§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what Government assistance is available for Whitson Fairhurst houses; and what sums have been allocated to each district council this year.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonOwners of Whitson Fairhurst houses and other house types designated as 457W defective who bought them from a public sector authority before 26 April 1984 can require their local authority to repurchase or give grant to make good the house under part XIV of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. The Government issue supplementary capital allocations each year to local authorities, on the basis of authorities' returns, to meet in full their liabilities to incur capital expenditure under the Act.
The supplementary capital allocations issued to local authorities in 1992–93 on the housing revenue account—HRA—and non-HRA blocks to cover their expenditure under the Act in respect of all types of designated defective housing is set out in the following table. Allocations on the HRA block are in respect of the repurchase of defective houses and on the non-HRA block are to make available reinstatement grants for the repair of designated houses. Information is not held centrally in respect of individual types of designated defective housing such as Whitson Fairhurst.
Local Authority HRA £ million Non-HRA £ million Roxburgh 0.090 — Clackmannan 0.003 — Falkirk — 0.040 Nithsdale 0.009 — Kirkcaldy 0.005 — Aberdeen 0.154 — Kincardine and Deeside 0.533 — East Lothian 0.050 — Edinburgh 0.221 — Midlothian — 0.029 Argyll and Bute — 0.030 Bearsden and Milngavie 0.023 — Cumbernauld and Kilsyth 0.025 — Glasgow 0.296 — Dundee 0.017 — Perth and Kinross 0.503 0.017 SCOTLAND 1.929 0.116
§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what figures he has to show the life expectancy of Whitson Fairhurst houses in the City of Dundee district.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonWhen first built, the Whitson Fairhurst house type could reasonably have been expected to have a life of about 60 years. A defect subsequently discovered in the type may mean that some will last for a shorter period, but much depends on the condition of individual houses.