§ 70. Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made under the Estate Action programme in selling run-down council properties to private developers.
§ Mr. ChopeGood progress. In the four years that the Estate Action programme has been operating 123 schemes have been approved which include planned disposals by councils of some 12,500 dwellings1 to the private sector.
A research report2 recently published by the Department of the Environment confirmed that selling run-down council properties to developers for improvement and sale to individual owners was welcomed by both the new occupants and former tenants.
The report endorses the Government's work under the Estate Action programme in promoting such schemes to help local authorities improve the quality of life on run-down estates.
Notes
1 Excludes dwellings sold under the Right to Buy scheme2 The Sale of Local Authority Housing to the Private Sector' HMSO £12.50.
§ 90. Mr. HindTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to visit an Estate Action scheme.
§ Mr. ChopeMy right hon. Friend has not yet done so, but hopes to do so in the future. For my part I visited three Estate Action schemes in Salford last month and look forward to further visits to other schemes.