§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list(a) the number of Home Office domestic properties there are throughout the United Kingdom and (b) the number unoccupied at the present moment, indicating how many have been unoccupied for six months, how many have been unoccupied for one year, how many have been unoccupied for two years and how many have been unoccupied for longer than two years.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThe best estimate of the total number of domestic properties owned by the Home Office prison service in England and Wales is at present 2,825, of which 355 are unoccupied for the following reasons:
Numbers Vacant for security reasons or redevelopment 94 Vacant for reallocation to designated staff 56 Awaiting demolition 63 On market for sale 112 Awaiting disposal 30 355 In addition the Home Office directorate of telecommunications has 20 properties, of which nine are vacant and for sale; the Fire Service college at Moreton-in-Marsh has 36 properties, all occupied; and the Emergency Planning college at Easingwold has 11 properties, all occupied.
Information on the length of time properties have been vacant is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.