asked the Minister for the Environment if he will arrange for a specific sum of money for the provision of bathrooms—in any local authority houses which do not have this facility—to be set aside when the 1980 Housing Capital Allocation Programme is being drawn up.
Written Answers. - Provision of Bathrooms.
40.
Under the revised scheme for house improvement grants operated by my Department, grants of up to £600 per house are available to enable local authorities to carry out certain improvement works to their rented houses including the provision of fitted bathrooms involving an addition to the floor area of the house. My Department will also recoup to a local authority £1,200 or half the cost, whichever is the less, when it provides extra rooms and works required for the proper accommodation of physically disabled people or those suffering from acute mental illness. The authorities may contribute towards the balance of the cost of such works in both instances out of their housing revenue accounts. Under revised arrangements introduced with effect from 1 January 1977 they are allowed to retain total rental income and a proportion of the proceeds of house sales for these accounts.
There are at present no other funds at my disposal out of which moneys can be made available to local authorities for improvement works to their rented dwellings. The question of any such further provision in the 1980 Public Capital Programme would fall to be considered in the light of the necessity to conserve available capital for the provision of urgently required new local authority houses and the financing of house purchase loans.