§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many empty properties exist within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale; how many are in the ownership of the local authority; what applications have been made by the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in each of the years since the new authority was established, to modernise empty property in its ownership; and what arrangements there are for such finance to be made available to local authorities.
§ Mr. ArmstrongUp-to-date information on empty properties is not available. However, 4,350 dwellings in what is now the metropolitan borough of Calderdale were vacant on the night of the 1971 Census. It is not known how many of these were owned by local authorities.
Much of the expenditure by councils on improvements is eligible for 66 per cent. Government subsidy. Since 1st December 1975 councils have been able to claim subsidy without requiring the Department's specific approval to individual schemes, provided the costs fall within the prescribed limits. Details of applications from Calderdale for subsidy for improvements to empty properties are not readily available, and would in any case be incomplete after 1st December 1975.
§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many house completions have been made, in 331W each of the years since the new authorities were established, by each local authority in Yorkshire and Humberside; and how many houses were started in the past year to the latest convenient date for each authority.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThe information for 1975 is given in the following table. Figures for 1974 appear in Table 5 of Local Housing Statistics issue 33, copies of which are available in the Library.
DWELLINGS STARTED AND OMPLETED FOR LOCAI AUTHORITIES YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE 1975 Started Completed South Yorkshire Barnsley 354 322 Doncaster 746 917 Rotherham 573 552 Sheffield 1,810 2,078 West Yorkshire Bradford 531 474 Calderdale 80 175 Kirklees 126 415 Leeds 1,146 1,776 Wakefield 314 965 Humberside Beverley 92 165 Boothferry 16 64 Cleethorpes 12 2 Glanford 117 41 Grimsby 273 253 Holderness 20 — Kingston upon Hull 1,354 1,146 North Wolds 174 55 Scunthorpe 387 158 North Yorkshire Craven 54 24 Hambleton 65 59 Harrogate 374 180 Richmondshire 56 72 Ryedale 78 2 Scarborough 59 121 Selby 33 193 York 353 47