§ Mr. Gordon BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the numbers on council house, new town and Scottish Special Housing Association waiting lists.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonReliable and consistent information on council house waiting list figures is not available centrally. I must therefore refer the hon. Member directly to the local authorities in which he is interested.
With regard to new towns, figures supplied by the development corporations to the Industry Department for Scotland show that waiting list numbers at 31 December were as follows:
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New town Number East Kilbride 14,272 Glenrothes 1,017 Cumbernauld 1,188 Livingston 686 Irvine 729
New town Number — Total 7,892 1Common waiting list with East Kilbride District Council. The Scottish Special Housing Association does not maintain waiting lists for its general needs houses. When such houses become vacant the local district council is normally invited to nominate tenants. There are 4,081 names on the association's direct waiting list which covers areas where local authorities have such nomination facilities. The latest available figures show 1,628 names at present on the waiting list for economic expansion housing.