HC Deb 31 July 1974 vol 878 cc434-7W
Mr. Wigley

asked the Secretary of State for Wales following the extensive consultations undertaken by his Department with local housing authorities in Wales in recent months, will he state what is his latest estimate of the crude housing shortage in Wales.

Mr. Kinnock

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of the total number of applicants on council house waiting lists in Wales; and, where precise figures are available, if he will specify the numbers in each authority.

Mr. Rowlands

Information I have obtained as a result of my visits to 30 of the 37 housing authorities in Wales suggests that there may be up to 50,000 applicants on council house waiting lists in Wales. This figure is a broad overall estimate and it is not possible to give a meaningful breakdown by individual authorities. The figures cannot in any case be regarded as entirely reliable indicators of true housing needs in Wales.

COMPLETIONS BY COUNTY FROM 1964–73
(a) Local Authority
1964 1965 1966 1967 1968
Anglesey CC 328 262 171 169 189
Breconshire CC 198 77 128 167 223
Caernarvonshire CC 133 143 265 248 270
Cardiganshire CC 91 89 105 212 139
Carmarthenshire CC 687 412 366 463 467
Denbighshire CC 342 549 517 451 548
Flintshire CC 304 355 283 586 512
Glamorgan CC 4,393 4,645 4,370 4,369 3,292
Merionethshire CC 92 69 61 126 98
Monmouthshire CC 2,057 2,322 2,378 2,843 2,081
Montgomeryshire CC 54 166 149 178 175
Pembrokeshire CC 322 338 308 604 581
Radnorshire CC 32 32 64 60 28
1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
Anglesey CC 174 306 279 78 47
Breconshire CC 246 123 119 46 110
Caernarvonshire CC 422 130 274 83 166
Cardiganshire CC 98 162 116 150 63
Carmarthenshire CC 400 382 286 132 66
Denbighshire CC 736 1,081 513 351 208
Flintshire CC 308 216 254 111 189
Glamorgan CC 3,877 2,670 2,154 1,582 1,208
Merionethshire CC 82 51 87 82 59
Monmouthshire CC 946 1,155 1,414 846 772
Montgomeryshire CC 221 196 98 134 55
Pembrokeshire CC 316 108 87 138 27
Radnorshire CC 70 106 60 36 69
(b) Private Sector
1964 1965 1966 1967 1968
Anglesey CC 301 304 375 370 404
Breconshire CC 136 115 119 172 147
Caernarvonshire CC 393 344 379 337 432
Cardiganshire CC 196 168 171 146 209
Carmarthenshire CC 260 241 604 311 302
Denbighshire CC 858 814 935 902 1,050
Flintshire CC 1,447 1,414 1,271 1,346 1,492
Glamorgan CC 4,309 4,089 3,827 3,824 3,943
Merionethshire CC 200 117 112 115 119
Monmouthshire CC 1,190 1,343 1,197 1,167 1,223
Montgomeryshire CC 108 121 124 119 143
Pembrokeshire CC 311 368 436 345 397
Radnorshire CC 53 63 67 68 88

Mr. Wigley

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the number of dwellings completed in the public and private sectors, respectively, in each of the 13 old counties of Wales in each of the past 10 years; and if he will give the corresponding number of completions per 1,000 population in each instance.

Mr. Rowlands

The numbers of local authority and private sector houses completed in the former counties in Wales in each of the last 10 years are given in the tables below:

1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
Anglesey CC 320 301 335 495 477
Breconshire CC 102 89 97 115 132
Caernarvonshire CC 406 477 536 734 804
Cardiganshire CC 206 175 117 142 172
Carmarthenshire CC 315 290 346 387 361
Denbighshire CC 1,006 779 934 1,124 1,122
Flintshire CC 1,419 1,460 1,649 1,637 2,270
Glamorgan CC 3,442 3,323 3,227 3,982 3,728
Merionethshire CC 129 107 115 160 194
Monmouthshire CC 1,301 1,047 1,174 961 850
Montgomeryshire CC 139 215 212 284 197
Pembrokeshire CC 437 315 341 508 506
Radnorshire CC 84 70 91 106 144

To provide the other information would require disproportionate use of time and resources.