§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what(a) number and (b) percentage of properties in his charge are empty; and what steps are being taken by his Department to reduce the number of such properties. [116908]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 31 March 2000]: Northern Ireland public sector property centres were surveyed as regards properties and produced these returns:
- Number of vacant properties—5,995
- Vacant as percentage of total—4.4 per cent.
All property centres are required to have a strategy which incorporates justifying the retention of each property held. These strategies are monitored by the Central Advisory Unit of Valuation and Lands Agency. Any property which is identified as being surplus to business requirements must be disposed of as quickly as possible in accordance with the guidelines published by Central Advisory Unit.
In the case of the housing sector, which accounts for most of the vacant property in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has a number of ongoing initiatives which set out objectives and targets for reducing the number of voids.