asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many housing improvement grants have been paid in Wales for each year from 1982 to date.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will provide the latest estimates for spending on housing improvements grants by each district council in Wales for 1984–85 and 1985–86, indicating, in each case, the potential under or overspend on original estimates (a) in cash terms and (b) in percentage terms;(2) what is the most recent information he has as to the amount likely to be spent on housing improvement grants in Wales and mid-Glamorgan, respectively, during 1984–85 and 1985–86.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to him of 30 November 1984 at column 599–602.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many applications for home improvement grants are currently waiting to be processed by district councils in Wales;(2) if he will estimate the total number of applicants waiting for housing improvement grants in mid-Glamorgan at the latest date for which figures are available.

It is provisionally estimated that at 31 December 1984, there were 68,000 renovation grants awaiting processing, about 19,000 of which related to districts in Mid Glamorgan.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate, in real and cost terms, the total estimated spending on housing improvement grants by district councils for 1984–85 and 1985–86; and how this compares with the figures for 1983–84.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent in each housing district in mid-Glamorgan on (a) improvement grants, (b) insulation grants, (c) repair grants and (d) intermediate grants for each year since 1979; and what is the estimate for 1984–85.

The information available is given in the following table and relates to completed grants in each calendar year:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate by what amount public demand for housing improvement grant expenditure in Wales in 1984–85 and 1985–86 will exceed the amount allocated by local authorities for such purposes.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 8 December 1983 at column 247.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of Welsh housing district grants is discretionary; and if he will illustrate this with reference to the total spent across the whole range of housing grants by local authorities in 1983–84 and the estimate for 1984–85

Of the housing grants paid by district councils, improvement grants, most repair grants and most special grants are discretionary. Intermediate grants, grants made under the homes insulation scheme (up to the amount specified by the Secretary of State for that purpose), and reinstatement grants paid under the Housing Defects Act 1984, are mandatory. In addition, repairs grants where notice is served under section 9 of the Housing Act 1957, and special grants where notice is served under section 15 of the Housing Act 1961 or schedule 24 of the Housing Act 1980, are also mandatory.Payments on improvement, repairs and special grants formed 93 per cent. of total payments on grants completed in 1983–84. The corresponding percentage for the first nine months of 1984–85 was 90 per cent. Information collected by the Department does not distinguish between discretionary and mandatory repairs and special grants.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of the housing block allocation for Rhymney Valley district council for 1983–84, in cash and percentage terms, was represented by expenditure on housing improvement grants; and what are the equivalent estimates for 1984–85 and 1985–86.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to him on 6 December 1984 at column 231 for 1983–84 and 1984–85. No later information is available for 1984–85 and no information is available for 1985–86.