Empty Property

Tim Farron
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty properties there are in each region.

Mr. Ian Austin
The total number of empty dwellings reported by local authorities in England, by region, as at 6 October 2008, are shown as follows.

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|Region                  |Number of empty dwellings|
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|North East              |50,623                   |
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|North West              |137,849                  |
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|Yorkshire and the Humber|102,241                  |
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|East Midlands           |76,956                   |
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|West Midlands           |79,848                   |
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|East of England         |75,198                   |
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|London                  |85,924                   |
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|South East              |105,111                  |
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|South West              |70,272                   |
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|Total England           |784,022                  |
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Information about the number of empty non-domestic properties is currently being collected and will be published later in the year.