§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the percentage of properties undergoing major repairs and renovation that have been empty for over 12 months. [88839]
§ Mr. RaynsfordOut of an estimated 11,200 vacant local authority-owned dwellings in England awaiting or undergoing major repairs on 1 April 1998, almost one third (31 per cent.) had been empty for more than a year. Equivalent information for Registered Social Landlord vacant stock indicates that of approximately 9,000 such dwellings, just over a quarter (27 per cent.) had been vacant for over one year.
Comparable information about other residential stock in the public and private sectors is not available centrally.