§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the numbers and percentage of empty dwellings in the(a) private sector, (b) public sector, (c) those owned and controlled by Her Majesty's Government and (d) housing associations in each region of England.
§ Sir George YoungThe numbers of dwellings that local authorities and housing associations reported as vacant on 1 April 1993 are:
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Housing Associations1 Management vacants2 Other vacants Total vacants Total as a percentage of all Housing Association dwellings West Midlands 988 1,046 2,034 3.2 North West 1,886 1,775 3,661 3.1 England 16,725 9,958 26,683 3.8 1 Includes some 10,500 dwellings within management vacants that were purchased as a result of the measures to boost the housing market announced in the 1992 autumn statement. 2 Available for letting immediately or after minor repairs. Source: Annual HAR 10 returns.
In addition to providing information on those of their own dwellings that are vacant, local authorities in England are also asked to provide estimates of the number of private sector and other public sector vacant dwellings in their area on their annual housing investment programme—HIP1—returns. Regional totals based on these data including estimates for missing data are set out.
Private sector (other than housing associations) Public sector (other than local authorities) Number vacant Percentage of dwellings Number vacant Percentage of dwellings North 33,000 4.6 1,200 20.9 Yorkshire and Humberside 68,000 4.5 600 4.7 East Midlands 69,000 5.3 1,500 15.1 Eastern 91,000 4.7 1,400 4.0 London 134,000 6.4 1,200 4.8 South East 111,000 4.6 3,300 7.9 South West 84,000 5.0 2,400 12.2 West Midlands 69,000 4.4 400 3.3 North West 105,100 4.9 400 2.0 England 765,000 5.0 12,400 6.8 Source: Annual HIP1 returns.