§ Lord Merrivaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the revised request for development aid, 1173WA submitted by the Gibraltar Government last September, took into account their acute housing problem, mainly in the form of sub-standard accommodation, including dampness and overcrowding; and whether any assistance is also being considered to alleviate the present difficulties of their severely handicapped construction industry as a whole bearing in mind that the proportion of government owned dwellings to privately owned dwellings is about 75 per cent to 25 per cent.
§ Lord BelsteadGibraltar's revised request for development aid argues the case for assistance to increase and improve the housing stock. The United Kingdom contribution of £13 million towards Gibraltar's 1982–86 development programme has recently been announced in another place and discussions soon to take place between officials from the Overseas Development Administration and the Gibraltar authorities will include the problems of housing. Meanwhile at the request of the Gibraltar Government the Overseas Development Administration has agreed to fund a consultancy to advise how home ownership can be encouraged, thereby reducing the need for public sector provision of housing.