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Disabled Facilities Grants
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of the review of disabled facilities grants. [24952]
Ms Keeble [holding answer 9 January 2002]: There has been no review of disabled facilities grants as such. However, the Government have been considering the maximum limit for grant, and preparing new guidance.
The Government have decided that the maximum limit for mandatory disabled facilities grant in England should be increased from £20,000 to £25,000. This change will take effect from 21 January 2002. Government resources to local authorities for the disabled facilities grant budget for 1992–93 will be increased to £88 million and we will shortly be announcing individual DFG allocations to local authorities for that year.
In conjunction with the Department of Health, my Department is also preparing new statutory and good practice guidance for local authorities covering all aspects of housing adaptations for disabled people. We hope to publish this new guidance in the spring of 2002.
Multiple Occupation
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will publish a summary of the responses he received to the consultation paper on Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation in England, issued by his Department in 1999; and if he will place copies of the responses in the Library; [25541]
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- (2) when he intends to undertake formal consultation on reforms to the Housing (Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Regulations 1990; and if he will make a statement. [25543]
Ms Keeble: I hope to publish both of these papers in the near future. However, what we say on these matters will need to have regard to the position reached on the Home Energy Conservation Bill, currently before Parliament, which among other things would provide for a revised definition of a house in multiple occupation and introduce mandatory registration and licensing of such properties.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) households and (b) people in private rented HMO dwellings there are in England, broken down by (i) traditional and bedsit HMOs, (ii) shared houses and flats, (iii) households with lodgers and (iv) HMO buildings converted into flats. [25542]
Ms Keeble: The table provides the most recent estimates (1996) for number of households and people in private rented HMO dwellings in England.
| Households | People | |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional or bedsit HMOs | 165,000 | 267,000 |
| Shared houses and flats | 188,000 | 547,000 |
| Households with lodgers | 202,000 | (7)253,000 |
| HMO buildings converted into flats(8) | 302,000 | 472,000 |
| Total(9) | 857,000 | 1,539,000 |
(6) There is a margin of error involved in the estimates arising from the sample nature of the English House Condition Survey and from the complexities of classifying some types of HMO.
(7) The number of people refers to the number of lodgers and excludes the landlord and members of the landlord's household.
(8) Shared converted flats, households with lodgers in converted flats and bedsits in converted flats are included in the respective columns and not in the converted flat total .
(9) Please note that the total excludes households and people within private rented, purpose built HMOs for which the EHCS sample size is too small to produce reliable estimates.
Source:
English House Condition Survey 1996: Houses in Multiple Occupation in the private rented sector (DTLR:1999)
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many private rented houses in multiple occupation accommodation units and dwellings there are in England, broken down by (a) traditional and bedsit HMOs, (b) shared houses and flats, (c) households with lodgers and (d) HMO buildings converted into flats. [25590]
Ms Keeble: The table provides the most recent estimates (1996) for the number of private rented house in multiple occupation accommodation units and dwellings in England.
(10) There is a margin of error involved in the estimates arising from the sample nature of the English House Condition Survey and from the complexities of classifying some types of HMO.
(11) Shared converted flats, households with lodgers in converted flats and bedsits in converted flats are included in the respective columns and not in the converted flat total.
(12) Please note that the total excludes accommodation units and dwellings within private rented, purpose built HMOs for which the EHCS sample size is too small to produce reliable estimates.
Source:
English House Condition Survey 1996: Houses in Multiple Occupation in the private rented sector (DTLR:1999)
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Housing Fitness Standard
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he intends to replace the housing fitness standard by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System; and if he will make a statement. [25610]
Ms Keeble: The Housing Health and Safety Rating System will set out a new approach to the assessment of housing conditions. The Government intend to legislate, as soon as parliamentary time allows, so that local authorities can take action against properties posing health and safety risks on the basis of the new system.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish a summary of the responses he received to the consultation paper on the replacement of the housing fitness standard by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. [25611]
Ms Keeble: We consulted last year on a framework of legislation and guidance within which local authorities would use the Housing Health and Safety Rating System as the basis for action against unacceptable housing conditions. I am placing a summary of the responses in the Library of the House. It will also be available shortly on the Department's housing website at www.housing.dtlr.gov.uk/information/index08.htm.
Alternative Fuels
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) how many (a) LPG and (b) natural gas refuelling depots there are in (i) the UK and (ii) Wales; and if he will provide a list of where these points in Wales are; [25632]
- (2) what measures he is taking to ensure that the availability of grants to convert vehicles to run on liquidified petroleum gas which are available from PowerShift is widely publicised; [25624]
(3) how many applications there have been for PowerShift grants for converting vehicles to run on LPG; and how many grants have been approved. [25623]
Mr. Jamieson: The Energy Saving Trust run the PowerShift programme, covering Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England, on behalf of the
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Government. There is a comprehensive marketing strategy to raise awareness of LPG and other alternative fuels, and publicise the conversion grants available. There is an interactive website, and regular articles in national and regional newspapers and magazines.
Since the PowerShift programme began in 1996, the trust has received a UK total of 3,809 applications, of which 2,642 were approved as eligible, covering the conversion of 12,404 vehicles to run on LPG. Of these, the figures for Wales are 157 applications received, and 124 applications approved as eligible, covering 559 vehicles.
Powershift grants have been limited to conversion of vehicles up to one-year-old, but have recently been extended to be available for vehicles up to five-years-old for which quality LPG conversions are available.
The number of LPG refuelling points have been growing rapidly and now stands at around 1,000, of which 91 are in Wales. Natural gas is used in heavy vehicles. There are around 30 refuelling points in the UK, mainly at vehicle operators' depots. None is in Wales. Information on LPG refuelling points is available on the PowerShift website at: www.transportaction.org.uk, and I have placed a copy of the present list in the Library. There is no published list of CNG refuelling depots.
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