§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses owned by local authorities are currently registered as being empty; if he will break them down by local authority; how many have been unoccupied for more than 12 months; what information he has as to the number in need of urgent repair; what plans he has to deal with the problem; how many people are registered as homeless; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TraceyAt national level, the information requested by my hon. Friend is as follows. Local authorities reported that, at 1 April 1986, they had 113,300 vacant dwellings; 27,100 of these had been vacant for over one year; 38,600 were being improved or repaired; and 18,800 were awaiting improvement or repair. At 31 March 1986, there were 15,400 households reported by local authorities as in temporary accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985; in the preceding year, authorities accepted responsibility for securing accommodation for 97,100 households under those provisions. Figures for individual local authorities are in the Library: numbers of vacant dwellings are in pages 1.6 to 18.6 and 1.7 to 18.7 of the "HIPI (1986) all items print" and the households in temporary accommodation at 31 March 1986 in table 9(a) of "Local Housing Statistics No. 78".
In our view, local authorities can reduce the number of their dwellings standing empty if they implement a number of good management practices, in particular faster reletting procedures and better planned repair and maintenance operations. They also have scope for letting or leasing property for short-life use; if it is let to a registered housing association, they may claim housing association grant to make it fit for short-term letting. Estate Action (UHRU) provides advice and resources for authorities on bringing rundown estates up to an acceptable standard, thereby reducing numbers of difficult-to-let and empty properties. And we are currently consulting on a proposed general consent for local authorities to let empty homes awaiting repair or demolition to housing associations on leases of up to five years.