§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his target is for reducing the number of empty homes over the next five years. [116907]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe recognise that it is necessary for a proportion of the housing stock to be empty at any point in time to enable the process of buying, selling and letting to work efficiently. It is also inevitable that properties will be empty when under repair. We estimate the effective minimum level of empty properties is between 2 per cent. and 3 per cent. 3.7 per cent. of the housing stock was vacant on 1 April 1999.
We are pursuing policies designed to reduce the number of empty homes towards the minimum level.