| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 July 2008 : Column 1058W—continued
Eco-towns: Parking
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether there is a maximum number of residential car parking spaces per dwelling allowed in eco-town developments. [214992]
Caroline Flint: We will be setting out our approach on transport and other criteria in the draft planning policy statement on eco-towns which we expect to publish for consultation shortly. The Town and Country Planning Association have also produced a best practice worksheet the transport, which is available to all those taking eco-towns forward, and provides advice and examples of good practice about managing transport within the eco-town, including parking.
Local authorities will also want to take account of PPS 3: Housing which encourages a design-led approach to the provision of car-parking space, to ensure that it is well-integrated with a high quality public realm and streets that are pedestrian, cycle and vehicle friendly.
Eco-towns: Public Participation
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on the appropriateness of the consultation process for the eco-town programme. [213543]
Caroline Flint: We have received a range of representations during the consultation process and will issue our response to the consultation in due course.
There will be further opportunities for consultation and input as part of the second stage of the consultation process. As well as encouraging bidders to extend their consultation process, we are commissioning exhibition and consultation events about the eco-towns concept, the purpose of eco-towns, and a national programme going forward, including information about potential locations. In addition, we expect to publish in July—for further consultation—a draft Sustainability Appraisal on the locations and a draft planning policy statement which will set out more detail for each location.
Only after this second stage of consultation will we decide which sites have potential and which schemes we will support as they go forward into the local planning process, where they will undergo further testing and consultation.
Floods: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations Essex county council has made to her on the Environment Agency's flood risk assessments and their effect on development in (a) Canvey Island and (b) Essex. [213914]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 11 June 2008, Official Report, column 281W. We have received no further representations from Essex county council on the Environment Agency's flood risk assessments and their impact on development in Canvey Island and Essex.
Home Information Packs
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of local searches being duplicated by the buyer and seller as a consequence of the introduction of home information packs. [213920]
Caroline Flint: None—given the confidential relationship between solicitors and their clients it is not currently possible to accurately obtain data on this issue.
Homelessness
Ms Buck:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate
she has made of the number of homeless applications to local authorities in each region in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [215548]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information about English local authorities’ actions under the homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level. This includes data on the number of decisions on applications for housing assistance taken under the homelessness provisions of the 1996 Housing Act. No estimate has been made of future homelessness applications.
Data on decisions on applications between 1997-98 and 2007-08 are provided in our quarterly statistical release on Statutory Homelessness. This is published on our website and placed in the Library each quarter. The latest release was published on 12 June 2008.
Housing: Finance
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the net financial contribution in relation to the housing revenue accounts subsidy scheme was in (a) nominal, (b) real and (c) per capita terms (i) for the Royal Borough of Kingston, (ii) for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, (iii) on average for all London boroughs, (iv) for Manchester City Council, (v) for Nottingham City Council and (vi) on average for all local housing authorities in England in each of the last 10 years; and what forecasts she has made for the equivalent figures in the next 10 years. [212391]
Mr. Iain Wright: The housing revenue account subsidy system involves calculations based on a notional housing revenue account. The amount of subsidy for each local authority is calculated as the difference between the expenditure which the local authority is assumed to incur and the income it is assumed to receive. We do not have a suitable basis for deflating the figures to real terms.
Housing revenue account subsidy in its current form has been paid out since 2004-05. Prior to 2004-05, central Government subsidy included rent rebates for housing benefits which are no longer a part of housing revenue account subsidy. The following table shows the subsidy position for Kingston upon Thames, the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Manchester and Nottingham city councils, the average for all London boroughs, and the average for all local authorities in England from 2004-05 to 2007-08. These are un-audited figures provided by the local authorities.
| £ million | ||||
| 2004 - 05 | 2005 - 06 | 2006 - 07 | 2007 - 08 | |
Communities and Local Government does not have information on forecasts of housing revenue account subsidy across individual local authorities. The forecast of subsidy in each of the next 10 years would require the projection of dwelling stock totals, and interest rate predictions, to 2018-19. These can be provided only by the individual local authorities.
Housing: Local Government Finance
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 April 2008, Official Report, column 1264W, on housing: local government finance, if she will place in the Library a copy of the equivalent figures for 2007-08. [213511]
Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 24 June 2008]: A table showing the preliminary outturn figures for authorities’ housing revenue account subsidy entitlement has been deposited in the Library of the House. The data supplied are subject to audit, which is not due to complete until 31 December 2008.
