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6 Nov 2003 : Column 795W—continued
Private Office Costs
Mr. Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the running costs of Ministers' private offices have been in his Department in each year since 1997. [123103]
Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 7 May 2003, Official Report, column 771W.
Regional Housing Boards
Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what arrangements are in place to ensure that there is sufficient expertise on rural housing on Regional Housing Boards; [136038]
- (2) if he will list the membership of each Regional Housing Board, indicating which members have responsibility for rural housing. [136039]
Keith Hill: Regional Housing Boards have been formed specifically to include representatives able to act collectively and corporately on all housing issues in their regions, including the needs of rural areas. Each Board is chaired by the Regional Director of the Government Office, the most senior official in each region responsible for rural affairs. Others, particularly the senior representatives from the Housing Corporation, carry rural issues as part of their wider remits. There has also been significant input from rural local authorities and others with an interest in rural issues in development by the Boards of Regional Housing Strategies. The Communities Plan, which introduced the Boards, makes clear that the Countryside Agency must be involved to ensure that all Strategies are rural proofed.
Board membership, quite rightly, varies to reflect regional variations. Current membership is tabled as follows:
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Social Housing
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will encourage local authorities and housing associations to build a range of properties with varying numbers of bedrooms in agreements made under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. [136630]
Keith Hill: Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 "Housing" (March 2000) requires local planning authorities to provide wider housing opportunity and choice, and a better mix in the size and type of housing than is currently available.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recently published for consultation proposed changes to the current policies on planning for housing mix set out in PPG3. The consultation document "Influencing The Size, Type And Affordability Of Housing" proposes that local planning authorities should plan to meet the housing requirements of the whole community by planning for a mix of housing types and sizes that reflects up-to-date assessments. It proposes new policy which would allow local planning authorities, where appropriate local plan policies are in place, to reject developments that conflict with the objective of widening housing choice.
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A local planning authority can secure a range of sizes of housing either by granting permission to a planning application or by attaching a planning condition, where this information is not provided by a planning application. Alternatively, notes could be appended to an outline permission to give the developer guidance as to what precise form of development will be acceptable to the local planning authority. A section 106 agreement can be employed to secure that some of the housing for which planning permission has been granted must be affordable housing, and the agreement can specify the type of that housing.
Total Cost Indicators
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will permit Total Cost Indicators to increase in line with the increase in property prices. [136629]
Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation launched their new approach to investment on 24 October. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has agreed that as part of the phased introduction of the 'new approach' that total cost indicators (TCIs) will be phased out over time. For the Social Housing Grant bidding round for 2004–05 and 2005–06, TCIs have been uprated by an average of 8 per cent. using a range of 5 per cent. to 15 per cent. based on existing TCI groupings.
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