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Homeless People

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people have been homeless in (a) Lancashire, broken down by district and (b) the North West in each of the last three years. [180423]

Yvette Cooper: Information collected about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is in respect of households, rather than persons. A summary of available information reported by each local authority in Lancashire about the number of households accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and corresponding estimates for the North West Government Office region, is tabled as follows:
Households accepted as homeless⁽⁴⁷⁾

Unitary/District Authority	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Blackburn with Darwen UA	224	332	376
Blackpool UA	126	159	235
Burnley	328	290	224
Chorley	127	118	187
Fylde	(48)17	14	(48)28
Hyndburn	187	232	288
Lancaster	268	364	431
Pendle	69	68	154
Preston	(48)74	172	308
Ribble Valley	31	51	78
Rossendale	225	244	175
South Ribble	224	232	312
West Lancashire	78	87	68
Wyre	121	98	122
All Lancashire authorities	2,099	2,461	2,986
North West GO Region	13,280	15,020	18,010

Notes:
⁽⁴⁷⁾ Households eligible under homelessness legislation and found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category.
⁽⁴⁸⁾ Indicates three quarters reported.
Note:
Regional totals include estimates for partial or non-response.
Source:
ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)

Housing

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Crosby since 1997. [160567]

 
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Keith Hill [pursuant to his reply, 16 March 2004, Official Report, c. 219W]: Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Sefton's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 112 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long term improvement.

Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Wigan since 1997. [169267]

Keith Hill [pursuant to the reply, 5 May 2004, Official Report, c. 1601W]: Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Wigan's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 566 per cent. Wigan and Leigh Housing, an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), was set up on 1 April 2002 to manage and maintain council homes on behalf of Wigan council.

Mr. Benton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Bootle since 1997. [170076]

Keith Hill [pursuant to the reply, 30 April 2004, Official Report, c. 1331W]: Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Sefton's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 112 per cent. and have been supplemented by the announcement of £86 million to be made available to the Merseyside Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, NewHeartlands, between 2003–04 and 2005–06. In addition to this, there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Heywood and Middleton since 1997. [168432]

Keith Hill [pursuant to the reply, 27 April 2004, Official Report, c. 880W]: Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement
 
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of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Rochdale's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 352 per cent., and have been supplemented by the announcement of £53.5 million to be made available to the Oldham/Rochdale Housing Market Renewal pathfinder project between 2003–04 and 2005–06.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in the level of council funding for housing on the residents of Manchester, Gorton since 1997. [167463]

Keith Hill [pursuant to the reply, 26 April 2004, Official Report, c. 787W]: Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Manchester's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 119 per cent., and have been supplemented by the announcement of £125 million to be made available to the Manchester/Salford Housing Market Renewal pathfinder project between 2003–04 and 2005–06. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Oldham, West and Royton since 1997. [170877]

Keith Hill [pursuant to the reply, 5 May 2004, Official Report, c. 1602W]: Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Oldham's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 331 per cent. following the creation of First Choice Homes Oldham, an Arms Length Management Organisation which manages and maintains council properties on behalf of Oldham council. These allocations have been supplemented by the announcement of £53.5 million to be made available to the Oldham/Rochdale Housing Market Renewal pathfinder project between 2003–04 and 2005–06.

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his assessment of how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of West Lancashire since 1997. [171546]

Keith Hill [pursuant to my reply, 10 May 2004, Official Report, c. 103W]: Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the
 
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Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. West Lancashire's allocations in the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 have risen by 204 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there has been support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West that has helped the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long term improvement.

16 local authorities in the North West have transferred all their stock, and five local authorities have transferred part of their stock. This has unlocked £1,739 million in private finance, of which £553 million has gone to local authorities in capital receipts, with the remaining £1,186 million going directly into renovating and maintaining the transferred properties. Four local authorities have schemes on the programme that have
 
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not yet transferred, three of which have had positive ballot results. Ellesmere Port and Neston, Halton, Hyndburn, Macclesfield and West Lancashire have been granted places on the 2004 programme.

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