asked the Minister for the Environment if it is Government policy to allow a local authority to purchase houses built by the private sector for allocation by the local authority to people on the housing waiting list, and if so, if the finance required is obtained from the capital housing construction budget of the local authority or from its housing maintenance budget.
Written Answers. - Housing Policy.
422.
The basic aim of the Government's housing policy is to ensure that, as far as the resources of the economy permit, every family can obtain a dwelling of good standard located in an acceptable environment at a price or rent they can afford. A secondary aim is to encourage owner occupation. The national programme is geared at present to produce between 23,000 and 27,000 new dwellings a year.
The private housing sector is encouraged by various subventions from public funds to provide as many as possible of the required dwellings. The local authority housing programme is geared to meet the housing needs of persons and families who are not in a position to build, purchase or rent suitable private accommodation for themselves.
Housing construction by local authorities is intended to be additional to the maximum output which can be encouraged from the private sector. It is planned, designed and built to specific standards to meet the ascertained needs of applicants on approved waiting lists.
Dwellings are built in locations and to plans chosen to meet these needs appropriately.
The programme provides an important source of well spread and steady employment additional to the work force engaged in the private housing sector.
Local authorities are, therefore, required to construct their new dwellings themselves, or to have them designed and built to the approved standards, normally on the basis of open competitive tendering.
Occasionally, and in exceptional circumstances, authorities may propose the acquisition of individual existing private dwellings to meet some special requirement. Such proposals are considered by me on their merits.
All dwellings provided by local authorities for allocation to approved applicants on their waiting lists are financed from the local authority housing capital allocations which are made annually to each housing authority.