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Bus Drivers

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of the extent of shortages of bus drivers; and if he will make a statement; [128447]

(2) if he will make it his policy to offer financial incentives to bus companies facing recruitment difficulties for the training of bus drivers. [128446]

Mr. Hill: My Department is aware of the difficulties being experienced by bus operators in recruiting and retaining bus drivers in some areas. The bus industry has drawn our attention to this issue, which has also been a matter considered as part of the Department's research on trends in the industry.

The responsibility for ensuring that they have sufficient drivers is primarily a matter for individual bus companies. However, my Department and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are pursuing with the industry what steps can be taken to assist with the current problems.

In addition, I understand the Department for Education and Employment has provided £145,000 to TRANSfED, the bus industry's National Training Organisation, to identify and address future skills needs.

Single Regeneration Funding

Miss Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the council wards in Morecambe and Lunesdale that are eligible for single regeneration funding. [128341]

Ms Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 29 June 2000, Official Report, column 604W.

Heathrow

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals are under consideration by his Department for additional runways at Heathrow; and what is the status of these proposals. [128869]

Mr. Mullin: As the then Minister for Transport announced on 11 March 1999, Official Report, columns 360-61W, the South East and East of England Regional Air Services (SERAS) study will examine a wide range of options and has started from the position that nothing is ruled in and nothing is ruled out.

Options will be appraised through a process of successive sifts. A very large number of options will be considered during the sifting process, which is designed to reduce the options to a manageable number, so that those can be appraised in sufficient detail to support a meaningful public consultation at the end of the study.

Until then, it would be premature to comment on the scope or status of any option.

Local Authority Housing

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce a performance target for tackling the backlog of repairs in the local authority sector; and if he will make a statement. [128903]

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Mr. Raynsford: The Housing Green Paper issued in April sets out a range of proposals for tackling housing problems, including our commitment to ensure that all social housing is of a decent standard within 10 years. The Department's Public Service Agreement (PSA) target on the council house repairs backlog agreed in the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review is to deliver a reduction of 10 per cent. in the backlog by April 2002. Any further targets will be announced following the current spending review.

Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed council housing stock transfer programme for 2000-01 on the rents of (a) existing tenants and (b) future tenants; and if he will make a statement. [129065]

Mr. Raynsford: The table shows (a) the transfer rents of existing tenants and (b) the relet rents of new tenants for local authorities who have places on the 2000-01 housing stock transfer programme. These rents are guaranteed to rise by not more than RPI plus 1 per cent. for five years after transfer under the new landlord. We would expect rent increases to be kept below this level wherever possible. We have also set out in the Housing Green Paper, our proposals for achieving rent harmonisation over the next 10 years.

Birmingham CC and Sunderland CC have yet to be formally accepted onto the programme.

	Weekly Rents at Transfer
	(a) Existing tenants	(b) New tenants
Barnsley MBC	32.33	35.56
Blackburn with Darwen BC	49.69	49.69
Birmingham CC	44.10	51.60
Calderdale Metropolitan BC	37.06	44.48
Chester CC	40.48	50.60
Chichester DC	52.92	61.23
Coventry CC	39.17	47.00
East Northamptonshire DC	40.00	50.00
East Staffordshire BC	38.75	44.56
Fylde BC	37.08	48.19
Horsham DC	59.00	64.90
Manchester CC--Handforth Estate	43.30	49.80
Manchester CC--Knutsford Estate	45.90	50.50
Mendip DC	44.80	49.29
LB Richmond	62.83	68.62
South Bedfordshire DC	48.83	53.71
Staffordshire Moorlands DC	39.31	47.17
Sunderland CC	42.73	49.13
Torbay Council	46.94	54.23
Walsall MBC	39.54	44.35
Waverley BC	59.85	68.83
West Oxfordshire DC	47.25	51.98
West Wiltshire DC	52.87	60.79
Wgycombe DC	52.44	57.44

(4) Weekly rent figures are based on 52 weeks

Affordable Housing

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received on setting targets for affordable housing in regional planning guidance; and if he will make a statement. [128908]

Mr. Raynsford: The Secretary of State published his proposed changes to the South East and East of England draft Regional Planning Guidance in March this year. The

6 Jul 2000 : Column: 260W

consultation period finished on 19 June and the responses are still being analysed. Over 500 representations have been analysed as of 3 July. Of these some 100 have pressed for targets for affordable housing in regional planning guidance. However, this Government have made it clear that assessments of local housing needs are matters for local authorities to undertake in light of their local circumstances.

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the current unmet need for affordable housing in (a) London and (b) England; and if he will make a statement. [128902]

Mr. Raynsford: While the Government have from time to time commissioned studies of the extent and nature of housing need to inform their views on the requirement for affordable housing in England, they believe that neither national nor regional estimates can adequately reflect the wide diversity of needs and priorities which exist at the local level. For these reasons, the Government believe that local authorities are best placed to carry out robust assessments of housing need in their areas.

Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will (1) give local authorities greater discretion to secure affordable housing on sites for developments below the thresholds currently set out in Circular 6/96; and if he will make a statement; [129062]

(2) revise Circular 6/98 to reduce the threshold above which an affordable housing element can be secured through the planning system in (a) inner and (b) outer London; and if he will make a statement. [129064]

Mr. Raynsford: The thresholds were in fact reduced by Circular 6/98. We have recently issued Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing (PPG3) which reaffirms the detailed policy guidance on affordable housing in Circular 6/98 including the flexibility to facilitate lower thresholds in areas of special need outside Inner London. We have no plans at present to revise the guidance.

Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent representations he has received on reducing the threshold set out in Circular 6/98 for securing affordable housing through the planning system; and if he will make a statement. [129067]

Mr. Raynsford: We received a number of representations about affordable housing in response to the consultation draft of revised Planning Policy Guidance note 3: Housing. Of these, 23 raised the question of the thresholds set out in Circular 6/98.

Starter Home Initiative

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his definition of a key worker is for the purposes of the Starter Home Initiative described in the Housing Green Paper; and if he will make a statement. [128901]

Mr. Raynsford: The Housing Green Paper made clear that the Government were looking for proposals on how the Starter Home Initiative could be operated most successfully and cost effectively, and that we would

6 Jul 2000 : Column: 261W

announce details of the initiative in the light of responses to the Green Paper and the Spending Review. The announcement will cover, inter alia, how a key worker might be defined.

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