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27 Feb 2006 : Column 181W—continued

Homelessness (Eastern Region)

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless acceptances there have been for each local authority in the Eastern Region in each of the last eight quarters. [51389]


 
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Yvette Cooper: The following table presents information reported by each local authority in the East of England for the past eight quarters on the number of households under homelessness legislation which were accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty. The number of acceptances in the region between October 2004 and September 2005 was 9,100, compared with 10,980 in the corresponding period 12 months before, a fall of 17 per cent.

The duty owed by the local authority is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available. As an alternative to the provision of temporary accommodation some authorities arrange for households to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
Households accepted(61) as homeless by local authorities within the East of England Government office region
Households accepted(61) as homeless by local authorities within the East of England Government office region
Local authorityOctober-December 2003January-March 2004April-June 2004July-September 2004October-December 2004January-March 2005April-June 2005July-September 2005
Babergh1715222121131615
Basildon7570416763877162
Bedford80808286765810476
Braintree104939510172958363
Breckland6253557643433414
Brentwood1632253127211830
Broadland7874556027383229
Broxbourne3238496067634562
Cambridge7354406255474857
Castle Point14n/a157929222121
Chelmsford8169554645455863
Colchester1721341138569757668
Dacorum2934242526243324
East Cambridgeshire4944545834464941
East Hertfordshire2340343841294231
Epping Forest4949416053485546
Fenland2925333412242324
Forest Heath161681612191616
Great Yarmouth8362n/a7852735255
Harlow7286838375618257
Hertsmere1322241925241614
Huntingdonshire5868698754447267
Ipswich51718210568764751
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk6910212511311413212185
Luton961271441129145128127
Maldon3741403623232526
Mid Bedfordshire2635473628332929
Mid Suffolk35n/a192319202316
North Hertfordshire2745373035394341
North Norfolk5039283441271627
Norwich20021316117517710410673
Peterborough10512614312110472103108
Rochford16951216131511
South Bedfordshire6885917665656965
South Cambridgeshire3338233235263440
South Norfolk1820163424192012
Southend-on-Sea64n/a587648545653
St. Albans4044293629474729
St. Edmundsbury4136444762355631
Stevenage4142393027432544
Suffolk Coastal4131384121363020
Tendring8683658769756567
Three Rivers2126143023231826
Thurrock9310710910899567461
Uttlesford121891169109
Watford4522273437393520
Waveney4269948746385244
Welwyn Hatfield75679110076919661


(61) Households found to be eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category and, under 1996 Housing Act provisions, consequently owed a main homelessness duty.
Note:
Data shown as reported.
n/a denotes an authority failed to provide a return for that particular quarter.





 
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Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent on hospitality by his Department in each year since he became Deputy Prime Minister; and what proportion of that was spent on alcohol. [46635]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) was created following the Machinery of Government changes on 29 May 2002. The following table shows departmental expenditure on hospitality in the years 2002–03 to 2005–06.

Hospitality expenditure in the Department is incurred when officials have provided meals/refreshments to ODPM stakeholders.
Hospitality (£)
2002–0315,492
2003–0438,802
2004–0542,126
2005–06 spend to date38,813









 
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Expenditure on alcohol is not separately identified. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.

Housing

Mr. Hurd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homes have been built in each borough of Greater London under the Key Worker Living initiative; and how many of these are occupied. [38881]

Yvette Cooper: As at 31 January, 600 homes for key workers have been built in London through the Key Worker Living programme, of which 399 have been sold/let with a further 64 reserved. Of the 137 homes currently not occupied, 55 of these have been completed only in the last three months.
 
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Local authorityUnits completedUnits occupiedUnits reserved/under offerTotal
voids
Barking and Dagenham
16
160
Brent1239
Croydon423831
Ealing251429
Enfield13130
Hackney241635
Hammersmith and Fulham
20
200
Haringey221120
Harrow8271110
Havering655672
Hillingdon402659
Hounslow20812
Kingston upon Thames
9
414
Lewisham14158
Redbridge5627425
Richmond upon Thames
2
011
Southwark5837165
Sutton231166
Tower hamlets12129
Waltham Forest201532
Wandsworth20200
Westminster5140
Total60039964137

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the success of the attempts by the Regeneration Company in East Manchester to reverse housing market failure in the area. [51137]

Yvette Cooper: The New East Manchester (NEM) Urban Regeneration Company (URC) has an explicit role to co-ordinate and integrate regeneration activity across its area, including New Deal Communities and Housing Market Renewal. This has ensured that housing market renewal activity has not only been able to support the growing sub-regional economy but has also aligned with the provision of wider services and facilities which have greatly improved the quality of life of local residents.

