§ Mr. HargreavesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, what progress local authorities are making in reducing the numbers of vacant dwellings they own; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir George YoungThe Government have been encouraging local authorities to keep the number of empty council dwellings to a minimum so that the most effective use is made of the council housing stock. I am pleased to say that the local authorities have responded well to this encouragement and have been making good progress in recent years in reducing the number of their vacant dwellings.
As at 1 April 1993 "management vacants"—those ready for occupation immediately or after minor works—were 40,000 compared to 54,000 in 1987—a drop of 26 per cent. The total number of vacant council dwellings were 71,000 compared to 112,000 in 1987.
Management vacants provide an indication of the empty dwellings available to meet housing need. The 20 authorities with the highest number of management vacant at 1 April 1993 are:
Ranking of authorities by numbers of Management Vacants at 1 April 1993. Stock Management Vacants Percentage 1) Hackney 40,802 1,911 4.68 2) Manchester 83,710 1,306 1.50 3) Sheffield 73,935 1,104 1.49 4) Liverpool 56,906 969 1.70 5) Leeds 79,638 907 1.14 6) Birmingham 107,288 896 0.84 7) Lambeth 44,523 825 1.85 8) Tower Hamlets 40,099 679 1.69 9) Southwark 55,377 617 1.11 10) Salford 34,750 608 1.75 11) Greenwich 33,202 557 1.68 12) Newcastle upon Tyne 40,368 550 1.36 13) Islington 37,608 547 1.45 14) Bristol 35,986 519 1.44 15) Wolverhampton 33,839 503 1.49 16) Nottingham 37,895 502 1.32 17) Coventry 21,441 483 2.25 18) Bradford 30,917 458 1.48 19) North Tyneside 24,058 435 1.81 20) Walsall 32,459 427 1.32 I am today placing in the Library a complete list of local authorities ranked on this basis.