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10 Nov 2004 : Column 748W—continued
Housing Renewal (Birmingham)
Mr. Byrne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on projected capital investment in housing renewal in Birmingham, Hodge Hill in each of the next four years. [197244]
Keith Hill:
Mainstream capital funding for housing investment from central Government is allocated in all cases to the strategic housing authority, which in the case of Hodge Hill is Birmingham city council. It is the responsibility of the city council to determine the strategic priorities for investment within the Birmingham area.
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Annual capital housing allocations
Provisional housing capital allocations for 2005–06 were announced in December 2003, and the allocation for Birmingham city council was £35.082 million.
Included in the 2005–06 total is £3.271 million allocated to a Birmingham-led consortium of west midlands housing authorities, to focus specifically on improvements in private sector housing.
The confirmation of the 2005–06 allocations is expected in December 2004, and provisional allocations for 2006–07 and 2007–08 are expected to be announced in December 2005. No date is yet fixed for 2008–09 allocations.
Authorities with council housing stock receive the major repairs allowance (MRA), which is an annual subsidy calculated according to the number of dwellings and the estimated annual investment requirement for depreciation and on-going repairs.
The MRA is generally announced as part of the Housing Revenue Account. Determinations are made in December each year, and so the figure for 2005–06 is not yet available.
The allowance is re-calculated each year to take account of changes in the number of dwellings, and the projected costs of capital repairs, but as a guide the 2004–05 allowance for Birmingham city council was £39.036 million.
Funding for a housing market renewal area feasibility study
The announcement of regional housing capital allocations in December 2003 included a separate sum of £1.66 million for 2005–06 (as well as £1 million in 2004–05) to take forward a research project, to be commissioned by the Regional Housing Board, to test the feasibility of developing a housing market renewal initiative in East Birmingham/North Solihull.
The Housing Corporation allocates the annual Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funding for registered social landlords (RSLs) for provision of new supported and affordable housing, with a small element of renewal investment. This funding goes directly to individual RSLs, which typically have a number of sites and projects across a number of local authorities. It is not therefore possible to identify separately what level of funding will be going into the Hodge Hill area.
Mr. Byrne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the funding streams from which Birmingham city council might access capital investment for housing renewal over the next four years; and through which organisational options such funding might be delivered. [197245]
Keith Hill: Birmingham city council can access external funding streams for housing renewal investment, and in addition has the flexibility to access certain corporate funding streams for investment in housing renewal as set out.
External funding
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West Midlands Regional Housing Board—makes recommendations to Ministers in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the annual allocations of capital housing funding to local authorities. Allocations for 2004–05 and provisional allocations for 2005–06 were announced in December 2003. The confirmed allocation for 2005–06 will be announced in December 2004, and allocations for the following two years (2006–07 and 2007–08) are expected to be announced in December 2005.
Major Repairs Allowance (MRA)—The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's funding stream direct to local authorities to meet the ongoing capital investment needs of council housing stock. The level of funding is reviewed annually, and announced around December each year.
North West Birmingham Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder "Urban Living" —The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's funding for housing renewal in a defined area in North West Birmingham and Sandwell MBC and is administered through the Urban Living Project Board. Funding for the first two years of the 10 to 15 year project was announced in July 2004.
English Partnerships—are strategic partners in the North West Birmingham/Sandwell Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder "Urban Living", and have committed to invest resources into Pathfinder projects during the first two years of the initiative (2004–05 and 2005–06)
Housing Corporation—allocates the annual the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Approved Development Programme (ADP) to Registered Social Landlords for provision of new supported and affordable housing, with a small element of renewal investment. Allocations for 2004–05 and 2005–06 were announced in December 2003, with the following two years expected to be announced in December 2005.
New Deal for Communities—The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's funding for two renewal initiatives in Birmingham (Aston and Kings Norton) to tackle a range of deprivation issues, including those related to housing and the physical environment.
The NDC Partnership Board in each area administers funding over the life of the project up to March 2011.
Single Capital Pot (SCP)—all local authorities have flexibility in how they allocate corporately their annual Government capital allocations for the four key service areas of housing, education, social services, and transport.
Right to buy receipts—all local authorities have flexibility in how they allocate corporately receipts from the sale of council houses under the "Right to Buy" provisions.
Capital receipts from housing or land disposal—local authorities have flexibility in how they allocate these funds corporately.
Planning gain—SI06 Commuted Sums—through the planning system local authorities can require developers to provide either social housing or local amenities on site, or to provide monies in lieu of housing/amenities—
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these are known as "commuted sums". Local authorities have flexibility in how they allocate these funds corporately.
Prudential borrowing—a freedom introduced through the Local Government Act 2003, effective from April 2004, enabling local authorities to undertake borrowing through any source.
Local Authority Housing
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding in grants has been paid to local authorities that have surrendered their housing stock. [197091]
Keith Hill: £157 million—£6 million for homelessness services and the rest for capital programmes—was provided in grants and other funding in 2003–04 to support housing spend by local authorities in England that had transferred their housing stock to a housing association or other registered social landlord by the start of the financial year. Authorities can also fund spend on homelessness and housing services (other than for council housing) from general Revenue Support Grant. In addition to this some £207 million was made available in 2003–04 for provision of affordable housing in these authorities through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme.
Low-cost Housing
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Housing Corporation requires housing associations bidding for Approved Development Programme funding for new low cost home ownership schemes to provide information on the (a) ethnicity, (b) type of needs met and (c) size of household of people being housed. [196714]
Keith Hill:
The Housing Corporation's Guide to the Allocation Process 2004–05 and 2005–06 sets out the information that housing associations are expected to provide as part of their bid for Approved Development Programme (ADP) funding. This includes information on the number of units, the number of persons and the type of household (e.g. family) as well as that on the ethnic client groups for which the scheme is intended to provide accommodation.
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Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will break down the 569 low cost home ownership units planned for Tower Hamlets in the Housing Corporation's 2004–06 Approved Development Programme by (a) one-bed, (b) two-bed, (c) three-bed and (d) four-bed or more; [196715]
(2) if he will break down the 569 low cost home ownership units planned for Tower Hamlets in the Housing Corporation's 2004–06 Approved Development Programme by (a) commercial-shared ownership, (b) do-it-yourself shared ownership, (c) Homebuy and (d) other forms of low cost home ownership. [196716]
Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation have so far allocated resources to fund a total of 678 low cost home ownership units in Tower Hamlets over the years 2004–06. Of these 310 are conventional shared ownership, 348 are Key Worker Shared ownership. The remaining 20 are Homebuy Market Purchase. The corporation has not funded do-it-yourself shared ownership schemes through the Approved Development Programme (ADP) since 1999–2000.
The following table shows the split of low cost homeownership schemes by one, two, three and four or more bedrooms. The figure for Homebuy Market Purchase cannot be broken down until the individual properties are purchased.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many shared ownership properties were sold in Tower Hamlets in each year since 1997; and how many of those properties were purchased by (a) a person in social housing in that area, (b) a person on the single housing register in that area and (c) a key worker. [196826]
Keith Hill: Estimates of annual shared ownership sales in Tower Hamlets from 1997–98 to 2003–04 are tabled as follows:
Note:
The occupation of purchasers was not collected as part of CORE Sales during the period 1997–98 to 2003–04. Consequently it is not possible to provide figures on the number of key workers that bought shared ownership properties in Tower Hamlets during this period.
Source:
Housing Corporation: CORE Sales
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