To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties for service men are at present unoccupied; and how many have been unoccupied for more than one year.

As at 31 December 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, 9,817 service married quarters were vacant and 2,161 of these, representing 3 per cent. of our total stock, had been vacant for more than one year. Many of these 9,817 vacant properties were either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation, some were already allotted to service families who were due to move in shortly and others were being considered for disposal. In addition, 1,560 dwellings were in the process of being sold.