§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the number of defective houses which each local authority may be required to purchase; and if he will estimate the cost of this commitment for each local authority in England.
§ Sir George Young[pursuant to his reply, 13 May 1985, c. 26]: In 1983 local authorities estimated that there were 16,500 prefabricated reinforced concrete (PRC) dwellings in private ownership in the United Kingdom of the types designated now by my right hon. Friend. My Department has estimated that the total cost of assistance to owners under the Act over a number of years will be in the region of £170 million to £250 million at current prices. The proportion of owners assisted through repurchase, rather than by reinstatement grant, cannot be forecast reliably at this stage, and the costs to each authority of repurchase therefore cannot yet be estimated.
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance he is providing to enable local authorities to acquire houses which are regarded as seriously defective.
§ Sir George Young[pursuant to his reply, 13 May 1985, c. 26]: Local housing authorities which repurchase defective dwellings designated by my right hon. Friend under section 1 of the Housing Defects Act 1984 will generally be assisted by way of an Exchequer contribution of 75 per cent. of the difference between the cost to them 75W of the acquisition and the defective value of the property. Where the dwelling was sold by another public authority, the contribution will be 100 per cent. of the difference.