§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is aware that a number of dwellings in Greater London Council estates in Essex are vacant for considerable periods; and whether he will give advice on this matter, in view of the housing shortage and of the problem of homelessness.
§ Mr. ArmstrongI understand that about 2 per cent. of the GLC dwellings in Essex are vacant at the present time, roughly half of them in course of decoration or repairs and the remainder on offer to tenants.
Minimising the vacancy rate in local authority dwellings is a matter for the local authorities concerned. The Department has, however, included it as one aspect of housing management on which 448W it will be doing further work following a meeting held recently with the local authority associations and others.