§ Mr. Nicholas Winterton asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has concerning the ratio of housing stock to inhabitants in each of the member countries of the European Economic Community.
§ Sir George YoungI will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible with the information available.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the crude surplus by which the number of dwellings in England and Wales exceeded the number of households in the latest year for which figures are available; and how this figure compares with the adjusted figure, taking into account second homes, unfit dwellings, unoccupied dwellings undergoing repair and concealed households.
§ Sir George Young1981 is the most recent year for which information is available about each of the items referred to in the question. The "crude surplus" of dwellings over households in England and Wales was:
Number Dwellings 19,086,000 Households 18,293,000 "Crude surplus" 793,000 There is no unique conventional set of adjustments to be made to the crude surplus. The 1981 figures for the item referred to in the question are:
Number Second residences, including holiday accommodation 221,000 Dwellings that were vacant and undergoing improvement 181,000 Unfit dwellings 1,207,000 Concealed families 343,000 Some of the concealed families are likely to have lived that way from choice. There is probably some overlap between vacant dwellings undergoing improvement and unfit dwellings. Many of the unfit dwellings could prabably be made fit by remedial work.