§ Mr. SoleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's residential properties are empty within the city of Plymouth; for how long they have been empty; and whether he will transfer them to the local authority or housing association for local use.
479W
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAs at 31 December 1990, the latest date for which figures are available, 406 married quarters and 11 Ministry of Defence civilian properties in the Plymouth area were vacant. Of the married quarters 29 had been vacant for over a year and 377 for under a year; of the civilian properties seven had been vacant for over six months and four for less than six months. In addition, 275 dwellings were in the process of being sold. Not all empty properties are surplus to requirements, many are either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation, some are already allotted to service families who are due to move in shortly and others are being considered for disposal. Surplus dwellings are normally offered for sale to service personnel through the services' discount scheme or sold by competitive tender. It is therefore not possible to transfer empty dwellings to local authorities or housing associations.