§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of gross domestic product was dedicated to building, public sector houses for rent, annually, for each year since 1979.
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§ Sir George Young[holding answer 26 October 1993]: The provision of new social housing is now mainly the responsibility of housing associations, although the houses they build are not public sector. Local authorities, on the other hand, are increasingly concentrating on the management of their existing stock and on their broad enabling role. To reflect this, gross capital expenditure through the Housing Corporation on new provision for rent rose from £484 million in 1981–82 to £2,231 million in 1992–93.
Reliable outturn information on housing expenditure by local authorities is available only on a financial year basis. Estimates of gross domestic product in England are not available for financial years. The cash figures are given:
Expenditure by local authorities and new towns on houses built for rent England cash value £ million 1978–79 1,674 1979–80 1,214 1980–81 1,121 1981–82 816 1982–83 710 1983–84 692 1984–85 748 1985–86 586 1986–87 466 1987–88 462 1988–89 S80 1989–90 705 1990–91 447 1991–92 252 1992–93 116