§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many(a) shops and (b) dwellings above shops are currently unoccupied. [93695]
§ Ms Beverley HughesSome local authorities collect data on empty retail units, but we do not hold national figures. There are 315,000 existing dwellings over shops in total in England, of which 18 per cent. or approximately 57,000, are empty (1996 figures).