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6 Nov 2006 : Column 880W—continued
Andrew Rosindell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of social housing provided in the south-east of England is allocated to (a) asylum seekers, (b) foreign nationals who have indefinite leave to remain in the
United Kingdom and (c) foreign nationals who have further leave to remain in the United Kingdom. [95234]
Yvette Cooper: Information on the allocation of local authority dwellings is collected quarterly on the Department for Communities and Local Government’s P1(E) form. Between April and June 2006 (the most recent quarter for which data are available), 60 out of the 67 authorities in the south eastern region reported data. Data on lettings by Registered Social Landlords are not collected by these categories of foreign nationals.
(a) Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing.
(b) Between April and June 2006, local authorities in the south-east region reported 14 out of an estimated 2,855 total new local authority lettings to foreign nationals who had refugee status or indefinite leave to remain.
(c) There is no specific class of eligibility for social housing for persons granted further leave to remain. However, persons granted exceptional leave to remain, discretionary leave or humanitarian protection will be eligible to be housed. Between April and June 2006, local authorities in the south-east region reported three out of an estimated 2,855 total new local authority lettings went to foreign nationals who remained here on grounds of either exceptional leave to remain, discretionary leave or humanitarian protection.
The most recent data available on “total” new LA lettings come from the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix, and are for 2004-05. There is estimated to have been a total of 2,855 new LA lettings in a quarter.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the housing market of a shortage of Energy Performance Certificate inspectors. [96677]
Yvette Cooper: The Department has estimated that between 2,500 and 4,500 inspectors will be needed to produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) together with voluntary home condition reports for marketed residential sales when EPCs become mandatory in June 2007. There are reported to be 4,470 home inspector candidates who are either in or have completed their training.
A report commissioned by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and carried out by National Energy Services concluded that there is also a potential pool of suitably skilled individuals prepared to undergo training and become qualified as domestic energy assessors, who could produce EPCs. Training courses offering such a qualification are expected to be available in early 2007, with candidates able to qualify in time for June 2007. Therefore there are plenty of available candidates to prevent a shortage or any impact on the market.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to announce allocations from the next round of decent homes 2006 housing transfer and arm’s length management organisations programme bidding. [96782]
Yvette Cooper: On 18 October I announced that 29 schemes had been awarded places on the 2006 Housing Transfer Programme and that places for a further 20 schemes were being held open for further discussions with applicants. The results of bids for places on round 6 of the arm’s length management organisation programme will be announced later in the year.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shared-equity homes have been (a) built and (b) made available on the market in Coventry, South in each of the last three years. [98883]
Yvette Cooper: The following table shows homes provided through shared equity in Coventry in each of the last three years via the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant. The information requested is not available at constituency level.
| Shared Ownership | Open Market Purchase | |
| Source: Housing Corporation | ||
Shared Ownership includes both new build and those acquired and refurbished.
Allocations provided through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08 are expected to deliver 123 new build Homebuy (formerly shared ownership) units in Coventry.
This does not include any shared ownership homes funded entirely under section 106.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of homes built in Coventry, South since 1997 have been affordable social housing. [98885]
Yvette Cooper: Since 1 April 1997, 25 per cent. of all dwellings built in Coventry have been for affordable housing (social rent and low cost home ownership). Information specific to the Coventry, South constituency is not held centrally.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many children are living in households which are statutorily overcrowded in (a) Luton, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) England. [99472]
Yvette Cooper: Reliable estimates of overcrowding based on the statutory standard are not available because the underlying data are not collected systematically. A one-off estimate was made in 2003 that approximately 20,000 households across the whole of England 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 2000-01 to 2002-03 and from the 2001 “English House Condition Survey”. However, no further estimate was made of how many children were living in these 20,000 households.
Estimates of the number of households in Luton, Bedfordshire and the whole of the United Kingdom that are statutorily overcrowded are also not available.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much gap funding has been provided for stock transfer of council homes to registered social landlords; from which of her Department's budgets this funding was drawn; and how much additional gap funding local authorities have requested in the latest transfer round. [99545]
Yvette Cooper: A total of £182 million has been made available for gap funding over the period of the SR2004, up to 2007-08. We have entered into 13 gap funding agreements with RSLs up to the value of £203 million for periods of up to 10 years. Since March 2005 to 31 October 2006, payments totalling £21.4 million have been made from the Department's Capital DEL budget under these arrangements.
We received applications for places on the 2006 Housing Transfer Programme for 23 schemes from 15 authorities where the negative valuation totals around minus £700 million and gap funding arrangements may be required.
Ms Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) which (a) individuals, (b) authorities and (c) other organisations have responded to her Department’s discussion paper, Tackling Overcrowding in England; and if she will place copies of the responses in the Library; [99573]
(2) when she expects to make a statement on the new standard she plans to introduce to measure statutory overcrowding. [99568]
Yvette Cooper: We have received over 100 responses to our discussion paper ‘Tackling Overcrowding in England’. My officials are currently reviewing these responses. We expect to publish the Government’s response shortly, and will at the same time place copies of all responses to the discussion paper in the Library of the House, except in cases where confidentially has been requested.
