Vol. 463 No. 8
97 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for the Environment the estimated cost to local authorities of complying with 1993 housing standard regulations; and if he will make a special capital allocation available to local authorities to comply with these requirements. [7525/96]
Details of the cost to housing authorities of complying with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 1993 are not available in my Department. The regulations come into force on 1 January 1998 in the case of housing authority dwellings. The improvement and upgrading of the dwellings to the standards specified is the responsibility of these authorities. However, funding is provided by my Department under the bathrooms sub-programme to assist them to provide bathrooms/showers in their dwellings which lack these facilities. In addition, the installation of bathrooms/showers and other necessary works to the fabric of dwellings may be carried out as part of refurbishment projects under my Department's remedial works scheme. Allocations made to date under these programmes total some £170 million of which almost £15 million was provided under the bathrooms sub-programme.