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2008, Official Report, column 1264W, on housing: local government finance, how much was (a) transferred by local housing authorities into the housing revenue account and (b) redistributed to local housing authorities by the housing revenue account in the last year for which figures are available. [213512]
Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 24 June 2008]: The total assumed housing revenue account subsidy surpluses for 2007-08 captured for redistribution in England were -£615,402,131. Total assumed deficits for the same period were £670,123,974, requiring an Exchequer contribution of £54,721,843 to make up the shortfall.
These figures are subject to audit.
Housing: Prices
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the data sources are for her Department’s house price index. [216012]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department’s monthly house price index is a weighted average of prices for a standard mix of dwellings. The dwelling prices data used in the calculation of “weighted” average prices are from mortgage completions data taken from the Regulated Mortgage Survey (RMS), carried out by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and BankSearch.
The index is “mix-adjusted” to allow for the fact that different dwelling types are sold in different periods. The mix-adjusted index is calculated using a model that uses, in addition to the RMS, classification data from the ONS which clusters local authorities together, a neighbourhood classification from CACI Ltd. known as the ACORN classification and transaction data from HM Land Registry.
Housing: Standards
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on the repair costs borne by leaseholders as a consequence of the Decent Homes Initiative; and if she will make a statement. [213928]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government have received representations on this subject from stakeholders including individual local authority leaseholders and hon. Members. Ministers have also met hon. Members who have expressed particular interest in this subject.
The Government have reviewed the issues arising from high major works charges and announced their conclusions in a written statement to Parliament on 29 March 2007, Official Report, column 118WS; on the Parliament website at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070329/wmstext/70329m0001.htm #07032949000022
This said that the Government would make it clear to local authorities that they should:
inform and advise all leaseholders who face particularly large bills about the best available payment options, and work with lenders and independent financial advisers, landlords and leaseholder representatives to focus on the best ways of tackling these issues. Meetings on this have subsequently been held with a number of local authority and arms-length management organisation landlords
use existing resources, such as for private sector renewal which they are already expected to target towards those in need and on low incomes, to assist leaseholders in hardship. The Greater London Authority has included help for leaseholders among the criteria for regional housing pot bids from London boroughs.
In addition, more resources have been made available to the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) so that it can encourage more dialogue between landlords and leaseholders on service charge and management issues and also encourage them to use its services to discuss issues, establish available options, and where necessary resolve disputed issues. The Government have also fulfilled their commitment to legislate by including in the Housing and Regeneration Bill, which is currently completing its passage through Parliament, powers for local authorities to offer interest-free equity loans and to buy equity shares in properties.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent estimate is of the average Standard Assessment Procedure rating of (a) council housing, (b) housing owned by registered social landlords, (c) private rented housing and (d) owner-occupied housing in (i) Birmingham, (ii) West Midlands and (iii) England. [215024]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following table provides the average energy efficiency ('SAP') rating in the West Midlands and England for each housing tenure, using estimates from the 2006 English House Condition Survey. The survey cannot provide estimates for areas smaller than regions.
| Energy e fficiency (SAP) rating by housing tenure for West Midlands and England, 2006 | ||
| Tenure: | West Midlands | England |
| Note: Estimates based on SAP 2005 methodology for energy efficiency rating. Source: English House Condition Survey | ||
Owner Occupation
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department holds information on the age profile of home owners. [215064]
Mr. Iain Wright: Data on the age profile of owner occupiers are included in a table published on the departmental website. Table S106 contains the age profile of all householders by tenure for each of the years 1999 to 2006 and is derived from the Labour Force Survey, an Office for National Statistics survey. The table can be found at:
Party Wall etc. Act 1996
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 to increase the efficiency with which its provisions can be enforced. [214149]
Mr. Iain Wright: There are no current plans to make legislative amendments to The Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The Department is, however, currently revising The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 Explanatory Booklet to improve the guidance for professionals and building owners in this and other respects.
Property Development: Green Belt
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings were built on green belt land in 2006; and how many hectares of green belt were developed in 2006. [212739]
Mr. Iain Wright: There is a general presumption against inappropriate development in the green belt. Such development should not be approved, except in very special circumstances. In 2006, an estimated 2,800 dwellings were built within the 2007 designated green belt. This is around 1.7 per cent. of the total number of dwellings built in England in 2006.
There were 1,635,000 hectares of green belt in England in 2007. Figures are not yet available for the amount of green belt developed in 2006.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |