§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his Department's estimate of the amount of cash required to correct and repair defective housing in Wales, what action his Department has taken to assess the state of disrepair in Welsh housing, what extra cash he proposes to allocate to local authorities, and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Mark RobinsonIt is impossible to estimate with any accuracy the cost of bringing each house in Wales up to a satisfactory standard of repair. The Welsh house condition survey which our Department is undertaking next year will be by far the largest house condition survey ever carried out in Wales. The survey will provide the first detailed analysis of the state of repair of the stock and will provide data valid at district council level. The results will be taken into account in determining future allocations to local authorities for housing expenditure.
§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the cost of correcting housing defects in Wales which fall within the scope of the Housing Defects Act 1984, and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Mark RobinsonThere are about 1,500 privately owned PRC dwellings in Wales which could benefit from either grant or repurchase under the Act. We estimate the cost at about £21 million.