HC Deb 27 March 1974 vol 871 cc134-7W
Mr. Bates

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the following figures for each region of Scotland: (1) the number of dwellings built in each of the public and private sectors in each of the last five years; and (2) the average cost of new dwellings in each of the pub-lice and private sectors at the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr. William Ross

The numbers of houses completed in each economic planning sub-region in Scotland are as follows:

Falkirk, Stirling:
Public sector 3,284 1,587 1,074 961 746
Private sector 612 643 799 1,331 1,349
Totals 3,896 2,230 1,873 2,292 2,095
Edinburgh and East Central:
Public sector 7,172 7,876 5,358 3,920 3,213
Private sector 1,639 1,651 2,744 1,974 3,116
Totals 8,811 9,527 8,102 5,894 6,329
Tayside:
Public sector 2,755 4,746 3,599 2,103 1,559
Private sector 864 899 1,296 1,318 1,344
Totals 3,619 5,645 4,895 3,421 2,903
Borders:
Public sector 665 803 418 481 329
Private sector 113 129 120 122 99
Totals 778 932 538 603 428
South-West:
Public sector 510 431 608 295 228
Private sector 240 341 362 385 358
Totals 750 772 970 680 586
North-East:
Public sector 2,677 2,317 2,066 994 1,388
Private sector 717 714 710 1,046 770
Totals 3,394 3,031 2,776 2,040 2,158
Highlands, Islands:
Public sector 1,765 1,685 1,194 1,000 672
Private sector 585 656 756 718 820
Totals 2,350 2,341 1,950 1,718 1,412
Scotland:
Public sector 34,302 34,947 29,130 20,155 17,818
Private sector 8,327 8,220 11,614 11,835 12,215
Totals 42,629 43,167 40,744 31,990 30,033

Average costs of new dwellings in the public and private sectors are not available by sub-region. For Scotland as a whole in 1973, the average cost of new dwellings in the public sector, including site costs and fees, was £6,669 and the average price of new private houses was £8,387.

Mr. Bates

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the following figures for each region of Scotland: (1) the total number of dwellings at the latest date for which figures are available, (2) the number of dwellings which do not conform to the standard of fitness for human habitation as outlined in the Housing Act 1969, and (3) the number of dwellings cleared as slums in each of the last five years.

Sub-Region for Economic Planning Stock of dwellings 1974 Houses below the tolerable standard*(December 1970) Houses cleared as below the tolerable standard or closed or demolished under planning, highway, education or other Statutory Powers
1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
1. Glasgow/West Central 847,000 104,000 12,299 12,396 15,397 11,604 10,888
2. Falkirk/Stirling 98,500 4,000 507 351 331 322 207
3. Edinburgh/East Central 373,500 31,000 2,050 2,125 2,583 2,191 1,409
4. Tayside 171,000 26,000 1,887 1,102 1,112 3,640 3,291
5. Borders 40,500 5,000 97 181 244 99 175
6. South-West 54,000 4,000 134 210 162 88 13
7. North-East 165,000 35,000 588 774 528 373 336
8. Highlands and Islands 107,000 19,000 285 206 197 201 160
Scotland 1,856,500 228,000† 17,847 17,345 20,554 18,518 16,479
* "Tolerable standard" as defined in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1969.
† Figures relate to December 1970, as published in the Report by a Sub-Committee of the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee entitled "Planning for Housing Needs; pointers towards a comprehensive approach", published by HMSO in 1972. The total number of such houses in Scotland as a whole is currently estimated to be about 180,000.

Mr. John Robertson

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses have been classified as sub-standard in Paisley.

Mr. William Ross

About 4,000 houses in Paisley do not meet the tolerable standard as defined in Section 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1969.