§ Mr. Heddleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to carry out leasehold schemes for the elderly.
§ Mr. StanleyA few local authorities have already undertaken leasehold schemes for the elderly on lines similar to those undertaken by housing associations, but I am sure there is great scope for much more extensive provision of low-cost home ownership opportunities for the elderly in this form.
Leasehold schemes for the elderly enable elderly people to buy a long lease of a house or flat, at a discount of up to 30 per cent., on condition that the lease is sold back to the local authority (or housing association) on either the
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Value of contractors construction new work output in the public sector Region/Country Construction Output 1980 1981 1982* £ million Per cent. £ million Per cent. £ million Per cent. Northern 337 6 336 1 327 7 Yorkshire and Humberside 483 9 429 9 396 8 East Midlands 285 5 271 5 292 6 East Anglia 235 4 240 5 255 5 South East 1,604 29 1,472 30 1,400 29 South West 279 5 255 5 233 5 West Midlands 378 7 292 6 302 6 North West 553 10 524 11 475 10 Wales 390 7 344 7 309 6 Scotland 684 12 567 11 608 12 Northern Ireland 285 5 251 5 280 6 United Kingdom† 5,512 100 4,982 100 4,878 100 * Provisional. † Totals may not equal sum of regional values because of rounding. death of the lessee or earlier disposal of the lease. These schemes thus provide a means whereby elderly people can continue as home-owners for a relatively modest capital outlay in accommodation specifically designed for the elderly, whilst the local authority retains the ability through the surrender provisions to ensure that the homes in the scheme continue to be occupied solely by elderly people.
South Oxfordshire district council has sought a special consent to enable them to undertake such a scheme in partnership with the housebuilders, F. Rendell and Sons Ltd., and the Dolphin housing association to whom the management of the elderly persons bungalows being built under the scheme will be transferred on completion. A special consent has been granted for this scheme principally to enable the transfer to the Dolphin housing association to take place. This scheme represents an imaginative partnership between a local authority, a housebuilder and a housing association to provide low cost home ownership opportunities for the elderly, and I hope that similar schemes will be considered by other authorities.