§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give advice to local authorities in England and Wales on the relationship between housing waiting lists and housing starts; and if he will investigate the possibility of a system of review of local authorities' compliance with such advice.
400W
§ Mr. ArmstrongThere is no simple relationship between housing waiting lists and the requirement for new building. Most housing authorities face a situation in which assessment of the need for all forms of housing provision is becoming increasingly complex, and more objective and comprehensive methods of evaluating these needs are required. The Department will shortly be offering guidance to local authorities in England, based on a report of the Housing Services Advisory Group to be published early next month. This will stress the need to take a comprehensive view of housing requirements, embracing both the public and private sectors, and to take account of employment and environmental considerations such as the decline of inner city areas. The use of housing lists as well as other data in assessing the requirement for new building will be described fully in, the report.