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29 Nov 2007 : Column 681W—continued
Homelessness: Expenditure
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent in the (a) Wakefield and (b) Hemsworth constituencies on homelessness by (i) central Government and (ii) local authorities in each of the last five years. [165143]
Mr. Iain Wright: Since 2003-04, the majority of the Government's homelessness grants have been allocated to local authorities to support them in their work on tackling and preventing homelessness effectively. Before that, the majority of funding went directly to the voluntary sector. We do however continue to provide homelessness funding directly to some voluntary sectors, where appropriate.
All local authority homelessness grants are allocated to individual councils and not constituency areas. It would be the responsibility of the local authority to spend this grant as it saw fit to tackle homelessness in its area.
The following table contains the level of revenue funding allocated to Wakefield metropolitan district council over the last five years in respect of homelessness.
| Homelessness funding—Wakefield | |
| Revenue funding allocated (£) | |
This year, we will also be providing Wakefield metropolitan district council with £20,000 under our Hostels Capital Improvement Programme for improvements to Castledene hostel.
Housing
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment she has made of the likely effect on energy efficiency standards of proposed changes to grant levels for private sector housing renewal; and what discussions she has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this matter; [167884]
(2) what recent discussions she has had with the Department of Health on her Department’s new proposals for private-sector housing renewal. [167883]
Mr. Iain Wright: There are no new proposals for private-sector housing renewal policy. ODPM circular 05/2003 “Housing Renewal” includes advice on how local authorities should link their housing renewal policies with social care, health, fuel poverty and energy efficiency strategies. My Department has allocated £10.2 billion for regional housing funding for 2008-11 for housing capital programmes, including those which address the condition of private- sector housing stock.
No final decisions have been made on funding for private-sector housing renewal. We are currently considering advice from the regional assemblies on funding priorities for their areas.
Housing: Construction
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure the availability of (a) skills, (b) manpower and (c) materials to meet the target for building new homes; how she plans to ensure timely planning decisions are taken on those homes; and if she will make a statement. [165862]
Mr. Iain Wright:
Chapter 11 of our ‘Homes for the Future’ Green Paper set out how Government intend to build capacity to meet the skills and construction challenges in supporting housing growth, while also supporting local people's skills needs. Officials in my Department and the Departments for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), and for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), are working closely with the main built environment sector skills councils (SSCs) and other partners to take
forward these commitments to ensure that we have the skills needed to support our plans for housing growth. In addition we will consider the implications for skills of the Callcutt review of housebuilding delivery, and what if any further actions may be needed.
Chapter 2 of the Green Paper sets out how the planning system can support the goal of 240,000 new homes every year. Our White Paper “Planning for a Sustainable Future” also made clear that increasing the supply of housing is a key outcome for planning.
Housing: Digital Broadcasting
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of properties (a) newly built and (b) refurbished under the housing market renewal pathfinder projects have been equipped with communal digital television systems. [168998]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Housing: Domestic Safety
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many assessments were made in respect of (a) private and (b) social housing under the housing health and safety rating system in each local authority during 2006-07. [167570]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on housing duties in respect of households in properties in the (a) private, (b) registered social landlord and (c) local authority sectors which have been assessed as representing a category 1 hazard under the housing, health and safety rating system. [167582]
Mr. Iain Wright: The document “Housing Act 2004 - Enforcement Guidance: Part 1 Housing Conditions” (published 26 May 2006) sets out the legal situation, and what the Department expects of local authorities enforcing the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS).
With regards to local authority housing stock, local authorities, as landlords, also need to ensure that their homes meet the decent homes standard. A home cannot be classed as decent if one or more category 1 hazards are present. The document “A Decent Home: Definition and guidance for implementation” (published 7 June 2006) provides guidance on this.
Housing: Overcrowding
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will add to her Department's Public Service Agreement 20 performance indicators on (a) the number of families with children living in overcrowded housing and (b) the number of social rented homes to be built in 2008-09 and 2009-10. [163157]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government have no current plans to revise PSA20, which is focused on increasing long-term housing supply and affordability.
The number of affordable homes delivered each year over the CSR period, including the number of homes for social rent, will be measured by PSA20 indicator three: 'Number of affordable homes delivered (gross)'.
Housing: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what changes she plans to expenditure on private-sector housing renewal and repair; and if she will make a statement; [168176]
(2) what assessment she has made of the effect of a change in grant support to private-sector housing renewal and repair; and if she will make a statement. [168177]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him today to Questions 167883 and 167884.
Housing: Standards
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to amend her housing strategy following the adoption of the Decent Homes Standard after 2010; and if she will make a statement. [162418]
Mr. Iain Wright: In July my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing published the housing Green Paper “Homes for the Future: more affordable, more sustainable”, which can be found at
The housing Green Paper committed the Government to delivering 2 million homes by 2016 and 3 million homes by 2020 by raising supply over time towards the 240,000 per year target in 2016.
The growth by 2016 will include 100,000 new homes in 45 towns and cities that make up the 29 new growth points. We have committed ourselves to investing £1.7 billion for infrastructure in the growth areas over the next three years.
