HC Deb 14 July 1993 vol 228 cc539-40W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses have been declared unfit as a result of water disconnection in Nottingham during the last 12 months and in each of the previous five years.

Mr. Yeo

[holding answer 8 July 1993]: Data on the reasons for houses being declared unfit have been collected since 1990, in which time no houses have been declared unfit in Nottingham on grounds of inadequate water supply.

Interpretation of fitness standards is a matter for local authorities, and ultimately for the courts, but in my view disconnection of a water supply for non-payment of charges does not mean that the property is statutorily unfit.