§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy with regard to the timescale within which defective houses should be repaired under the Housing Defects Act.
§ Mr. GowThe designations made under the Housing Defects Act allow eligible owners to seek assistance before 30 November 1994. As I indicated in my reply of 7 May to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker), the National House Building Council has approved its warranty arrangements for the repair of such houses and I hope that the first approvals of repair schemes will be given this summer, and that the first repairs under the NHBC scheme will be completed by the winter.