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21 Nov 2007 : Column 877W—continued

21 Nov 2007 : Column 878W

Funding allocated to local authorities by the Department for Children, Schools and Families following the June and July 2007 floods (as of 19 November 2007)
£
Local authority	Allocation for June floods	Allocation for July floods	Total allocation
Kingston upon Hull	3,214,424	—	3,214,424
East Riding of Yorkshire	1,477,549	—	1,477,549
Gloucestershire	—	1,007,900	1,007,900
Nottinghamshire	858,508	—	858,508
Rotherham	828,959	—	828,959
Worcestershire	50,000	644,102	694,102
Doncaster	614,862	—	614,862
Warwickshire	81,733	481,070	562,803
Sheffield	498,394	—	498,394
West Berkshire	—	423,404	423,404
Lincolnshire	210,930	—	210,930
Oxfordshire	—	180,422	180,422
Wakefield	179,373	—	179,373
Richmond	—	159,952	159,952
Merton	—	156,489	156,489
Herefordshire	50,000	106,011	156,011
Wokingham	—	129,942	129,942
Kingston Upon Thames	—	128,362	128,362
Barnsley	123,866	—	123,866
Croydon	—	121,580	121,580
Derbyshire	119,761	—	119,761
Surrey	—	118,989	118,989
Sutton	—	118,908	118,908
Wandsworth	—	110,591	110,591
Staffordshire	70,907	—	70,907
Solihull	70,735	—	70,735
Windsor and Maidenhead	—	60,072	60,072
Swindon	—	58,067	58,067
East Sussex	—	50,958	50,958
Birmingham	50,000	—	50,000
Dudley	50,000	—	50,000
Hammersmith and Fulham	—	50,000	50,000
Harrow	—	50,000	50,000
Kensington and Chelsea	—	50,000	50,000
Kirklees	50,000	—	50,000
Lambeth	—	50,000	50,000
Leeds	50,000	—	50,000
North East Lincolnshire	50,000	—	50,000
North Lincolnshire	50,000	—	50,000
North Yorkshire	50,000	—	50,000
Northamptonshire	50,000	—	50,000
Reading	—	50,000	50,000
Sandwell	50,000	—	50,000
Shropshire	50,000	—	50,000
Telford and Wrekin	50,000	—	50,000
Walsall	50,000	—	50,000
Total	9,050,001	4,306,819	13,356,820
Note: As well as these allocations to local authorities, DCSF has paid for surveyors used by some local authorities, and will be meeting some other local authority costs from the contingency fund remaining from the overall allocation of £14 million

Council Housing: Finance

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities are using the new prudential borrowing framework; and how much each such local authority has borrowed. [164842]

John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing the information on capital expenditure financed by self-financed borrowing (unsupported by central Government) for each local authority in England in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

These figures are derived from Communities and Local Government Capital Outturn Returns.

Council Housing: Sales

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local housing authorities are required to ascertain the source of funds at the disposal of those tenants seeking to purchase council housing stock (a) with a discount and (b) without a discount and who immediately prior to their application to purchase were in receipt of (i) means tested state benefits and (ii) local authority means tested benefits; and if she will make a statement. [164733]

21 Nov 2007 : Column 879W

Mr. Iain Wright: Secure tenants of local authorities who have spent at least two years as a social tenant (or five years if their tenancy started on or after 18 January 2005) have the right to buy their homes at a discount, unless:

they are bankrupt or are facing bankruptcy proceedings

they are facing possession proceedings

they are renting their homes in connection with their employment, or

their homes are particularly suitable for occupation by elderly or disabled people.

It is up to tenants to ensure that they have sufficient resources to purchase their homes. There are no requirements on local authorities to check on this.

Local authorities who offer the pilot Social HomeBuy scheme, under which tenants may buy a minimum 25 per cent. share in their home at a discount, apply an affordability test to determine whether a tenant can afford to sustain home ownership. This is because Social HomeBuy is aimed at people who are unable to afford the cost of outright ownership. The test involves looking at the tenant’s income, including benefits where appropriate, and at the costs of purchase (e.g. stamp duty, legal fees) and the on-going costs of home ownership (e.g. a mortgage, rent on the landlord’s retained equity and service charges).

Local authorities can sell properties to tenants on voluntary terms at a discount, under section 32 of the Housing Act 1985. It is up to tenants to ensure that they have sufficient resources to purchase their homes. There are no requirements on local authorities to check on this.

Council Housing: Waiting Lists

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households there have been on waiting lists for housing in (a) Leeds West constituency, (b) Leeds and (c) West Yorkshire in each year from 1997. [166277]

Mr. Iain Wright: The Department does not hold information for areas smaller then local authority districts. Data for the Leeds city council area as a whole and for West Yorkshire are set out in the following table:

21 Nov 2007 : Column 880W

	Leeds	West Yorkshire
1997	19,643	54,792
1998	18,854	50,652
1999	27,013	49,102
2000	22,767	43,283
2001	25,318	44,790
2002	26,641	49,189
2003	31,105	65,803
2004	30,959	73,206
2005	30,699	83,724
2006	23,851	90,766
2007	24,780	101,995
Note: Data relate to 31 March each year. Source: CLG’s annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return

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