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3 July 2006 : Column 765W—continued
Yvette Cooper:
On 21 March this year Ispoke at the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) led seminar on The Evidence Base on Housing, and discussed the overall need for new homes. Neither I nor the Secretary of State have had separate discussions with the CPRE about individual
regions. However, the CPRE contributed to the Affordable Rural Housing Commission’s report and are contributing to the regional planning process.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of new homes in each region have been designated as affordable housing in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [81709]
Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the proportion of newly built homes defined as affordable in each region ("affordable homes" are those provided at submarket rent or for shared ownership). These affordable homes have been provided through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme, Local Authority Social Housing Grant and section 106 planning agreements negotiated by local authorities.
| Newly built dwellings defined as affordable | |||||||||
| Percentage | |||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06( 1) | |
| (1) Provisional. | |||||||||
Section 106 data have been collected only from 2000-01 but are not yet available for 2005-06.
This information does not include new affordable homes provided through acquisition and refurbishment for both social rent and low cost home ownership.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households on average were in temporary housing in each region in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [81712]
Yvette Cooper: Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation, which includes the number of households living in temporary accommodation, is summarised in the Department's quarterly Statistical Release on statutory homelessness. The latest Release, covering statistics to the end of March 2006, was published on 12 June. Copies are available in the Library, and from the ODPM website at:
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882& PressNoticeID=2095
Table 7 presents a regional summary of all households in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities, as at the end of each quarter since March 1997.
The duty owed to a person accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need 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.
Our strategy, “Sustainable Communities: Settled Homes, Changing Lives”, sets out the challenging aim to halve the number of households in insecure temporary accommodation by 2010.
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of vulnerable people living in homes that fall below the decent homes standard. [79386]
Yvette Cooper: The English House Condition Survey annually publishes estimates of the number and proportion of “vulnerable” households living in homes that fall below the decent homes standard. The latest figures available are for April 2003 when there were 2,034,000 such households in the private and social sectors (36 per cent. of all vulnerable households). Vulnerable households are defined for the purposes of the Decent Homes programme in “A Decent Home: Definition and Guidance for Implementation—June 2006 Update”, available on the website at www.communities.gov.uk/ under “housing”/“making homes decent”.
Mr. Rogerson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much
money has been allocated by the Government for local authority schemes to help improve the homes of vulnerable people living in private accommodation. [79387]
Yvette Cooper: The Government have made £388 million available in capital grant to local authorities in 2006-07 to support their private sector housing capital investment programmes, including meeting the Decent Homes standard for vulnerable people in the private sector.
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006, Official Report, column 1394W, on housing, which local authorities are able to meet the decent homes standard on the basis of Government investment; and which local authorities she expects to be unable to meet the standard without taking advantage of the additional investment options mentioned. [79411]
Yvette Cooper: Some 98 local authorities have put plans in place to deliver decent homes through the resources directly from Government and their own resources without using the arm’s length management organisation (ALMO), stock transfer or PFI programmes. A list of these authorities has been placed in the Library of the House.
Some 246 local authorities have used, or are expected to use, one or more of the three options for additional investment (ALMO, LSVT or PFI). A list of these authorities has been placed in the Library of the House.
There are a number of authorities which are reconsidering their investment options, following the need to change their original plans. These authorities have yet to confirm whether they will deliver decent homes without using additional investment.
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006, Official Report, column 1394W, on housing, what the timetable is for further bidding rounds for the investment options mentioned; and how much additional funding will be made available from central Government for each option. [79412]
Yvette Cooper: Applications for the round 6 arm’s length management organisation (ALMO) programme, and the 2006 large-scale voluntary transfer programme (LSVT) are due by the end of July. We aim to announce the outcome at the end of September. The funding available to deliver these options will be determined through the comprehensive spending review.
The application period for the round 5 housing PFI programme closed on 31 March and 14 bids were received. We aim to announce the outcome of the PFI bidding round by the end of July. The funding for these schemes will come from the £1.2 billion allocated in the 2004 spending review. Funding for future bidding rounds will depend on the outcome of the CSR.
Mr. Kemp:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if she will ask the Housing Corporation to increase its allocation under the National Affordable Housing Programme
2006-08 to the bid submitted by Housing 21 in partnership with Sunderland city council to fund developments across the city of Sunderland; [79507]
(2) what criteria the Housing Corporation took into account when deciding the size of the allocation under the National Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08 scheme to the bid submitted by Housing 21 in partnership with Sunderland city council to fund developments across the city of Sunderland; [79508]
(3) if she will ask the Housing Corporation to publish in advance the guidance it will follow in future decisions under the National Affordable Housing Programme on allocation of finances to local projects, with particular reference to extra care developments; [79509]
(4) what factors the Housing Corporation took into account when deciding not to allocate finance for plans by the Sunderland housing group for an extra care scheme at Houghton under the National Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08; [79510]
(5) what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the allocation of resources to the bid by Housing 21 in partnership with Sunderland city council from the National Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08. [79511]
Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) is a competitive bidding round.
In assessing bids the Corporation used a two stage process for the 2006-08 AHP round. Bids were assessed for compliance with the competition requirements as follows:
(i) Additionality—grant must be necessary for the affordable housing to be delivered;
(ii) Rent levels in accordance with Corporation or statutory rent regimes to ensure affordability;
(iii) Schemes must be financially independent;
(iv) Schemes must meet or exceed the minimum standards covering design and quality (expressed through the Corporation’s Scheme Development Standards, Housing Quality Indicator system, and a Very Good EcoHomes rating);
(v) Schemes must start on site by 31 March 2008;
(vi) Schemes must complete before 31 March 2011;
(vii) Schemes must conform to the relevant regional housing board priorities;
(viii) Schemes must meet management and maintenance standards (for housing associations schemes must comply with all of the Corporation’s regulatory requirements in relation to the management and maintenance of affordable homes);
(ix) Bidders must have the capacity to enter into a programme agreement.
Bids which met these competition requirements were then subject to competitive assessment using four criteria:
Value-for-money;
Quality;
Fit with regional and local housing strategies;
Deliverability within the programme time scale.
The Housing Corporation assessed that the bids from Housing 21 and the extra care scheme at
Houghton submitted by the Sunderland housing group did not represent value for money compared with other bids received.
The Housing Corporation is continuing to work with registered social landlords and Sunderland city council over future housing needs in the city.
The Housing Corporation intends to publish its prospectus for the next bidding round in summer 2007. This will set out the general criteria including that for extra care schemes.
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many cases have been decided by local authorities under section 185(4) of the Housing Act 1996 where the outcome has proved incompatible with article 14 of the European convention on human rights, where all proceedings are complete; and if she will make a statement; [79526]
(2) how many representations she has received in respect of the decision of the Court of Appeal that section 185(4) of the Housing Act 1996 is incompatible with article 14 of the European convention on human rights; what plans she has to rectify the situation; and if she will make a statement. [79527]
Yvette Cooper: Two declarations of incompatibility have been made regarding section 185(4) of the Housing Act 1996; one by the Court of Appeal in the case of Sylviane Pierrette Morris v. Westminster city council [2005] EWHC 1184 (CA), and another by the High Court in the case of the Queen (on the application of) Gabaj and the First Secretary of State, CO 7458/2005. In both cases, the court proceedings are complete. The Government are currently considering how to remedy the incompatibility. The Department has received one representation about the decision of the Court of Appeal (from the Housing Law Practitioners Association).
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