§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money the Government have advanced to the local authorities in the county of Bedford for the purchase of houses in recent years; and what is the current estimate of funds available.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThe total amounts advanced by local authorities in the county of Bedford to private persons for house purchase in recent years have been as follows:
£ 1970–71 961,000 1971–72 1,677,000 1973–74 1,970,000 1973–74 1,788,000 1974–75 5,811,000 For the period August—April 1975 these local authorities reported advances of £3,757,000.
They will have had little further money to advance themselves for this purpose in the current financial year, but they are taking advantage of their share of the £100 million made available by the building societies to help offset the restriction on their own lending.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of council houses and flats in the county of Bedford; and what percentage of the total stock of houses and flats in the county this represents.
§ Mr. ArmstrongOn information immediately to hand, there are 36,700 council dwellings in the county of Bedford. These represent approximately 23 per cent. of total housing stock. Separate figures for houses and flats are not readily available.