§ Mr. Maxwell-Hyslopasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the other factors, in descending order of importance, to which he attaches importance in deciding which areas are to be designated as rural areas for the purposes of the Housing Act 1980.
§ Mr. StanleyAs stated in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, South (Viscount Cranbourne) on 12 February—[Vol. 998, c. 424]—particular regard was406W had to the incidence of second homes in the areas concerned, and those factors advanced by authorities in their applications. Amongst other factors taken into account was the extent to which a given area could be regarded as a rural area, the need to achieve consistency in making designations as far as is practicable and having regard to local circumstances, and the implications for tenants of having their right to buy encumbered by one or other of the covenants set out in section 19 of the Housing Act 1980. No order of importance was assigned to these other factors.