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3 Mar 2003 : Column 866W—continued
Regional Housing Boards
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) when each of the new Regional Housing Boards will first meet; and how often they will be expected to meet each year; [99167]
- (2) what plans he has to issue further guidance to the new Regional Housing Boards (a) collectively and (b) individually; [99169]
(3) which organisations and individuals have been invited to sit on each of the new Regional Housing Boards; [99166]
(4) what the arrangements will be for the new Regional Housing Boards to consult with interested parties. [99168]
Mr. McNulty: Government and Housing Corporation Regional Offices, the Regional Assembly, the Regional Development Agency and English Partnership will be represented on the Regional Housing Board. Further membership of the board, the timing and frequency of its meetings and the arrangements for consulting with other interested parties are a matter for agreement within the region. The composition of the board is still being finalised in some regions. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects to work closely with Regional Housing Boards in the coming months to ensure the new arrangements are implemented successfully.
Seaside and Country Homes Scheme
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which registered social landlords participate in the seaside and country homes scheme. [99162]
Mr. McNulty: There are eight registered social landlords who hold seaside and country homes. These are North British Housing, Anchor Trust, Bristol Churches, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Knightstone, Longhurst and Nene Housing Society.
All London registered social landlords can nominate tenants for the scheme. In the year from April 2001 until March 2002 the following RSLs had tenants either interviewed for the scheme and/or rehoused (some of the rehousings were from previous years): Bethnal Green and Victoria Park HA, Bradford Property Trust, Bromley/Broomleigh HA, Church Commissioners, Circles 33 Housing Trust, Community HA, East Thames HA, English Churches HA, Family HA, Guinness Trust, Hexagon HA, Hyde HA, Islington and Shoreditch HA, London and Quadrant, Metropolitan Housing Trust, Network HA, New Islington and Hackney HA, Octavia HA, Orbit HA, Peabody Trust, Poplar Harca, Richmond Churches, Samuel Lewis Trust, Sanctuary HA, Soldiers and Sailors Foundation, South London Family HA, Springboard HA, St Pancras HA, Threshold Tennant HA, Toynbee HA and Warden HA.
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Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities place restrictions on the numbers of tenants they will nominate to the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme each year. [99163]
Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of any local authorities that have placed restrictions on the number of their tenants who meet the eligibility criteria that can apply.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities about establishing the relative priority of tenants they nominate to the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme. [99164]
Mr. McNulty: The last guidance on the scheme was issued to all London Boroughs by HOMES in 2000. This included as an annex the application form that explains how points are awarded.
HOMES also send all boroughs a quarterly report which gives details of areas with lower demand and also ensure that London Borough staff who take over responsibility for the scheme are trained in how it operates. Front line staff are encouraged to attend these sessions so as to ensure they are familiar with the scheme's operation.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what figures his Department has collated on the number of tenants whose application to be considered for the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme has been refused by their local authority on the grounds of (a) their eligibility and (b) their relative priority. [99165]
Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not collected any figures on the number of applicants who have been refused by local authorities.
Shared Ownership
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of registered social landlords who set rents for shared ownership properties in the range of 3 to 3.5 per cent. of equity; [99177]
- (2) what plans he has to require the Housing Corporation to (a) set benchmark rents for shared ownership properties and (b) monitor the performance of registered social landlords against these. [99178]
Mr. McNulty: The rent for a shared ownership property is a matter for the individual registered social landlord (RSL). The rent for new shared ownership schemes is dependent on a number of factors including levels of equity bought, development loans to be serviced by the association, sales receipts and consideration of what is affordable and marketable.
The Housing Corporation does not analyse the proportion of registered social landlords (RSLs) who set rents for shared ownership properties in the range of 3 to 3.5 per cent. of equity.
The Housing Corporation has agreed to lead a Task Force, to be chaired by Baroness Dean, which will look at existing programmes that support sustainable home ownership. Further details will be announced shortly.
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Sheltered Housing
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidelines his Department gives in respect of the construction standards for sheltered housing; what funding his Department provides for the refurbishment of sheltered housing; and if he will make a statement. [98867]
Mr. McNulty: The Government are committed to the provision of social housing including sheltered accommodation and have substantially increased resources provided to local authorities and the Housing Corporation for housing investment. The Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme (ADP) may be used to refurbish sheltered housing in the ownership of a Registered Social Landlord (RSL). Since 1999 the Housing Corporation has approved some £22 million of ADP for sheltered housing accommodation schemes in respect of elderly people with warden support, and frail elderly people, improving 2,363 dwellings.
No specific guidelines are given by the Department in respect of construction standards for sheltered housing. All building work must comply with the current Building Regulations 2000. New build sheltered housing schemes funded by the Housing Corporation must comply with their Scheme Development Standards.
Starter Homes Initiatives
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what benefits will be received by (a) persons and (b) local authorities in areas covered by the Starter Homes Initiatives; and what criteria determines which (i) authorities and (ii) areas are chosen for that initiative. [99310]
Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is providing £250 million for the Starter Home Initiative (SHI) which aims to help around 10,000 key workers to buy their first homes. The assistance is primarily in the form of equity loans or shared ownership and is being administered by local scheme providers, mainly registered social landlords. The funding was allocated via two competitive bidding rounds.
In the first round, bids were invited to administer schemes to help key workers in any area where the high cost of housing was undermining recruitment and retention. The main factors taken into account in making allocations were: the relative need for SHI based on house prices, incomes and assessments of recruitment and retention difficulties for key worker groups in different areas; and the cost effectiveness of competing bids.
Second round bids were invited to help key workers in specific areas of the south east, eastern, south west and west Midlands regions. These areas were targeted taking into account recruitment and retention problems being experienced across different areas and the allocations made in round 1.
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WORK AND PENSIONS
Benefits
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of (a) means-tested benefit paid to pensioners and (b) council tax relief and housing benefit paid to pensioners in 2001–02. [99151]
Mr. McCartney: The information requested is shown in the table:
| Benefit | Expenditure |
|---|---|
| Minimum Income Guarantee | 4,486 |
| Housing Benefit | 4,225 |
| Council Tax Benefit | 1,320 |
| Total Means tested benefit | 10,031 |
Minimum Income Guarantee
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated cost is of the minimum income guarantee in 2002–03. [99150]
Mr. McCartney: The estimated cost of the minimum income guarantee in 2002/03 is £4.47 billion.
Benefit Overpayment (Write-offs)
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many overpayments of benefit have been written off in the last five years on the basis of concern for the health of the claimant. [99456]
Malcolm Wicks: Between May 1998 and the end of 2002, 394 cases were waived due to the health and welfare criteria. Information for earlier periods is not available.
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