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19 Jun 2008 : Column 1138W—continued
A quarterly National Statistics release on house building starts and completions is published by the Department. The latest publication can be found on the CLG website at
In addition, information on house building starts and completions by local authority is available from the Department's ‘housing live tables’. These can be found at
Housing: Low Incomes
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable new homes have been built in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997. [210971]
Mr. Iain Wright: Data are not available for Jarrow constituency. This constituency, however, is within South Tyneside local authority for which figures are available.
The following table shows the number of new affordable homes built in South Tyneside local authority, the North East and England for each year from 1997-98. The figures include social rent and intermediate affordable housing new build; they exclude affordable housing acquisitions.
| New build affordable homes in South Tyneside, North East and England | |||
| South Tyneside | North East | England | |
| Sources: Housing Corporation Local authority returns to Communities and Local Government. | |||
Statistics on affordable housing supply (new build and acquisitions) for England were published in the Communities and Local Government Statistics Release of 12 June and accompanying live tables. The web links are show as follows:
Link to Affordable Housing Statistics Release is available at:
Link to Affordable Housing Live Tables are available at:
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point in each of the last five years. [212066]
Mr. Iain Wright: Between 2002 and 2007, 2,974 net affordable homes have been completed in Essex, representing almost 9 per cent. of total net completed dwellings. For the same period, Castle Point delivered 29 net affordable homes (during 2004-05 only) which represents 3 per cent. of their total net completed dwellings.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the target of an additional three million affordable homes to be met; and if she will make a statement. [212334]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government's proposals are set out in the Green Paper, “Homes for the Future: more affordable, more sustainable” (CM 7191), copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Housing: Sales
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent estimate is of the level of gazundering in the housing market. [212740]
Mr. Iain Wright: No such estimate has been made.
Local Authorities: Allowances
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to (a) collect information and (b) report on the average allowances paid per member by each (i) county council and (ii) borough council. [212068]
John Healey: We have no plans to collect or report on allowances paid to local authority members, which are matters for each council to decide, having regard to the recommendations of their independent remuneration panel and on which the council is accountable to their local electorate.
Local Authorities: Official Hospitality
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if she will make it her policy to (a) collect information and (b) report on the level of spending on hospitality by each (i) county council and (ii) borough council; [212063]
(2) if she will make it her policy to (a) collect information and (b) report on the level of spending on air travel by each (i) county council and (ii) borough council. [212069]
John Healey: The Government have no plans to collect information or require councils to report on the level of spending on hospitality or on air travel. Local authorities are independent bodies accountable to their electorate and decisions on these matters are a matter for each authority.
Migration
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 27 February 2008, Official Report, column 1604W, when her Department plans to publish the cross-government action plan on the local impacts of migration. [212934]
Mr. Dhanda: Communities and Local Government published “Managing the Impacts of Migration: A cross-Government Approach” on 11 June 2008.
Non-domestic Rates: Small Businesses
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many premises received small business rate relief in each of the last five years in (a) Castle Point and (b) Essex. [212060]
John Healey: Castle Point borough council reported there were 625 businesses in their area in receipt of small business rate relief as at 31 December 2006, the only year for which this information is currently available.
At the same date, local authorities in Essex reported there were a total of 13,242 businesses in receipt of small business rate relief.
Planning Permission: Gloucestershire
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the planning application for Hunts Grove was called in by her Department; which persons supported call-in; what the cost of this further inquiry was; and if she will make a statement. [212306]
Mr. Iain Wright: The application for development at Hunts Grove was called in by the Secretary of State because she considered that the proposal may conflict with national policies on important matters in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing [PPS3]. She also wished to be sure of the extent to which the proposed development accords with the current and draft Regional Spatial Strategy, the adopted Gloucestershire Structure Plan; and the Stroud Local Plan. A letter sent to Stroud district council explained these reasons more fully. I understand that a copy of this letter was sent to my hon. Friend by my noble Friend Baroness Andrews, but I will ensure that a further copy is provided.
Requests to “call in” the proposal were received from Gloucester city council, two interested parties, my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester and my hon. Friend.
The overall cost of the inquiry is not known. Stroud district council would have provided the venue and borne the cost of their legal and other representatives both before and during the inquiry. In this type of inquiry the Planning Inspector's costs are not recharged to the council but are borne by the Planning Inspectorate which is an agency of the Secretary of State's Department.
Regional Planning and Development: East Midlands
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to publish proposed changes to the draft East Midlands plan. [212210]
Mr. Dhanda: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government aims to publish proposed changes to the East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (the draft East Midlands Regional Plan) this summer.
Regional Spatial Strategies: Greenbelt
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any core strategies have been rejected or found unsound by planning inspectors due to insufficient consideration given to planning for (a) green field and (b) green belt development; and if she will make a statement. [211382]
Mr. Iain Wright: No core strategy development plan document will have been found unsound purely on the basis of the consideration of green field or green belt land for housing because the issue of housing land will have been looked at on a comprehensive basis, taking into account all sources of potential supply.
Rented Housing: Community Development
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether she has assessed the effect of the increase in privately rented accommodation on (a) community relations and (b) neighbour disputes; [211082]
(2) what recent representations she has received on the responsibilities of private landlords to ensure that their tenants behave responsibly towards neighbours and the wider community; [211083]
(3) what assessment she has made of trends in the proportion of privately-rented properties owned by absent landlords on former council estates over the last 20 years; and what assessment she has made of the effects of such trends. [211084]
Mr. Iain Wright: This information is not held centrally. However, as part of their strategic housing role, local housing authorities make assessments of the extent, condition and location of the private rented stock in their areas together with the impact on local communities.
Where local housing authorities consider that there is a need to exert more control on the management of the private rented sector in specific neighbourhoods in their area, it is open to them to introduce selective licensing regimes alongside other strategic initiatives and subject to the consent of the Secretary of State. So far, seven such schemes have been introduced by five local authorities. We are aware of several other schemes in preparation. The Department has commissioned an independent review of the private rented sector which may offer a view on the issues raised. It is scheduled to report in October 2008.
Rented Housing: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of private tenants in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point in each of the last five years. [212093]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following table respectively shows the number of private sector dwellings completed in Essex and Castle Point over period 2002-2007. These figures do not indicate the number of private sector tenants over that period, since it is not possible to estimate the number of tenants residing in a property at any one time.
| Private sector (n on RSL) dwelling stock position 2002-07 | ||
| Castlepoint | Essex | |
Repossession Orders: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were repossessed in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point in each of the last five years. [212067]
Mr. Iain Wright: Tables 1 and 2, respectively show the numbers of mortgage and landlord possession orders made in each of the Essex county courts since 2003.
These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
No county court caters only for repossession actions relating to properties in the Castle Point constituency. The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. As county courts' jurisdictions are not coterminous with the borough boundaries, any single court's repossession actions are likely to relate to homes in a number of different boroughs.
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