§ Mr. Craigenasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement regarding the allocation of the additional £2 million towards the expansion of shared-ownership schemes in Scotland, indicating (a) whether the difficulties facing housing associations wishing to design and build schemes in terms of section 127 of the Housing Act 1980 have now been resolved and (b) the number of houses purchased from private builders and sold to date.
§ Mr. AncramWhen my right hon. Friend recently announced his decision to increase the allocation to the Housing Corporation by £2 million, he indicated his wish that most of the additional resources, perhaps £1.5 million should be applied to an expansion of shared ownership. He hoped that the balance might be used for housing for the disabled. The Housing Corporation will now prepare a revised development programme to accommodate the additional allocation.
The provisions of section 127 of the Housing Act 1980 do present certain difficulties to housing associations operating shared ownership schemes in Scotland and these have not yet been fully resolved. Nevertheless, associations have gained experience in the operation of shared ownership in recent years and have acquired greater expertise in identifying the types and locations of houses best suited to both the requirements of shared ownership and the housing needs of the area.
373WThis is illustrated by the fact that, in the three shared ownership programmes undertaken since February 1982, 421 of the 433 houses acquired for the purpose have attracted sharing owners.