§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his plans for compelling local authorities to sell council houses.
§ Mr. RifkindThis Government have consistently expressed the conviction that the sale of local authority houses to the many tenants who wish to buy them should play an important part in our policy of encouraging the growth of home ownership, which is exceptionally low in Scotland. As soon as possible, my right hon. Friend will introduce legislation to give tenants of publicly owned houses the right to buy the houses in which they live.
15WAs an interim step until that legislation can be brought into effect, my Department has today issued a circular letter to local authorities removing the restrictions on the sale of houses imposed by the previous Government, and giving authorities freedom to sell at substantial discounts. In that circular letter, my right hon. Friend has urged authorities to sell to sitting tenants and to consider the scope for selling vacant houses in difficult to-let areas. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the circular letter.