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19 Feb 2007 : Column 498W—continued
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty dwelling management orders have been served since April 2006 in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement. [118696]
Yvette Cooper: One Empty Dwelling Management Order has been served since April 2006. The dwelling in question is situated in a rural area. In considering whether to make Empty Dwelling Management Orders, a number of local authorities have found that owners have responded by bringing properties back into use before the case is referred to the Residential Property Tribunal for approval. The Department does not hold information on the number of such cases.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of increased house prices on first time buyers in Chorley. [118944]
Yvette Cooper: The North West Regional Housing Strategy recognised that affordability was a growing problem in many parts of the region. The strategy made tackling affordability its second priority after neighbourhood renewal.
The Government have recently published PPS3 which requires local authorities to take greater account of affordability and deliver the right mix of affordable and market housing to meet local needs.
The Barker review has also recognised an under- supply of new housing. In response we have announced our intention to increase the rate of new building in England to more than 200,000 dwellings a year over the next decade. The current Lancashire Structure Plan proposes 230 net additions a year between 2006-16. The draft submitted Regional Spatial Strategy proposes increasing the yearly net provision. However it is too early to say precisely what the final figure will be.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to end the ringfencing of the Supporting People budget. [120249]
Mr. Woolas: The Local Government White Paper ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’ sets out the principle that, where possible, funding will be provided through the LAA grant and that this route will be suitable for most area-based funding streams. We will be giving more detail of what this will mean for the Supporting People programme, as an area-based grant, in our national strategy (which will be published shortly). As delivery through LAAs is taken forward, it will inform future decisions about the ring fence.
Housing: Birmingham
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing revenue account subsidy was paid to Birmingham City Council in each year since 1995-96; what amount has been paid in housing benefit to council tenants in each year; and how this has been financed. [116951]
Yvette Cooper: Birmingham's Housing Revenue Account subsidy entitlement for each year from 1995-96 to 2005-06 is given in the following table. Responsibility for housing benefits payable to council tenants lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Housing benefits are not accounted for in the Housing Revenue Account.
Housing: Fuel Poverty
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to link policy on poor housing conditions and fuel poverty. [110647]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 25 January 2007]: Households living in decent homes are less likely to experience fuel poverty The decent homes standards requires homes to provide thermal comfort through having both efficient heating and effective insulation. Our guidance for delivering decent homes sets out the means by which landlords can meet this thermal comfort criterion, and also recommends that they seek to go further to improve energy efficiency, for example by replacing inefficient boilers, or installing extra insulation or double glazing.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating system (HHSRS) is the Government’s new approach to the evaluation of potential risks to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings. Excess cold is included as a potential hazard and a hazard assessment should take account of the adequacy of the heating, insulation and ventilation. The Housing Act 2004 gives local authorities powers to intervene where they consider housing conditions to be unacceptable following the proper application of the HHSRS.
Where landlords refuse a Warm Front grant or decline to reply to enquiries by scheme managers, or where a landlord declines to co-operate with an approach from an energy supplier under EEC, local authorities may decide an inspection may be necessary to establish whether anything needs to be done to protect the occupant from excess cold or damp and mould affecting the property.
Housing: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people on average there have been on the council house waiting list in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997. [112206]
Yvette Cooper: Information in the format requested is not collected centrally. However, the number of households on the waiting list for social housing in Milton Keynes since 1997, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The link for this table is given as follows:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=l163853
A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Local authorities (LAs) in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns.
Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred option or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what council housing stock level was in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997. [112208]
Yvette Cooper: The following local authority housing stock was reported by Milton Keynes district council in each year since 1992:
| Milton Keynes local authority stock at 1 April | |
| Number | |
| Source: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix | |
Council stock as reported by each local authority in England is published on the Communities and Local Government website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/22/Tablel16_idl156022.xls
Housing Association Properties
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of properties let by housing associations are owned by private landlords in (a) England, (b) London, (c) Surrey Heath borough, (d) Guildford borough, (e) Surrey Heath constituency and (f) Waverley borough. [111510]
Yvette Cooper: Information is available for England only. Registered Social Landlords owned 2,079,500 housing units at 31 March 2006 and managed a further 57,800 units owned by other organisations including private landlords. Separate figures are not available for those owned by private landlords.
Housing Corporation
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Housing Corporation's budget was for 2006-07; and what its projected outturn is. [115784]
Yvette Cooper: The total departmental expenditure limit for the Housing Corporation in 2006-07 is currently £2.009 billion. As at 31 December 2006 the Housing Corporation is forecasting an outturn of £1.945 billion with the remainder carried over for 2007-08. The two-year budgets and targets for the Housing Corporation remain the same for 2006-08.
Housing: Armed Forces
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received from the Ministry of Defence on the housing needs of serving and former members of the armed forces; and if she will make a statement. [119671]
Yvette Cooper: There is ongoing dialogue between Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Defence regarding the housing needs of members of the armed forces. In particular, my officials are currently working with the Ministry of Defence to look into the issue of “local connection” with regards housing allocations.
More generally, in September 2006 Communities and Local Government announced that armed forces personnel are eligible to apply for assistance from the new build element of the key worker living programme.
Additionally, the Ex-Service Action Group, of which Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Defence are members, has commissioned research to look into aspects of homelessness amongst ex-service personnel in London.
Housing: Chorley
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on social housing in Chorley constituency in each year for the last 20 years. [119351]
Yvette Cooper: The following table shows expenditure on social rented housing through the Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programme in Chorley borough council from 1997-98 to 2005-06 together with planned levels of investment for 2006-08. It does not include any investment through Section 106 agreements.
| Chorley borough council | |
| £ million | |
This information is not held on a constituency basis.
Housing: Construction
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 6 February to question 118737, by how much the contribution per dwelling will have to rise to reach the £311 million that is expected to be raised from developers of the relevant expansion areas. [120866]
Yvette Cooper: The Milton Keynes Partnership Business Plan 2006-2010/11 sets out that the expected private sector financial contributions of £311 million are made up from contributions per house of £18,500 index linked per housing unit plus a further £33.46 million from employment land development.
Housing: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision there was of (a) social housing and (b) affordable housing in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last 10 years. [116540]
Yvette Cooper: Information on the stock of social rent housing by local authority area in each of the last ten years can be found on the Communities and Local Government website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/21/Table115_id1156021.xls
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