§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of council houses to be built by local authorities in 1984–85; how many council houses were built in 1983–84; how many homeless cases were accepted by local authorities in 1983–84; how many private houses were completed in 1983–84; and what is his estimate of private homes completions for 1984–85.
§ Mr. Wyn Roberts[pursuant to his reply, 12 April]: The latest available data relate to the year ended December 1983 and provisional information for that period is as follows:
Number Housing completions Local authority 1,500 New towns 200 Private sector 5,000 Homelessness Number of homeless cases accepted 5,000 No reliable estimates are available for 1984–85.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing for each district council area in Wales (a) the number of housing starts and (b) the number of housing completions, in the public, housing association, and private sectors, respectively, for the last five years.
§ Mr. Wyn Roberts[pursuant to his reply, 12 April]: Information for the years 1979 to 1982 is published in respective issues of Welsh Housing Statistics, copies of which are available in the Library; and I have placed in the Library the provisional information for 1983.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table indicating over the past two years, for each district council area in Wales, the number of applications (a) made, (b) approved and (c) paid out, in relation to house renovations and repairs, together with the corresponding financial implication of each set of figures.
§ Mr. Wyn Roberts[pursuant to his reply, 12 April]: I have placed this information in the Library.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table indicating, under the provisions for council tenants to buy their homes in the Housing Act 438W 1980, for each district council in Wales (a) the total number of claims received, (b) the total number of acceptances and (c) the total number of sales completed, between 3 October 1980 and the most recent available date.
§ Mr. Wyn Roberts[pursuant to his reply, 12 April]: Details for the period 3 October 1980–31 December 1983, the latest date for which information is available, have been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table indicating for 1 April 1984, or for the most recently available date, and for 1 April on each of the preceding five years, the total number of dwellings available in Wales for renting from local authorities and new town corporations, including houses that are currently tenanted and those without tenants, but available for letting.
§ Mr. Wyn Roberts[pursuant to his answer, 12 April]: The information required is estimated as follows:
Total dwellings available for letting At April each year Number 1979 294,200 1980 284,600 1981 285,800 1982 286,200 1983 265,400 No information is yet available for the position at 1 April 1984.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the reasons for the variations in the figures given for the average housing capital expenditure per 1,000 population, analysed by district councils throughout Wales for the period 1977 to 1982, in Welsh Housing Statistics No. 3, page 41, compared to the figures published in Welsh Housing Statistics No. 2, page 39; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Wyn Roberts[pursuant to his answer, 12 April]: The average housing capital expenditure per 1,000 population was calculated on a different basis in the 2 publications. In the earlier table the figures were obtained by taking the mean of the 5 expenditure figures from 1977–1978 to 1981–1982 and dividing by the most recent population estimate for the latest year (the provisional 1981 mid year estimate based on the 1981 Census). In the later table the average expenditure per 1,000 population refers to 1981–1982 only and was calculated by dividing the expenditure for that financial year by the population estimate for 1981 (the same population estimate as that used in the earlier table). Unfortunately, the later table failed to make this difference clear. There are also small differences due to revisions of the expenditure figures for 1981–82. In the earlier publication these were estimates based on fourth quarter Capital Payments Returns, submitted by authorities shortly after the end of the financial year and were described in the table as being provisional. The 1981–82 figures in the later table on the other hand were based on Capital Outturn forms, which contain the final figures for the year.