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19 Feb 2008 : Column 635W—continued
Housing: Local Government Finance
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the amount taken from each local housing revenue account by the Government in each year since 2005-06, indicating in each case the (a) amount taken to pay off historic housing debt, (b) amount redistributed to other housing authorities and (c) gains or losses to each local authority from this redistribution process; and how much she expects to be taken for each in each year until 2009-10. [186842]
Caroline Flint: A table that shows each local housing authority's subsidy entitlement for 2005-06 and 2006-07 (the latest year we have figures for) has been deposited in the Library of the House. Negative figures indicate where the authority generated an assumed surplus which was captured and recycled within the system. In both years, all surpluses were redistributed through the subsidy system and the Exchequer contributed £232 million and £150 million in the respective years to make up the overall deficit.
The requirement for local housing authorities to set aside resources to pay off debt ended in 2004. An authority may still pay off debt if it so wishes, but that is a local treasury management decision. Local authorities are, however, required to make a contribution to the cost of servicing housing debt and this is included in the housing revenue account subsidy system as a “cost of capital”.
We do not forecast the subsidy position for individual authorities.
Housing: Low Incomes
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in (a) Cornwall, (b) the south-west and (c) England in each year since 1997. [186629]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 September 2007, Official Report, column 1668W.
Housing: Migration
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the impact of migration on housing demand in the UK in the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [186928]
Mr. Iain Wright: We do not have an estimate of the impact of migration upon housing levels in the UK in the last 10 years. The 2004-based household projections show that 33 per cent. of the projected household growth in England up to 2026 is attributable to net international migration. The household projections take account of past demographic trends including migration.
Housing: Repossession Orders
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many house repossessions took place in (a) Greater London and (b) each Greater London borough in each year since 2000. [186608]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information on mortgage possessions is only available for the United Kingdom as a whole and is collected by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. These data are available on their website at:
Housing: Standards
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2007, Official Report, columns 1143-45W, on housing: standards, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the reduction in completions of local authority dwellings between 1990-91 and 2006-07. [182810]
Mr. Iain Wright: It is a matter for local authorities to decide, in the light of the priorities identified in their housing strategy, whether some of their capital resources should be used to provide new social housing. A key issue in deciding how this should be provided and what schemes to fund will be consideration of value for money (VFM). There is no bar on the provision of new housing by local councils and there is no requirement for approval to be sought. The local councils would have to demonstrate to tenants and their auditors that the provision of new housing provides good VFM compared to that provided by registered social landlords (RSLs).
RSLs have been the main providers of social housing since the 1990s. They are non-profit making organisations who can provide a greater number of homes for a given amount of public expenditure because of their ability to access private finance and to widen choice and competition among social landlords.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many (a) private, (b) registered social landlord and (c) local authority properties have been found to have a category 1 hazard under the housing health and safety ratings system since its inception; [185969]
(2) how many (a) private, (b) registered social landlord and (c) local authority properties have been assessed as having category 1 hazards under the housing health and safety ratings system in each London local authority area. [185970]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Housing Health and Safety Rating System was implemented from April 2006. Headline findings for England from the 2006 English House Condition Survey were published on 30 January 2008 with the following estimates of the number of properties with a category 1 hazard present:
(a) private : 4,249,000;
(b) registered social landlord: 206,000;
(c) local authority: 297,000.
The presence of a category 1 hazard does not necessarily mean that the current occupiers are at serious risk. The risk assessment determining whether a category 1 hazard is present is based on the potential occupant who is most vulnerable to the hazard: for example, and depending on the hazard that is present, whether an elderly person or a young child would be at serious risk if they lived in the property.
The survey will provide annual updates to these estimates.
Communities and Local Government have asked local authorities in England to submit information on dwellings assessed with category 1 hazards under the housing health and safety ratings system for (a) private, (b) registered social landlords and (c) local authority properties in their 2006-07 annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA). This is the first year in which we have sought to collect data on the Housing Health and Ratings System (HHSRS). Data that have been returned are considered incomplete and not of reliable quality. We will be working with local authorities and other stakeholders during 2008 to review the data we are seeking on HHSRS.
Housing: Sustainable Development
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Code for Sustainable Homes assessors in each region (a) have been fully accredited and (b) are in training; and if she will make a statement. [184241]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Code for Sustainable Homes was launched in April 2007 and is the national standard for the design and construction of Sustainable new homes. To date there are 500 fully qualified and licensed Code for Sustainable Homes assessors. This is already sufficient to meet the existing and anticipated demand for Code assessments over the coming months.
By May 2008 the Government anticipates that the two organisations currently offering Code accreditation services—the Building Research Establishment and Stroma—will have trained and licensed over 900 assessors. Other firms are currently considering providing Code accreditation services, and should they go ahead, this will further increase the capacity and competition within the market.
The number of Code for Sustainable Homes assessors by region, and the number of candidates currently booked onto training courses are as follows:
| Region | Fully qualified and licensed assessors able to operate. | Qualified assessors still to be licensed and not able to operate | Candidates in training up to May 2008 |
Not all assessors in training will necessarily pass the exams so the total number of assessors by May 2008 will be slightly lower than the totals above. The regional split above is the one used by BRE rather than by that generally used by Government.
Land: Greater London
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much land was designated as (a) green belt and (b) brownfield in each London local authority in each year since 1997. [186138]
Caroline Flint: The following tables show (a) the amount of green belt and (b) the amount of brownfield land from NLUD-PDL for all available years since 1997.
Note :
Not all authorities responded to the NLUD-PDL survey in every year.
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