Liz McManus
Question:80 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Environment if he will introduce a scheme to upgrade houses around the country to ensure that they have the basic sanitary services, particularly in relation to public housing stock.
Written Answers. - Plan for Social Housing.
Local authorities are responsible for the management, maintenance and improvement of their rented dwellings, including the provision of bathrooms. In 1991, a bathroom sub-programme was introduced under "A Plan for Social Housing" to supplement the expenditure of authorities from their own resources on the provision of sanitary facilities in their housing stock. A total of £4 million was allocated in 1991 and 1992 under the sub-programme. This is in addition to the £80.5 million allocated to local authorities since 1985 for the remedial works scheme under which bathrooms may be provided as part of the overall refurbishment of older dwellings. Further allocations will be made this year under the bathrooms' sub-programme and the remedial works scheme. The Programme for a Partnership Government 1993-1997 envisages an acceleration over the life of that programme of remedial works to local authority houses, including the provision of bathroom facilities where these are lacking.
While there is no scheme for the provision of sanitary facilities in private houses generally, there is a number of ways in which particular categories of persons can be assisted — house improvement loans of up to £3,000 unsecured, and £10,000 secured; the new scheme whereby local authorities can have improvement works, including the installation of bathroom facilities, carried out to the existing accommodation of approved applicants for local authority housing, as an alternative to rehousing; the disabled person's grants scheme; and the Task Force on Special Housing Aid for the Elderly which provides assistance to elderly persons living alone in unfit or insanitary accommodation.
Liz McManus
Question:81 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Environment if he will ensure that people applying for improvement works in local authority housing, as designated in the plan for social housing, will be able to opt for the scheme even though they will not have fully bought out their houses but have a mortgage or a council loan on their homes.
The existence of a loan, whether secured or not, in respect of a house does not preclude a local authority from undertaking works to the house under the scheme introduced in "A Plan for Social Housing". However, as local authorities are required to secure on the house the expenditure they incur in carrying out improvements, they may wish to satisfy themselves that the amount of any outstanding loan, together with the expenditure on the improvements, does not exceed the value of the house.