§ Mr. Boatengasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will remove housing controls on local authorities to allow them to bring their council housing up to acceptable standards.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNo. There are a number of methods of financing renovation, including bringing in private sector resources.
The Government must continue to control the overall local authority borrowing requirement in order to protect the national economy.
§ Mr. Boatengasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what research his Department is carrying out on the effect on council tenants transferring their existing tenancy to a private landlord on the quality of management and maintenance of rented property in London, particularly as regards the level of vacancy and the physical condition of the property.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI shall answer this question shortly.