§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the cost of providing a local authority or housing association wheelchair dwelling; how many such dwellings have been completed in each of the last five years; and what is his estimate of the number of disabled people wishing to rent such a dwelling but unable to do so.
§ Sir George YoungThe average construction cost (excluding site works, fees and land) was about £23,000 for wheelchair dwellings in tenders accepted by English local authorities during 1985.
Numbers of completions of specialised dwellings for local authorities and new towns and for housing associations in 1983–85 appear in table 1.6(b) of "Housing and Construction Statistics" No. 24 and figures for earlier years are in table 6.7(b) of "Housing and Construction Statistics 1974–1984"; copies are in the Library.
No estimate is available of the number of disabled people wishing to rent wheelchair dwellings (as distinct from other accommodation for the disabled) but unable to do so.