§ Mr. Chichester-Clarkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings have been officially designated as slums in England and Wales; and how many dwellings he estimates can be satisfactorily improved or rehabilitated.
§ Mr. EmeryThe only estimate available of the total number of unfit houses is that of 1.8 million published in the 1968 White Paper "Old Houses Into New Homes". The White Paper estimates that there were in addition about 4.5 million houses not technically unfit but in need of significant repairs or lacking one or more basic amenities or both. I would hope that most of these could be improved, and the number being improved is now rising steadily.