To ask the Secretary of State for the Evironment what major research his Department has conducted or commissioned into the future housing needs in Britain.

A significant part of the housing research programme is devoted to assessing the housing needs of specific groups. These include surveys of the housing needs of elderly and disabled people, of ethnic minorities, of low-income migrants and of those with AIDS and HIV infection. The Department is also examining the numbers and characteristics of those on local authority and housing association waiting lists compared with those who are allocated social housing and the needs and aspirations of concealed households and of those who share their accommodation.