asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with current progress in providing new houses in the public sector for severely disabled people; and if he will make a statement.
Local housing authorities and housing associations have been giving increasing attention to the needs of disabled people. Houses suitable for the disabled accounted for 11 per cent. of public sector housing starts in 1978, and the figures for the first three quarters of 1979 indicate a similar level.The additional space standards made possible by the revised housing cost yardstick allowances for one-person old peoples' dwellings, which I announced on 19 December, should make these dwellings more attractive to those elderly people with physical disabilities who wish to move into sheltered housing.