§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many dwellings owned by government departments and other public agencies were vacant during the years 1997, 1998 and 1999 respectively. [HL956]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)The information is given in the table below:
1 April 1997 1 April 1998 1 April 1999 Number Number Number Government departments and other public sector 19,280 19,119 19,965 —of which MOD 13,142 13,225 13,568 Housing Action Trusts 2,550 2,710 3,383 DETR 690 692 480 Home Office 268 217 259 As the majority of government department stock is owned by the Ministry of Defence, DETR (Highways Agency) and Home Office these figures are shown separately. Figures for housing action trusts are also shown. The remainder consists mainly of vacant stock owned or controlled by NHS trusts, provincial police forces, Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly.
14WAThese figures incorporate estimates by individual departments and agencies where precise data are not available for security reasons.