The improvement of the existing stock and the development of new high quality homes has extended the range and choice of housing for those living or looking to live in this area. The result has been the growth and stabilisation of a once failed housing market—confidence has returned and prices have risen while numbers of empty homes have fallen significantly.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently evaluating the investment plans from Manchester Salford Housing Market Renewal Partnership to ensure this positive work continues. In addition, the activity of the URC is currently being evaluated by Professor Michael Parkinson of John Moores University.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what contribution he expects from (a) local authorities, (b) housing associations and (c) arm's length management organisations in increasing the supply of social rented housing; and how many houses he expects to be built by each category of organisation. [40865]

Yvette Cooper: The Government set a target of providing 75,000 social rented homes from 2004–05 to 2007–08. Of these it is estimated around 3,000 will be provided through local authorities and at least 60,000
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 186W
 
through registered social landlords. In addition, housing will be provided under the private finance initiative and by planning gain.

When the Government responded to Kate Barker's review of housing supply on 5 December, it announced that social housing would be a priority in the next spending review (which covers the period after 2007–08) and that we would also be piloting new ways for local authorities to support the delivery of more council housing.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council-owned homes (a) there were in each local authority in each year since 1997 and (b) are estimated to be held by each local authority in each of the next five years. [40869]

Yvette Cooper: A table containing the number of council-owned homes in each local authority in England, for 1997–2005, has been made available in the Library of the House. Estimates for the next five years are not available.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in which housing authorities tenants have voted against transfer to (a) an arm's length organisation and (b) a registered social landlord; how many houses these votes affected; and what help these authorities will be given to reach the decent homes standard. [41147]

Yvette Cooper: The following tables show those local housing authorities in which tenants have, since 1988, voted against (a) establishing an arm's length management organisation (ALMO) to manage council housing, or (b) transferring social housing to a registered social landlord.

The tables also show the number of dwellings covered by each ballot. Tenants in those transfers marked with a * have subsequently voted in favour of transfer.

Local authorities in which tenants have voted against stock transfer or establishing an ALMO are receiving on-going support from the Government Office network and regional community housing task force advisers. Ninety-eight local authorities are able to reach the decent homes standard with the resources they already have received. All local authorities have received significant increases in resources for council housing over the last eight years.
ALMO: Negative ballot

Local authorityUnits
London borough of Camden24,686

LSVT: Negative ballots

Local authorityUnits
Arun3,773
Barnsley24,832
Berwick3,443
Birmingham84,254
Bournemouth5,436
Bradford Thorpe Edge*500
Brentwood2,728
Cambridge8,283
Canterbury5,712
Castle Point1,659
Cheltenham5,342
Cherwell*4,112
Dudley27,271
Ealing: Havelock534
Ellesmere Port and Neston5,500
Fareham2,683
Fenland4,180
Hillingdon11,816
Islington, Tollington1,314
Kingston5,138
Lewisham31,212
Maidstone*6,678
Mendip*4,326
Merton7,548
Mid Bedfordshire*3,148
North Kesteven4,209
Nuneaton and Bedworth6,671
Poole4,859
Royal borough of Kingston5,010
Redbridge5,337
Rochford1,900
Rother*3,058
South Holland4,249
Salisbury5,704
Sandwell500
Sedgefield borough council9,583
Sefton11,162
South Bedfordshire5,710
Southend-on-Sea6,588
Southwark: Aylesbury Estate2,500
St. Helens Wargrave*500
Stockport12,883
Stroud5,429
Thanet3,460
Three Rivers4,180
Torbay*2,947
Tower Hamlets—Cityside500
Tower Hamlets—Poplar500
Tower Hamlets Barleymow181
Tower Hamlets Cranbrook534
Tower Hamlets Granby and Hereford471
Tower Hamlets Lincoln312
Tower Hamlets Longnor Norfolk Osier539
Tower Hamlets Stepney Green and Clichy1,035
Tower Hamlets Wapping606
Waverley5,284
Waverley5,140
West Lancashire7,590
West Somerset*2,500
Westminster500
Wokingham2,988
Wokingham2,988
Woodspring*2,500
Wycombe6,956

 
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Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much council rents have changed on average in each of the last five years. [50821]

Yvette Cooper: The average council rent for England and the percentage annual increase is tabled as follows.
 
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Average rent (£)
Percentage increase over previous year
200045.62
200147.87+4.93
200249.93+4.30
200350.96+2.06
200452.62+3.25
2005 (provisional)55.11+4.73

Council rents are on average 40 per cent. of private sector rents.


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