§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the objectives and priorities of the urban housing renewal unit.
§ Sir George YoungMinisters have set up the urban housing renewal unit to help local authorities tackle the problems of their rundown estates in a variety of imaginative ways, such as redevelopment projects involving the private sector, community refurbishment schemes and local estate-based management initiatives along the lines of the priority estates project. The unit is concentrating its effort on the 69 authorities with the worst problems, by offering detailed advice and assistance on individual estates, but it will respond to a request for help from any English local authority. Authorities have welcomed this initiative and are responding most constructively.
§ Mr. Cohenasked he Secretary of State for the Environment what responses he has received (a) to the proposals relating to the criteria for qualification as unfit housing and (b) to the proposals as a whole, contained in the Green Paper on improvement policy, Cmnd. 9513.
§ Sir George YoungIn response to its wide consultation on the Green Paper, my Department has, to date, received 423 responses to the proposals as a whole. Of those. some 40 per cent. specifically mentioned the proposed fitness criteria.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to expand the urban housing renewal unit and the funds available to it.
§ Sir George YoungThe urban housing renewal unit is offering local authorities detailed advice and assistance on tackling the problems of their rundown estates. It can help authorities to maximise private sector funding opportunities and can influence the direction of public sector resources, where necessary. We are keeping both the size of the unit and the resources at its disposal under close review, as requests from local authorities for assistance increase.