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22 July 2008 : Column 1162W—continued
Government Departments: Public Participation
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the cross-government access plan on public engagement; and if she will make a statement. [218748]
Mr. Dhanda: The proposal to develop a cross-government approach to community empowerment became the White Paper ‘Communities in control: real people, real power;’, which was published on 9 July 2008.
Home Information Packs
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the level of mis-selling of no sale, no fee deferred-payment home information packs. [221218]
Caroline Flint:
No such estimate has been made. The terms on which Home Information Packs (HIPs) are provided to consumers are a matter for the market and the Government have no role in this. HIP providers who
subscribe to the HIP Code undertake to ensure that all literature, terms, conditions and advertisements are clear, fair, reasonable and accurate and are not misleading.
Homelessness: Castle Point
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were (a) registered as homeless and (b) on Castle Point Borough Council’s housing list in Castle Point in each of the last 10 years. [212599]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Hepburn) on 20 June 2008, Official Report, columns 1238-40W.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 21 July 2008, Official Report, column 782W.
Homes and Communities Agency
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role the Homes and Communities Agency will have in (a) promoting the lifetime homes standard and (b) delivering accessible housing standards. [219798]
Caroline Flint: As stated in the National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society, Lifetime Homes Standards will be a mandatory element in the code for Sustainable Homes at level 6 from 2008, at level 4 from 2010 and level 3 from 2013. This will have the effect of ensuring that all public sector funded housing is built to Lifetime Homes Standards from 2011.
We have recently amended the Housing and Regeneration Bill, to make it explicit that the object of the Homes and Communities Agency related to contributing to the achievement of good design specifically includes reference to design which has due regard to the needs of both elderly and disabled persons.
We will expect the HCA to promote well designed quality homes and places by using industry benchmarks in conjunction with recognised public sector standards. The standards adopted will include social, economic, environmental and physical measures of design and performance, building on the work of English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation. They will apply equally to the private and public sector activity in which the HCA engages, covering regeneration and housing, existing places and new places. We will also expect the HCA to consult widely about their proposed approach to quality before adopting specific measures.
Housing: Dorset
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes are planned to be built in (a) Bournemouth and (b) Dorset; and if she will make a statement. [220398]
Mr. Iain Wright:
The Panel Report into the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West recommended an overall net increase in dwellings for Bournemouth of 16,100 for the period 2006-26 and 48,100 for Dorset. This was the recommendation of the panel based on evidence submitted to and discussed at the Examination
in Public held between 17 April and 6 July 2007. The Secretary of State, in her proposed changes to the RSS published today, agreed with these figures. The proposed changes are now subject to a 12-week consultation period.
Housing: Key Workers
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of key worker homes built under the Key Worker Living programme are (a) empty and (b) have not yet been sold or let, broken down by Government office region. [221332]
Mr. Iain Wright: Since 2001 we have helped over 28,000 key workers purchase their own home.
From the 2006-08 National Affordable Housing programme, 470 properties are being exclusively marketed to key workers, of which 461 have been on the market for less than six months and nine have been marketed exclusively to key workers for more than six months. These properties are only located in three regions:
London: 427 of which 0 have been marketed for more than six months
South East: 42 of which eight have been marketed for more than six months
East: one which has been marketed for more than six months
Since November 2005, we have put in place a ‘cascade’ system. The cascade system allows any new build property that has been marketed exclusively to key workers for a significant period of time (usually more than six months) to be offered to other eligible first time buyers.
We no longer fund homes built to be exclusively marketed for key workers.
Housing: Low Incomes
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many completed Social Homebuy sales there have been to date. [221629]
Caroline Flint: Social homebuy is a voluntary demand-led scheme, launched in April 2006. The scheme enables tenants of participating local authorities and housing associations to buy a minimum 25 per cent. share in their rented home at discount. There were 235 sales from April 2006 to end June 2008.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the relationship between residence in social housing and worklessness in the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [221701]
Caroline Flint: In February, I called for a wide ranging debate about how best to tackle the challenge of worklessness in social housing, examining the full range of options.
This debate is now under way and is being informed by the range of available evidence, which includes: the Hills Review of social housing; Housing Corporation research on “Housing associations tackling worklessness”; longitudinal analysis on the relationship between housing
and life chances, by Leon Feinstein, Ruth Lupton and colleagues from the Institute of Education, for the Smith Institute and Housing Corporation; Department for Work and Pensions Research Report “Social housing and worklessness: Key policy messages”; CORE data on new social lettings; Labour Force Survey data; Family Resources Survey data; and Survey of English Housing data.
Housing: Parking
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department issues on the provision of parking spaces as part of the new-build developments; and if she will make a statement. [221397]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government’s overall planning policy on parking is set out in Planning Policy Guidance note 13: “Transport” (PPG 13).
National planning policy for housing in Planning Policy Statement 3: “Housing” (PPS3) gives local planning authorities the ability to set their own residential parking policies, taking account of expected levels of car ownership, the importance of promoting good design and the need to use land efficiently.
