§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of vacant dwellings by tenure for each local authority in England and Wales.
§ Mr. YeoLocal authorities report the number of their own dwellings which were vacant and estimates of the numbers of vacant dwellings owned by housing associations, by other public sector landlords and in the private sector in their annual housing investment programme (HIP1) returns. "Other public sector" includes dwellings owned by another local authority.
The available figures for 1 April 1990 and 1991 are in columns A71, A72, A73 and A74, respectively, of the "HIP1 All Items Print" for those years. For 1 April 1980 the figures for local authority dwellings are in column A81, for local authority-financed housing association dwellings in A82, for other housing association dwellings in A83, for other public sector in A84 and for private sector in A85 of the "1980 HIP1 All Items Print".
312WCopies of all these documents are in the Library.
For information about Wales I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority in England and Wales, in 1979–80, 1989–90 and 1990–91, the number of unfit dwellings and number of dwellings not unfit but in need of renovation, by tenure.
§ Mr. YeoLocal authorities provide estimates of the number of such dwellings at 1 April each year in their annual housing investment programme returns (HIP1). The available information for local authorities in England appears in the "HIP1 All Items Print" for the relevant year, at the column references stated. The figures are not necessarily comparable as authorities' criteria differ and they are generally best estimates based on available information rather than comprehensive surveys.
313W
1980 1990 and 1991 Local authority Unfit1 A41 A31 Lacking amenities1 A51 Needing renovation2 A61 A41 Other public sector4 Unfit1 A44 A33 Lacking amenities1 A54 Needing renovation2 A64 A43 Housing association Unfit1 A42, A433 A32 Lacking amenities2 A52, A533 Needing renovation2 A62, A633 A42 Private Unfit1 A45 A34 Lacking amenities1 A55 Needing renovation2 A65 A44 1 The statutory definition of unfitness was changed in 1990. The revised definition brings more dwellings into this category which includes all those lacking amenities. Separate figures for dwellings that were fit under the old definition but lacked basic amenities were collected for previous years. 2 The information collected for private sector dwellings that were not substandard but in need of renovation in 1991 relates only to dwellings whose owners were likely to be eligible for discretionary renovation grants. 3 For 1980 there were separate estimates for local authority funded housing association dwellings and others. 4 Other public sector includes dwellings owned by other local authorities, government departments and other public sector agencies. Copies of all the documents are in the Library.
For information about Welsh authorities I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.