§ Mr. Terry Walkerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to improve the data used to assess local authorities' expenditure needs.
§ Mr. ShoreI have decided that the quickest and most satisfactory method of doing this is by extending the current national dwelling and housing survey. A third phase of the survey will include about 300,000 households in those parts of the country not fully covered by phases 1 and 2. The Welsh Office will mount a similar operation in Wales.
The third phase will round off the detailed picture of the national housing situation provided by the earlier phases; by completing the coverage of phases 1 and 2 it will also make available a country-wide source of up-to-date data suitable for use in the rate support grant distribution.
The three phases of the survey, taken together, will provide us with data on housing and social characteristics based on a sample of about 7,000 households, in each non-metropolitan county, metropolitan district, and London borough.
The total estimated cost for phase 3 is about £2 million, which will be met within my Department's vote. The results of phase 3 should be available in time for 382W the survey data to be used in the 1981–82 rate support grant settlement The extension of the survey is a timely initiative, and I am confident that there will be a widespread welcome for it.