asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give greater financial assistance to local authorities to enable them to provide a greater number of sheltered houses for elderly people.

This year's total allocations should enable local authorities to devote more resources overall to capital expenditure on housing than they did last year. I have made clear that housing for the elderly and other groups with special needs should be given high priority, but I am afraid that some local authorities which have enjoyed a large share of available resources in past years have still a relatively poor level of sheltered housing provision.