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1 July 2008 : Column 789W—continued
Eco-towns: Planning
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether houses built in eco-town developments will count towards the house building targets in the relevant local authority’s core strategy. [213894]
Caroline Flint:
Housing built in an eco-town can count towards the house building targets in the relevant
local authority’s core strategy, but local authorities need to keep in mind that housing targets are likely to rise over time to reflect the growing number of households, and need for housing.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to issue a (a) national policy statement and (b) planning policy statement on eco-towns. [213927]
Caroline Flint: We expect to publish a draft planning policy statement for consultation in July. It will be place specific, and will be an important material consideration in the determination of any planning application for an eco-town, particularly where the development plan is silent or out of date.
National policy statements set the framework for decisions by the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which is being considered under proposals in the Planning Bill. Its role will be to consider nationally significant infrastructure projects, such as proposals for major new power stations. This process will not apply to housing development, and there will not be a national policy statement for eco-towns. Planning applications for eco-towns will be submitted to the appropriate local authority.
Floods: Property Development
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many houses, in each region are (a) in and (b) due to be built in areas of high flood risk; and if she will make a statement. [214079]
Caroline Flint: The following table lists the number of properties that are in areas of high flood risk according to the Environment Agency’s National Flood Risk Assessment (2006).
| Region | Number of properties |
The Department does not hold information on where new houses will be built. Approval for new housing is the responsibility of local planning authorities, which are required to take account of Government policy including Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk.
Greenbelt: Databases
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 6 June 2008, Official Report, column 1176W, on eco-towns, whether the (a) Maps on Taps and (b) MAGIC databases hold information on green gaps and green wedges. [213933]
Caroline Flint: The Maps on Tap service has been discontinued and the MAGIC database, run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not hold information on green gaps or green wedges.
Homelessness: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) registered charities and (b) community-based schemes providing help for homeless people in Leeds Metropolitan District will receive funding for that work from her Department in 2008-09; and if she will make a statement. [215398]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department is providing Leeds city council with £440,000 Homelessness Grant in 2008-09. Local authorities use the funding to tackle homelessness in their areas, which can include the funding of other organisations to help deliver their homelessness strategy. There is overall funding of £150 million going to local authorities and £50 million to the voluntary sector over the next three years—the largest ever cash injection into homelessness services.
Leeds city council has also received capital funding under our hostels programme: £430,000 for Faith Lodge hostel and £988,000 for the St. George’s Crypt Centre. Both projects are run by St. George’s Crypt. This is part of our significant investment of £170 million to improve hostels and day centres.
Housing Benefit: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on housing benefit in the Peterborough City Council area in each year since 1997. [214568]
Mr. Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is in the following table.
| Total housing benefit payments for Peterborough city council (nominal terms) | |
| £ million | |
| Notes: 1. Information sourced from local authority claims for Housing Revenue Account subsidy and housing benefit and council tax benefit subsidy. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000. 3. Figures presented are audited, but may change in future if local authorities' audited accounts are amended after a decision or appeal. Figures for recent years are more likely to be amended than older data. 4. Figures relate to what local authorities spend on claimants and include discretionary expenditure (mainly disregards of war pensions), and overpayments except where benefit has been granted in advance (where the benefit is paid in the form of a rebate). Source: DWP Expenditure Tables | |
Housing: Construction
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) homes and (b) affordable homes have been built in each London local authority area in each year since 1992. [214326]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House. The information shows the number of new affordable homes (social rent and intermediate) built in each London borough since 1992-93; the figures exclude affordable housing acquisitions.
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 shown as follows:
Link to Affordable Housing Statistics Release:
Link to Affordable Housing Live Tables:
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were built in (a) Chorley, (b) Lancashire, (c) the North West and (d) England in each of the last five years. [214789]
Mr. Iain Wright: The figures requested are presented as follows.
| Chorley | Lancashire | North West | England | |
| Source: New build completions from P2 returns submitted by local authorities and National House Building Council (NHBC). Regional and national totals include imputation for missing returns from local authorities. The local authority and county level figures are as reported and do not include imputation estimates. | ||||
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new dwellings were started in each region in each of the last three years; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of new dwellings which will be started in the next two years. [213385]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following table shows annual new house building starts in each region in England between 2005-06 and 2007-08.
| Region | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Source: P2/P2a house building returns from local authorities and National House Building Council on new build starts. | |||
These figures refer to new build starts which do not directly relate to net additional dwellings, the key measure of housing supply.
The Department does not publish forecasts for house building.
Housing: Empty Property
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty domestic dwellings there were in (a) England and (b) each Government Office region in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007. [212786]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of empty dwellings in England and each Government office region in 2006 and 2007.
| Region | Empty domestic dwellings as at 9 October 2006 | Empty domestic dwellings as at 8 October 2007 |
| Source: Council Taxbase and Council Taxbase Supplementary (CTB1 and CTB1S) returns from local authorities. | ||
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