§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment for what period of time a house must remain empty before a local council can seek to purchase such a house as outlined in his White Paper "Better Homes—The Next Priorities".
§ Mr. ChannonThis would depend entirely on the circumstances of the particular case.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to give grants to local councils to purchase housing in areas defined as housing action areas; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChannonThe subsidy provisions of the Housing Finance Act 1972 apply to expenditure debited to housing revenue accounts, including expenditure on the acquisition of dwellings.