HC Deb 24 July 1985 vol 83 cc553-4W
Mr. Arnold

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the reply of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove, Official Report, 10 June, column 315, what value he places on the archival material used in the Ordnance Survey's commercial ventures; and how this valuation is calculated.

Mr. Waldegrave

Ordnance Survey's commercial ventures draw upon the whole range of its mappings. This archive has been built up over decades and cannot be strictly valued in monetary terms.

Department's inquiry into the repair and improvement needs of local authority housing, it provides valuable information on the condition of the council's housing stock and will be relevant to the consideration, this autumn, of Manchester's housing investment programme for 1986–87.

The city council places great emphasis on spending more public money, as the solution to the problems which it has identified. I urge the council to consider alternative options, especially the potential for involving the private sector in refurbishment schemes.