To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the number of housing voids in Belfast. [128500]

At 31 July 2003, there were a total of 6,593 empty properties of all tenures of which 2,181 are Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties and 4,412 are in the private sector. Over half the empty homes in the public sector are undergoing redevelopment or are awaiting demolition. The Northern Ireland House Condition Survey 2001 published in April 2003 shows that the level of vacancies is linked to inner-city decline factors and the emergence of new apartment developments.