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Table 2: Unfit dwellings within private sector housing, as reported by local authorities
Percentage
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Barking and Dagenham	4.7	4.2	4.4	4.8	4.8
Barnet	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.6	5.6
Bexley	7.0	6.9	4.4	6.6	3.5
Brent	14.6	14.4	6.8	6.6	15.3
Bromley	3.9	5.0	4.9	3.2	3.1
Camden	16.7	16.9	10.0	11.0	11.1
City of London	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Croydon	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.2	8.3
Ealing	6.0	6.0	5.8	4.7	0.9
Enfield	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.8
Greenwich	13.5	13.2	12.6	12.2	11.7
Hackney	12.1	n/a	11.5	10.8	10.2
Hammersmith and Fulham	17.8	13.8	4.8	5.6	5.5
Haringey	17.6	17.5	17.5	14.6	9.8
Harrow	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.9
Havering	4.3	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.9
Hillingdon	6.0	5.8	4.4	4.4	5.7
Hounslow	11.5	11.4	11.2	3.5	3.5
Islington	11.2	8.0	7.6	6.9	5.9
Kensington and Chelsea	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.4
Kingston upon Thames	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.4
Lambeth	10.1	14.1	14.1	11.3	11.3
Lewisham	7.5	7.4	7.2	6.9	6.9
Merton	12.3	12.2	n/a	6.2	5.7
Newham	26.6	26.7	14.1	15.2	15.2
Redbridge	0.0	0.0	6.1	5.9	5.9
Richmond upon Thames	4.4	6.5	5.5	5.0	5.0
Southwark	5.7	3.6	3.5	6.6	6.4
Sutton	4.9	4.8	4.7	4.4	4.2
Tower Hamlets	6.4	4.6	3.9	3.6	3.4
Waltham Forest	8.0	8.0	8.0	6.3	5.8
Wandsworth	1.6	9.0	8.9	5.5	5.5
Westminster	5.1	5.1	5.0	4.9	4.8
n/a = Not available. Note: Underlying data as reported by local authorities. Some zeros may reflect non-reporting of numbers of unfit dwellings. Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix Return (HSSA), calculated from section A.

Returns for individual authorities are not strictly comparable for a number of methodological reasons related to the timing and methods of assessment used. The latest national estimates from the English House Condition Survey for 2005 indicated 3 per cent. of housing association homes were unfit and 4 per cent. of private sector homes were unfit.

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were built in each London constituency in each year since 2003; and if she will make a statement. [161537]

Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 October 2007, Official Report, columns 41-42W.

Housing: Immigrants

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2007, Official Report, columns 848-50W, on housing: immigrants, what estimate has been made of the number of foreign national headed households in social housing in each of the last 10 years. [159718]

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not collected by the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing: Immigration

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make an estimate of the number of social dwellings owned by
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(a) local councils and (b) registered social landlords which are allocated to non-British citizens with work permits, asylum seekers and refugees. [152670]

Yvette Cooper: Work permit holders granted leave to enter or remain in the UK are not eligible for social housing allocated by local authorities. No data are held centrally about RSL lettings which may be made to work permit holders.

Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing allocated by local authorities under Part 6 of the Housing Act (1996), but can seek help with accommodation from the Home Office if they are destitute.

Refugees who have been granted asylum in the United Kingdom because they have a well founded fear of being persecuted in their own country are eligible for social housing. Using a combination of data sources (the Continuous Recording of Lettings form (CORE), and the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA)), we estimate that in 2005-06 less than 0.5 per cent. of new general needs lettings to new social housing tenants in England were to refugees.

Housing: Low Incomes

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities offer the Social Homebuy scheme; [157459]

(2) how many individuals have completed a sale to part-own or own their social home under the Social Homebuy scheme; [157460]

(3) how many Social Homebuy sale completions have taken place in (a) housing association properties and (b) local authority properties. [157626]

Yvette Cooper: In April 2006 four social landlords began piloting Social Homebuy on a voluntary basis. The pilot scheme, which will run until March 2008, allows participating local authorities and housing associations to offer tenants living in social rented accommodation the opportunity to purchase discounted shares of their home starting with an initial share of 25 per cent.

The majority of the 88 sales to date have come from completions with the first phase of participating landlords, most of whom joined in late 2006. 85 were from housing association and three were from local authorities. Since April this year a second phase of landlords have joined the pilot scheme and are now offering Social Homebuy to their tenants. As with normal home purchases it can take several months to reach completion.

In all there are now 77 housing associations and nine local authorities who are offering tenants the chance to purchase a share in their home.

Housing: Rural Areas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government are taking to improve the supply of rural housing. [147373]

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