§ Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish details, respectively, of the estimated cost of the Army-wide married quarters central heating conversion from solid fuel to gas firing, of the number of married quarters which are affected throughout the United Kingdom and of the likely saving to the inhabitants.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownThe present programme to improve Army married quarters standards by installing central heating was started in 1970 and covers 35W some 22,000 older properties. It will be completed next year at a cost of approximately £13 million, which includes ancillary work to improve insulation standards. The type of installation varies and is determined by such factors as economy, house design and local conditions; in all, about 75 per cent. are gas installations. It is not possible to give any average of fuel costs to occupants. These depend upon the type of quarters occupied and the standards of heating they adopt.