§ Mr. LoughtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of houses which have been empty for 10 years or more and which would qualify for his proposals on VAT; [138223]
(2) pursuant to this pre-Budget report, what method he will use to determine the number of properties that have been empty for 10 years; [138614]
(3) pursuant to this pre-Budget report, how many properties that have been empty for 10 years will be eligible for VAT reduction. [138613]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 13 November 2000]: The proposed adjustment to the scope of the VAT zero-rate for the sale of refurbished previously vacant dwellings would affect dwellings which, having been continuously vacant since a time between 1973 and 1990, are refurbished and sold after April 2001. Reliable estimates of the number of dwellings in the UK which have been continuously vacant over this period are not available.