Mr. Tom Ellisasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many private houses in Wales have been purchased for lettings by local authorities after the announcement of the Government grant to stimulate the building industry.
§ Mr. John MorrisI have approved applications from six authorities to purchase a total of 371 houses from the private sector. Applications from five other authorities involving 295 dwellings 297W are under consideration. As I said in my reply to the hon. Member for Cardigan (Mr. Howells) on 18th June, I hope the local authorities will rapidly convert the approvals into purchases.