development Department it is estimated that at 31 March 1989 there were 48,597 Scottish local authority houses affected by rising and penetrating dampness and 82,827 affected by rising and penetrating dampness and condensation. Information is not available on the number of houses affected by dampness in other tenures, and the number of people or children living in houses affected by dampness.