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3 July 2006 : Column 760W—continued
Housing
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when figures will be published on the average sale price of the homes built under her Department's £60,000 homes scheme. [70708]
Yvette Cooper:
The Design for Manufacture competition is being run by English Partnerships on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government. It includes 10 sites across England which
are currently in public sector ownership. Each of the 10 sites chosen for the competition is being sold to the successful developers in the usual way. It is anticipated that there will be mixed tenure on each site in order to ensure mixed communities, with some homes being available for affordable rent, some under shared equity and some for private sale. Around 50 per cent. of the homes will be affordable social renting or shared equity homes. For example, shared equity in two-bedroom homes on the first sites will be sold for between £55,000 and £70,000. The homes for full sales will need to take account of the land value as well as the construction costs, and their price will be set by the developers in accordance with the market conditions at the time. Therefore, the actual sales costs will be known once the homes are built on site and details finalised in accordance with market conditions at the time.
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new affordable housing units were completed in (a) England and (b) local authorities defined as rural in each year since 2000, broken down by region. [71588]
Yvette Cooper: I have deposited the information in the Library of the House. The table shows social rented units, either built or acquired, provided through Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant (table A) and those provided by local authorities (table B).
Each local authority listed has been assigned an urban/rural classification based on the “Defra Classification of Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authorities in England” published in July 2005.
Using these classifications, the table also shows (from 1998-99 when the classifications can first be applied) percentages of social rented housing units delivered in predominantly rural districts. The percentage of the population in those predominantly rural districts is 23 per cent.
The classification criteria are as follows:
Districts with either 100,000 people or 50 per cent. of their population in an urban area with a population of more than 750,000; there are 76 districts in this group,
Districts with either 50,000 people or 50 per cent. of their population in one of 17 urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 750,000; there are 45 districts in this group.
Districts with fewer than 37,000 people or less than 26 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns; there are 55 districts in this group.
Districts with more than 37,000 people or more than 26 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns; there are 53 districts in this group.
Districts with at least 50 per cent. but less than 80 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns; there are 52 districts in this group, and
Districts with at least 80 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns; there are 73 districts in this group.
The urban/rural classifications are only applicable to all local authorities as defined after the local government reorganisation in April 1988.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were classified as (a) homeless and (b) unsuitably housed in each year since 1990-91; and if she will make a statement. [75828]
Yvette Cooper: Information about local authorities’ actions under homelessness legislation is collected in respect of households rather than persons. The number of households accepted by local authorities in England as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and consequently owed the main homelessness duty, in each year since 1990-91; and the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by the authority under homelessness legislation as at 31 March of each year, are tabled as follows. From 1998, information has also been collected on the number of people who sleep rough—that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night—and these are presented as follows.
| Households accepted as owed a main duty during the year | Households in temporary accommodation at end of year (31 March) | |
| Rough sleepers (number of persons) June | |
| (1) Not yet available Sources: DCLG P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly); and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (annual) (for rough sleepers data) | |
There is no general definition of ‘unsuitable’ housing. The available estimates for the number of unfit homes (as defined by section 604 of the 1989 Local Government and Housing Act) are provided in the following table. This shows a decline from around 1.5 million in 1991 to around 1 million currently. The small differences relating to 2001 to 2004 are not statistically significant.
| Number of unfit homes in England, 1991-2004 | ||
| Number (Thousand) | Percentage of all homes | |
| Note: Unfit homes are those which fail the statutory minimum standard as defined by the Fitness Standard and, since April 1996, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Source: DCLG: English House Condition Surveys | ||
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will amend the planning regulations to make it mandatory for all (a) new build housing and (b) conversions to incorporate photo-voltaics and wind turbine technology wherever practicable. [75855]
Yvette Cooper: Planning Policy Statement 22 on renewable energy allows local authorities to set targets for the percentage of energy in new developments that should come from renewable sources. In a ministerial statement on 8 June I announced the results of a survey by my Department that showed a large percentage of authorities preparing new-style local development frameworks were including such policies in their plans. It is essential that all planning authorities adopt the positive approach to renewables set out in PPS22 at the earliest opportunity in their plan making. In particular the Government expect all planning authorities to include policies in their development plans that require a percentage of the energy in new developments to come from on-site renewables where viable.
The Government's forthcoming draft planning policy statement on climate change will be an opportunity to consider further how the planning process more generally can help combat climate change by extending the contribution of renewables from both on-site and off-site sources.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new (a) private houses and (b) units of social housing were built in (i) Greater London and (ii) Bexley borough in (A) 2001 and (B) 2005. [76653]
Yvette Cooper: The numbers of new private houses and units of social houses built in Greater London and the borough of Bexley are given in the following table. New units of social housing includes all those built by local authorities and registered social landlords for sub-market rent, but does not include those sold below market value to groups such as key workers. Information on social housing is for financial years and figures for 2005-06 are not yet available. Local authorities can use section 106 negotiations on new residential developments to support new social housing.
| Number of new dwellings built in London and the borough of Bexley | |||
| 2001-02 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| Source: P2 returns from local authorities to DCLG, Housing Corporation. | |||
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social housing tenancies have been demoted as a result of antisocial behaviour since their introduction. [76713]
Angela E. Smith: The DCLG has requested that local authorities supply data on the number of secure tenancies they have demoted. The first returns for 2005-06 will be published later in the summer.
The Housing Corporation commenced the collection of this data a year earlier. Its regulatory and statistical returns for 2004-05, indicate that registered social landlords demoted 76 tenancies from June 2004 (when this tool first became available) to April 2005.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to increase the regional housing target for the South East from the 28,900 per annum target from 2006 to 2026 adopted by the South East Regional Assembly. [81512]
Yvette Cooper: Current housing targets for the South East are set out in the Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) and subsequent revisions for the Growth Areas. In reviewing this guidance, the South East Regional Assembly has submitted a draft Regional Spatial Strategy in which they propose housing targets for the South East. It would be inappropriate for the Secretary of State to pre-empt the outcome of the forthcoming Examination in Public of the draft South East Plan by commenting on the housing targets proposed by the South East Regional Assembly.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on housing targets in the South East, with particular reference to the report commissioned by the Government Office for the South East from Roger Tym and partners. [81513]
Yvette Cooper:
Current housing targets for the South East are set out in the Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) and subsequent revisions for the Growth Areas. In reviewing this guidance, the South East Regional Assembly has submitted a draft Regional Spatial Strategy in which they propose housing targets for the South East. The Government commissioned Roger Tym and partners to look at alternative levels of growth to provide independent evidence for an informed debate of the draft Spatial Strategy at the forthcoming Examination in Public. This report is not a statement of the Government's
preference on housing numbers. Any statement on housing targets at this stage would be inappropriate and pre-empt the outcome of the forthcoming Examination in Public.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Council for the Protection of Rural England on the building of new houses in each region; with whom in the organisation; and if she will make a statement. [81708]
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