§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make estimates of the number of empty dwellings owned by each local authority in London, and of the percentage those figures represent of the total stock of dwellings owned by the respective authority.
§ The PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE, DEPARTMENT of the ENVIRONMENT (Baroness Birk)The fullest available statistics, from a survey carried out for the London Borough Association in April 1973, showed that at any one time the number of empty habitable dwellings owned by most local authorities in London (excluding the GLC) was well under 300 and, overall, represented an average vacancy rate of about 1 per cent. My honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Construction is, however, looking into recent allegations about certain numbers of dwellings standing empty in particular boroughs while awaiting improvement and repairs.