Examination of Witness(Questions 437-439)
THE RT
HON LORD
ROOKER
WEDNESDAY 30 OCTOBER 2002
Chairman
437. Welcome to the Committee. Perhaps you would
introduce yourself for the record.
(Lord Rooker) I am Geoff Rooker, Minister of State,
ODPM.
438. Would you like to say anything by way of
introduction, or are you happy for us to go straight to the questions?
(Lord Rooker) You have received two memoranda
from the department, and anything that I say in an introductory
statement I shall only probably repeat in answers to questions,
so I am happy to go straight to the questions.
Christine Russell
439. Minister, the Comprehensive Spending Review
gave a 4.2 per cent increase for housing. Have you a figure of
how many actual new homes you think that money will build?
(Lord Rooker) No, I do not have any figure that I
can give you this morning. One reason for that is that we have
announced, for example, on the first of the three years in the
Comprehensive Spending Review for the ADP, the development grant
for the Housing Corporation. We shall come back to Parliament,
as the Deputy Prime Minister has said, around the turn of the
year, which is a euphemism in "Minister speak" for December
or January, with a major statement. At the moment we call it a
Communities Plan. That is a simple working title. By then we shall
have "divi-ed" up the rest of the Comprehensive Spending
Review money and outsiders might then be able to put a figure
for housing on it. But at the moment we do not have a figure that
we can put on it.
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