To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to the ministerial reply of 22 January, Official Report, column 81, relating to sums received by local government from sale of dwellings, if he will estimate the total unused amounts remaining with receiving local authorities. [11894]

The Department does not have information on how much of the receipts from the sale of local authority dwellings is still unused. The stock of usable receipts from all assets stood at £1.5 billion at 31 March 1995. About 90 per cent. of these receipts are held by authorities whose responsibilities include housing. Since 1990, local authorities have been required to set aside 75 per cent. of their capital receipts from the sale of council housing to repay debt, but it is not known how much of these amounts have not yet been used for debt repayment.Any unused receipts can be invested and will generate interest for the authority.