§ Lord Rowallanasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Grade 1, 2 or 3 listed houses have been vacated by private owners in the last seven years.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyUnder the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has a statutory duty to compile lists of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. All list entries include a description of the building and the features that led to it being listed. It is intended principally to aid identification and holds no information about ownership or whether a building is vacant or not.
§ Lord Rowallanasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Grade 1 or 2 listed houses in Great Britain are now hotels or conference centres; how many are still in private hands; and how many are owned by the National Trust or Government bodies.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyFor England our records indicate that there are currently 1,473 buildings listed as hotels or conference centres which have at some stage in their history been used as houses. Information on the ownership of these buildings is not held centrally. Listing in Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales respectively but I understand that none of the information sought is held centrally for either of these countries.