§ Mr. Raynsfordasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authority tenants in England and Wales availed themselves of the right to repair scheme introduced under the Housing and Building Control Act 1984 in the first six months of the current year; and what was the total cost of such repairs carried out under the scheme, and the average cost of each claim.
§ Mr. TraceyCurrent estimates, based on incomplete returns from local authorities for the first six months of 1986, show that 450 local authority tenants in England 523W submitted applications to exercise the right to repair. Thirty-five were accepted and, of these, 15 claims had been paid during the period, at a total cost of £1,550. In about 160 of the cases, the landlord elected to carry out the repair within 28 days of being served with the application. The remaining applications were rejected, mainly on the grounds that the proposals were outside the scope of the scheme.
Estimates of figures and costs for the right to repair scheme in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
§ Mr. Raynsfordasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the total cost to his Department and to local authorities in England and Wales incurred as a result of the introduction of the right to repair scheme under the Housing and Building Control Act 1984 in terms of administration, training and publicity, excluding the cost of any payments made to tenants under this scheme.
§ Mr. TraceyThe Department has spent £35,817.80 on publicity for the right-to-repair scheme and incurred costs of £3,750 on training for tenants. The Department's administrative costs for this scheme cannot be identified separately. Information on local authorities' costs, other than on meeting claims, is not collected by this Department.
Information about the costs to local authorities in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.