Ms Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the London Housing Board’s target that 35 per cent. of new social housing in 2006 to 2008 will have three or more bedrooms; and if she will make a statement. [99574]
Yvette Cooper: Allocations from the National Affordable Housing Programme in London for 2006-07 to 2007-08 will deliver 34.5 per cent. of social rented homes with three or more bedrooms. This reflects the priority in the London Housing Strategy 2005-16 to increase the supply of larger family homes in the social sector. As schemes allocated funding for 2006-07 to 2007-08 will deliver completed homes over a number of years, it is too early to say what progress is being made.
Mr. Austin Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the funding required to enable those
local authorities who face a shortfall in resources to meet the Decent Homes target. [99578]
Yvette Cooper: In order to bring in the investment needed to make all social housing decent, we provide additional ways to support local authorities who need additional funding to make their homes decent on top of the resources provided through the Housing Revenue Account.
By 31 March 2008, £182 million will have been made available for gap-funded transfers, £3.7 billion for arm’s length management organisations and £2.7 billion for PFI schemes. Future levels of funding for gap-funded transfers and ALMOs are being negotiated as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review process.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shared equity homes have been (a) built and (b) made available on the market in (i) Chorley and (ii) Lancashire in each of the last three years. [98044]
Yvette Cooper: The following table shows homes provided via the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant through shared equity in both Chorley and Lancashire in each of the last three years.
| Chorley | Lancashire( 1) | |
| (1) Lancashire, for the purposes of this response, includes the following local authorities: Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre. | ||
Shared Ownership includes both new build and those acquired and refurbished.
Allocations provided through the Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08 are expected to deliver six new build shared ownership units in Chorley and 221 new build shared ownership properties in Lancashire.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government following the publication of Appendix 7 of Milton Keynes Partnership’s MK2031 document outlining the proposals for the demolition of houses in Milton Keynes, how many houses she expects to be demolished in Milton Keynes. [98110]
Yvette Cooper:
The Government are committed to increasing housing growth in Milton Keynes as detailed in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy. Detailed decisions are a matter
for Milton Keynes Partnership and Milton Keynes council. However, we are not aware they have any plans to demolish houses.
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of homes built in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) the Wantage constituency since 1997 have been affordable social housing. [98240]
Yvette Cooper: Since 1 April 1997, 22 per cent. of all dwellings built in Oxfordshire have been affordable social housing. Information specific to the Wantage constituency is not held centrally. However, 24 per cent. of all dwellings built since 1 April 1997 in the local authority Vale of White Horse have been affordable social housing.
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many extra houses are planned for the Crawley and Horsham area over the next 12 months. [97956]
Yvette Cooper: Crawley borough council’s projected figure for new housing building in the year 2006-07 is 269 units, and for the year 2007-08 it is 384 units. Horsham district council’s projected figure for new housing building in the year 2006-07 is 406 units, and for the year 2007-08 it is 410 units. These figures are taken from the annual monitoring report projected figures provided by the councils.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition of overcrowding her Department uses in assessing housing shortages; and if she will make a statement. [97264]
Yvette Cooper: The current national statutory overcrowding standards (the Room Standard and the Space Standard) are set out in Part X of the Housing Act 1985 which restates standards that have remained unchanged since 1935. Under the Housing Act a dwelling is overcrowded if either of the standards is contravened:
The Room Standard is breached if two people of opposite sexes who are not living together as husband and wife must sleep in the same room. Living rooms and kitchens as well as bedrooms can be treated as available sleeping accommodation. Children under 10 do not count.
The Space Standard specifies the number of people who may sleep in a dwelling according to the number of rooms and their floor area. Two calculations are required and the lower number applies. Babies under one year do not count, and children under 10 count as half.
The Government have recently consulted on updating the statutory standards. Recent estimates of overcrowding based on the statutory standard are not available because the underlying data are not collected systematically. A one-off estimate was made in 2003 that approximately 20,000 households across the whole of England 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 2000-01 to 2002-03 and from the 2001 English House Condition Survey.
The Bedroom Standard has been used as the statistical benchmark (for example, in the Survey of English Housing) for measuring overcrowding since the 1960s. It differs considerably from the statutory standards. About 525,000 households are currently overcrowded by the Bedroom Standard. This is about 2.5 per cent. of households.
DCLG uses the statutory standards, the bedrooms standards, as well as other indicators of housing stress, such as rates of temporary accommodation, to inform decisions about resources for additional housing supply.
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority lettings have been made to nationals from the EU accession states since May 2004; and how many have received homelessness assistance in that period. [82908]
Yvette Cooper: A total of 128 local authority lettings have been made to households from the EU accession states since May 2004. These figures include households who have been in the UK since before May 2004. This comprises around 0.04 per cent. of total lettings to all new tenants over the 26 month period.
A total of 524 households from the EU accession states have been accepted as eligible, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty, since May 2004. This comprises around 0.2 per cent. of the total number of households accepted over the 26 month period.
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding has been spent on (i) new and (ii) existing social housing in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [63435]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
The following table shows, in total, how much local authorities have invested and plan to invest in their existing stock each year since 1997 through the Housing Revenue Account, the majority of which comes from central Government funding.
| Housing Revenue Account | |
| £ million | |
| Source: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA). | |
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