HL Deb 02 March 2005 vol 670 c25WA
The Earl of Courtown

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the reply by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 21 February, what assessment they have made of the potential cost of disposal of hazardous material in developing the proposals for demolition of housing stock in their national housing strategy. [HL1418]

The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)

No assessment of the potential cost of disposal of hazardous material was made in developing the housing market renewal programme because such costs are an issue for local authorities and contractors. Some individual pathfinders made their own assessment of broad costs of demolition when developing their schemes, but this was not disaggregated into individual drivers. Generally such costs will vary according to the type of property concerned but they will not normally be large as most housing stock contains very little hazardous material.

The Earl of Courtown

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the reply by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 21 February, what assessment they have made of the potential cost of disposal in landfill sites or elsewhere, in developing proposals for demolition of housing stock in view of their national housing strategy. [HL1419]

Lord Rooker

No assessment of the potential cost of disposal of material in landfill sites or elsewhere was made in developing the housing market renewal programme, because such costs are an issue for local authorities and contractors. Some individual pathfinders made their own assessment of broad costs of demolition when developing their schemes, but this was not disaggregated into individual drivers. Materials from demolition can often be reused or recycled, and that is incentivised by the charges made on landfill.