§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many homes remain unoccupied in Scotland; what steps he is taking to remedy the situation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AncramOn the basis of a sample survey of dwellings unoccupied on census night 1981, it is estimated that (excluding newly completed houses, dwellings undergoing conversion or renovation, and second holiday homes) there were 80,000 dwellings vacant. More recent reliable estimates of the whole stock are not available.
In the public sector, the management of the stock is a matter for the authorities themselves: a certain level of vacancy is inevitable. Nevertheless I encourage authorities to make every effort to bring houses back into use through, for example, homesteading and joint venture schemes and sales to private developers, as well as improvements to property for renting.
In the private sector, the very considerable activity on improvement and repairs over recent years has made a useful contribution to bringing sub-standard empty housing back into the useful housing stock. In addition, I am funding a Shelter project—the rural housing initiative—imed specifically at developing ways of bringing vacant private sector housing back into use in the rural areas of Scotland.