During this parliamentary session, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing has brought forward a Housing and Regeneration Bill. The Bill received its Second Reading in the House on 27 November. It will create the new Homes and Communities Agency, which will deliver more social and affordable housing, promote regeneration and facilitate the establishment of sustainable communities. The Agency will work with local authorities, housing associations and private developers to provide the housing and related infrastructure required. The Bill will also establish a new social housing regulator—the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords—which will drive up the quality of social housing provision by setting standards for housing associations, backed up by new intervention powers to secure improvements where landlords are failing.
We are also providing at least £8 billion over the next three years to invest in affordable housing—initially through the Housing Corporation and then through the new Homes and Communities Agency. This new
investment, which is an increase of 50 per cent. compared to the previous three years, will help to deliver 70,000 affordable homes a year by 2010-11, of which 45,000 will be for social rent. The Housing and Regeneration Bill will also make changes to the housing revenue account subsidy system to enable local authorities to keep rental income from new homes to incentivise them to build where it is shown to provide value for money.
Owing to the positive response from local authorities and developers following the Green Paper we have increased the number of ecotowns schemes to be provided by 2020 from five to 10. The entire community will be designed to reach zero carbon standards.
We have also announced around £l billion for Housing Market Renewal pathfinder areas. The investment is aimed to continue to help develop practical solutions to address housing market weakness and tackle high vacancy rates, high population turnover, low demand for social rented housing and low sales value.
The Housing Green Paper reaffirmed the Government's commitment to ensuring both councils and housing associations maintain their focus on improving the quality of their existing accommodation and delivering decent homes. We also committed ourselves to at least £2 billion investment in the Arm’s Length Management Organisation programme over the next spending period 2008-09 to 2010-11.
We are also making some £10.2 billion available over the years 2008-11 through the regional housing pot. This is a very significant increase on the funding for the previous three years, which totalled some £7.8 billion. The funding will underpin our commitment to decent homes and to increasing the supply of affordable housing.
Housing: Sustainable Development
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the basis was for the decision not to require new homes funded through the Housing Corporation from April 2008 to meet higher standard than Code Level 3 for Sustainable Homes. [168652]
Mr. Iain Wright: Code Level 3 is already a very high standard and significantly beyond current Building Regulations for Energy/CO2 emissions. For the Housing Corporation it will be a minimum requirement to build to Code Level 3 for the forthcoming 2008-11 Affordable Housing Programme. This ensures that Government-funded housing is leading the way in the drive towards sustainable housing. The energy requirements within Code Level 3 will become part of the Building Regulations in 2010.
Injunctions
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many injunctions have been (a) sought and (b) obtained under sections 26 and 27 of the Police and Justice Act 2006. [167553]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Police and Justice Act 2006 amended measures which have been available since summer 2004. My Department has requested that local authorities provide data on the number of antisocial behaviour injunctions (ASBIs) they have obtained from 2006-07. Those data are not yet available.
The Housing Corporation has collected data from registered social landlords (RSLs) on the use of antisocial behaviour injunctions since 2005-06, in which 758 are reported as having been granted.
Landlord and Tenant: Digital Broadcasting
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role she plans for the proposed new Office for Tenants and Social Landlords in (a) supporting access by tenants to digital television receiving systems and (b) encouraging provision by landlords of communal digital television receiving systems for dwellings in multiple occupation. [168510]
Mr. Iain Wright: The recently introduced Housing and Regeneration Bill will create OFTENANT, the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords. It is too early to provide details on how it might support the successful delivery of the digital switchover programme in advance of its establishment. This will be a matter for the regulator once it is established, taking into account its remit of improving core housing services for tenants.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to encourage social landlords and local authority housing providers to upgrade communal television systems in advance of digital switchover. [168513]
Mr. Iain Wright: Responsibility for upgrading communal television systems is a matter for landlords in consultation with tenants. Digital UK is responsible for communicating with landlords and property managers in order to increase awareness and understanding of what they need to do to prepare for switchover.
The Department continues to co-operate closely with the Department for Media, Culture and Sport, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Digital UK in working to deliver a successful switchover programme.
Planning
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent meetings she or other Ministers in her Department have held with non-governmental organisations on planning reform; and what the outcome of such meetings was. [163859]
Mr. Iain Wright: Ministers have met a wide range of non-governmental organisations on planning reform, principally as a result of the planning White Paper. The Government summary of responses to the consultation on the White Paper is available in the Library of the House.
Planning: Renewable Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department plans to allow local authorities to take green tariffs into account when considering the carbon footprint of new developments. [167076]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government are working with the public sector, business and voluntary organisations in assessing a number of options for solutions that will help to reduce the carbon emissions from new developments.
Green supply tariffs have a role to play in contributing to the achievement of the Government's climate change goals. As such, the Government are committed to working with Ofgem to ensure consumers have accessible, transparent and user- friendly information on the ‘green electricity’ tariffs available to them. Ofgem published a consultation paper on green tariffs “Cutting green customer confusion” on 21 November.
Planning: Research
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated by her Department was taken account of in reaching the decision on new homes in the current plan period; and if she will make a statement. [165045]
Mr. Iain Wright: In order to respond to the Barker review of housing supply, the Department commissioned the university of Reading to develop a theoretical affordability model that models the impact of different levels and regional distributions of housing supply on affordability. This research was published at the time of the Government's response to the Barker review in November 2005, and is available on the Department's website:
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