asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated number of elderly persons in Scotland on housing authority waiting lists for sheltered housing accommodation; and what plans he has to encourage an expansion in the number of sheltered housing units in Scotland.

The information requested about housing authority waiting lists is not held centrally. Housing authorities have been asked to give priority within the resources available to them to meeting the needs of special groups including the elderly and the allocation of capital resources to them takes this into account. In addition, over half of the resources allocated to housing associations for new building is being devoted to the provision of sheltered houses for the elderly.