| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1007W—continued
Key Worker Initiative
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whatassessment he has made of the (a) take-up and (b) occupation rates of accommodation built under the Government's key worker initiative scheme. [51074]
Yvette Cooper:
As at 28 February 2006, 2,817 new homes have been provided through the Key Worker Living programme. Of these 65 per cent. have been taken up and are occupied with a further 8 per cent. reserved/under offer.
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1008W
Where there are vacant units the reasons for these vary from scheme to scheme but to date common features include:
some units have been affected by market conditions including competition from developers who are offering large discounts on private units as a short term expedient to shift their stock
To address this, the eligibility criteria for all Key Worker Living new build units was expanded from 14 November to include:
social workers, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, rehabilitation officers for the visually impaired and qualified nursery nurses,
In addition Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) can consider grant neutral changes to tenure and expanded eligibility criteria.
In addition 23 new Homebuy Agents are now in place across the country to improve marketing and information to first time buyers. This will make it easier for first time buyers and key workers to find out about local schemes, and also for RSLs to respond in a more flexible and informed way to local demand.
National Affordable Housing Programme (Coventry)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding is available for temporary to permanent housing initiatives in the 2006 to 2008 National Affordable Housing Programme, in Coventry; and if he will make a statement. [64750]
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1009W
Yvette Cooper: At present no funds have been made available in Coventry for temporary to permanent housing initiatives through the Affordable Housing Programme 2006–08.
ODPM supports innovative schemes which provide settled housing solutions for households in temporary accommodation. Where these schemes offer value for money but require capital investment ODPM would encourage regional housing boards to support bids for Affordable Housing Programme funding.
Overcrowed Accommodation (Lancashire)
Mr. Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) households and (b) children in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Ribble Valley are living in overcrowded accommodation. [65919]
Yvette Cooper: There are two measures of overcrowding—the statutory definition and the bedroom standard.
The most recent estimate of the number of households failing the bedroom standard in Lancashire county is 10,000. This is taken from an ad hoc report based on combined data from both ODPM's 'Survey of English Housing' and the Department of Work and Pension's 'Family Resources Survey' for the three years 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03.
Reliable estimates for the number of children living in overcrowded accommodation in Lancashire are not available. Separate data for Ribble Valley are also not available.
A one-off estimate was made in the autumn of 2001 that there were approximately 25,000 households across the whole of England that were in conditions of overcrowding that breached the statutory standard. This estimate was based on data from the 'Survey of English Housing' for the period 1997–98 to 1999–2000 and from the 1996 'English House Condition Survey'.
Recycling (Swindon)
Mr. Wills: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding Swindon borough council received to support recycling in each year since 1997. [60997]
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1010W
Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
Swindon borough council have received the following funding in respect of waste minimisation and recycling since 1997.
I can additionally confirm that they have been allocated £378,206.25 from WPEG in the forthcoming 2006–07 financial year and will be receiving £396,244.28 in 2007–08.
Right to Buy
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of right to buy receipts were (a) paid to his Department and (b) retained by councils in each year since 1997; and how much of the total revenue was spent on housing. [61701]
Yvette Cooper: The following table shows total capital receipts from right-to-buy sales of local authority dwellings in England in the years 1997–98 onwards. The figures are net of discount and are as reported by local authorities.
The table also shows the value of housing capital receipts set-aside by local authorities to repay debt. Until the introduction of the pooling regime in 2004–05, set-aside was the mechanism that allowed a proportion of housing capital receipts to be redistributed for investment elsewhere.
As can be seen from the following table, since 1997 the Government have consistently invested more in housing than they have received in receipts. In 2004–05 the amount paid to Government from all housing receipts (not just right to buy) was £1.7 billion. The amount invested in housing was £4.1 billion i.e. almost 2½ times the amount received in receipts. The ratio is expected to increase substantially in the future.
(14)Estimated pooled housing capital receipts.
(15)Programmed expenditure.
Note:
Pooling replaced set-aside as the mechanism to invest housing capital receipts in 2004–05.
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1011W
Supporting People
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the budget of the Supporting People programme was for (a) north Yorkshire and (b) city of York in (i)2005–06 and (ii) 2006–07. [65540]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is set out in the tables.
| Supporting People Programme Grant | Supporting People Administration Grant | |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 15,584,012 | 385,412 |
| 2006–07 | 15,274,485 | 385,412 |
| Supporting People Programme Grant | Supporting People Administration Grant | |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 8,640,941 | 243,102 |
| 2006–07 | 8,436,979 | 243,102 |
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduced level of funding for the Supporting People programme on (a) homelessness, (b) social inclusion and (c) social welfare in (i) west Yorkshire and (ii) city of York. [65542]
Mr. Woolas: Supporting People grant funding is paid to local authorities to enable the provision of housing-related support for vulnerable people. All authorities are expected to manage their funding effectively and efficiently, based on local needs and priorities. To support and provide a platform for that, authorities have been required to review all of their existing services and to develop a five year strategy for their local programme. Within this context, it is for individual authorities to decide how to appropriately manage any changes in funding.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |