§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vacant dwellings are owned by his Department in England and Wales; and how many have been empty(a) more than six months and (b) more than 12 months.
§ Mr. HanleyRecords are not maintained precisely in the form requested. However, the following information is available as at 31 March 1994:
Number Married quarters Total vacant 8,839 Vacant under 12 months 7,643 Vacant over 12 months 1,196 Civilian houses Total vacant 43 Vacant under six months 18 Vacant over six months 25 In addition, 1,407 vacant married quarters and 20 vacant civilian houses were in the process of being sold. Information on the length of time these properties have been vacant could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of vacant dwellings owned by his Department by constituency.
§ Mr. HanleyThe information is not held in the form requested and to provide it for the area requested could be done only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the amount of capital receipts his Department has received from vacant dwellings in each of the past five financial years.
§ Mr. HanleyCapital receipts from the sale of surplus dwellings in each of the past five financial years was as follows:
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year £ 1989–90 48,000,000 1990–91 46,000,000 1991–92 54,000,000 1992–93 42,000,000 1993–94 29,300,000 Not all these properties were vacant as some were sold to tenants. Figures for vacant dwellings alone could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vacant dwellings owned by his Department in each parliamentary constituency in Devon and Cornwall have been vacant for(a) more than six months and (b) more than 12 months.
§ Mr. HanleyRecords are not maintained precisely in the form requested. However, the following information is available as at 31 March 1994.
Married quarters Vacant under 1 year Vacant over 1 year North Devon 27 — Exeter 7 — Honiton 12 2 Plymouth Devonport 180 2 Plymouth Drake 52 — Plymouth Sutton 54 — Torridge and West Devon 11 — Falmouth and Camborne — — North Cornwall 89 84 St. Ives 72 11 South East Cornwall 6 —
Civilian houses Vacant under six months Vacant over six months Plymouth Devonport — 6
Former married quarters in the process of being sold Vacant under one year Vacant over one year Honiton 1 2 Plymouth Devonport — 17
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the cost of providing security for empty MOD dwellings in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. HanleyThe cost of providing security for surplus MOD dwellings in the process of being sold, which is carried out under contract, was approximately £231,000 for financial year 1993–94. Such figures are not held centrally, however, and because of changes in numbers of surplus dwellings from year to year, figures for earlier years could be provided, if available, only at disproportionate cost. Security for empty dwellings which are not surplus to requirements is provided by the Ministry of Defence police and military patrols and costs are therefore not separately identifiable.
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§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many unoccupied dwellings are held by his Department in Scotland; and what plans he has to find occupants for, or dispose of the properties.
§ Mr. HanleyAs at 31 March 1994 my Department owned 798 vacant dwellings in Scotland, of which 736 were married quarters and 62 were civilian houses. The majority of the vacant married quarters were either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work, allocated to service families due to move in shortly, or held for unit deployments. The vacant civilian houses are leased from the local authority and we are negotiating their early return. In addition, a further 18 vacant civilian houses arid 60 married quarters were in the process of being sold. Any properties which become surplus to our long-term requirements will be sold in line with our normal policy.