Planning Policy Statement 6: “Planning for Town Centres” (PPS6) sets out policies on town centre development. It advises that new development should be located preferably in town centres or other locations offering good access by transport other than the private car and developers are expected to demonstrate flexibility in parking provision. Supporting “Guidance on Design and Implementation Tools” sets out the design considerations.
Draft Planning Policy Statement 4: “Planning for Sustainable Economic Development” (PPS4) proposes the setting of maximum parking standards for non-residential development by local planning authorities to take account of local circumstances, particularly the needs of hospitals.
“Manual for Streets”, which complements PPS3, provides guidance on the design and provision of parking for residential streets. Further guidance is set out in “By Design: Better Places to Live, Safer Places: The Planning System and Crime Prevention” and “By Design”. Good practice guidance on parking for the elderly and disabled, including blue badge schemes, is given in “Planning and Access for Disabled People”.
“Guidance on Transport Assessments”, published jointly with the Department for Transport, is also relevant. This provides advice to applicants on mitigating the transport impacts of developments and on the role of parking provision in such considerations.
Land Use: Databases
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirements local authorities will have to provide information to her Department for inclusion on the new green space database. [221221]
Mr. Iain Wright:
There is no requirement for local authorities to provide information for inclusion on the green space database. This is in line with the commitment
the Government made in the 2006 Local Government White Paper, “Strong and Prosperous Communities”, and the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, to reduce the number of performance indicators against which local authorities must report to central Government under 200.
The green space database will make widely available information held by the Department on green space. We hope that stakeholders with an interest in green space, including but not limited to local authorities, will benefit from this and be encouraged to share information voluntarily.
Local Authorities: Housing
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) registered homeless people and (b) people in receipt of housing benefit have been housed in the private rented sector in each of the last five years. [219519]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information about English local authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level.
Information collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
The first table shows the total number of households housed in temporary accommodation under homelessness provisions, in the private sector, as at the end of the last five years. This includes those households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty, plus those for whom a decision, appeal or possible referral is pending, and those found to be intentionally homeless but who are being housed for a reasonable period by the authority.
| Number of households in temporary accommodation in the private sector, at the end of each of year, 2003-04 to 2007-08 | |||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
| Source: CLG PIE Homelessness returns (quarterly) | |||||
The second table shows the number of households who had been owed a main homelessness duty, but for whom the homelessness duty was ended during the year by accepting a qualifying offer of an assured shorthold tenancy in the private sector. It comprises both those households who went immediately into settled private sector accommodation following acceptance of being owed a main homelessness duty, and those who had spent a period of time in temporary circumstances first.
| Number of households for whom the main homelessness duty was ended during the year following acceptance of a qualifying offer of an assured shorthold tenancy, 2003-04 to 2007-08 | |||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
| Source: CLG PIE Homelessness returns (quarterly) | |||||
The third table shows the total number of recipients of housing benefit in the private rented sector in England (including, but not limited to those households owed a main homelessness duty), in each of the last five years for which data are available.
| Number of housing benefit recipients living in the private rented sector in last five years for which data are available, 2002-03 to 2006-07 | |||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person, couple or family. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Annual caseloads are the average of four quarterly figures. Source: DWP Quarterly National Statistics | |||||
Local Government
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which provisions in the 2007 Local Government White Paper Implementation Plan have not been implemented or commenced to the timetable outlined in the plan. [221525]
Mr. Dhanda: “Strong and Prosperous Communities—The Local Government White Paper” was published in October 2006. The White Paper set out the Government’s commitment to reform of local public services and builds on earlier progress in improving the quality of local services to turn reform into lasting transformation.
The White Paper includes a large number of commitments. The vast majority of actions are proceeding to plan. These include the successful negotiations of all 150 Local Area Agreements (LAAs) which were signed-off on 30 June 2008, the agreement on 14 July 2008 of the first seven Multi-Area Agreements (MAAs), and the implementation of nine new unitary councils, which Parliament has approved, which is on track for 1 April 2009.
There are three areas which have taken longer to implement than the estimated timetable set out in the November 2007 Implementation Plan. These are:
the Councillor Call for Action and new overview and scrutiny powers. We are working with key stakeholders to implement in a coherent fashion changes to overview and scrutiny arrangements flowing both from the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and the Police and Justice Act 2006—including the Councillor Call for Action, for which we are currently analysing the response to a consultation exercise which closed in March. We will work with the Local Government Association to issue guidance on this later this year. We will consult shortly on implementation of the overview and scrutiny powers.
extending the power to promote well-being to eligible parish councils. We are consulting stakeholders on secondary legislation and related guidance, with commencement scheduled before the end of this year.
we will also give local authorities the power to deal with local problems both by making certain byelaws without confirmation from the Secretary of State and by enforcing them with fixed penalty notices. A consultation exercise will be launched shortly and the intention is for these provisions to be in place by the end of 2008.
A further version of the White Paper Implementation Plan will be published shortly.
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