| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
26 Nov 2008 : Column 1500W—continued
Housing: Low Incomes
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to ensure support is given to low income households facing possible repossession of their homes. [238801]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government are determined to do everything possible to ensure all families facing repossession have the chance to remain in their homes, and that repossession is always the last resort.
We are working with a range of stakeholders including mortgage lenders, local authorities, the courts and third sector debt and advice agencies to ensure that appropriate support is available for households in financial difficulty, at the time they need it.
On 2 September we announced plans for a mortgage rescue scheme targeted at the most vulnerable households facing repossession. This is in addition to enhanced homelessness prevention work with local authorities, funding for court desks to provide free legal representation for people attending repossessions hearings and additional support for advice services for households in financial difficulty.
Additionally, as part of this week's pre-Budget report the Government announced further support for homeowners and households in difficulty. This includes
changes to regulation of second charge mortgage market; consulting on the sale and rent back market; establishing a lending panel to bring together Government, regulators, lenders, trade bodies and consumer groups; and protecting vulnerable homeowners in financial difficulty by extending the mortgage rescue scheme to cover second charge lending.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much social housing stock each local authority in the ceremonial county of Devon holds; how many people were waiting for housing in each authority on the latest date for which figures are available; and what percentage of each authority's housing stock this figure represents, ranked from highest to lowest. [239961]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information on the number of social dwellings owned by local authorities is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 116 at:
Information on the number of social dwellings owned by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 115 at:
Copies of the tables have been deposited in the Library.
The number of social dwellings by local authority in Devon as at 1 April 2007 for local authority stock and 31 March 2007 for RSL stock is given in the following table.
| S ocial dwellings by local authority in Devon: 2007 | |
| Number | |
| Source: Local Authority Dwellings—as reported by Local Authorities through the Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA). RSL stock—as reported by Registered Social Landlords through the Housing Corporation's Regulatory Statistical Returns. Rounded to the nearest 10. | |
Local authorities in England report the number of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Where local authorities and registered social landlords operate a common register, households registered with the RSL will be included in the data. However, registered social landlords are independent bodies and can keep their own waiting lists. Information on the number of households on local authorities' waiting lists is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600 at:
Copies of this table have been deposited in the Library.
The number of households on local authorities' waiting lists for each local authority and as a percentage of all households in Devon in 2007 is given in the following table.
| Numbers of households on local authorities' housing waiting in Devon: 2007 | ||
| Number of households on the waiting list (excludes households looking for transfers) | Percentage of all households( 1) | |
| (1). Latest available mid-year household estimates for the districts used i.e. 2004 Note: As reported by local authorities. Excludes households looking for transfers. Rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA) | ||
The size of the waiting list is not an indicator of absolute need; it is only useful as a broad indicator of housing demand in an area. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house.
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average period of time was for a household to be provided with suitable housing after joining a socially provided housing waiting list in Suffolk in each of the last five years; and how many households were on each socially provided housing waiting list in Suffolk in each of the last five years. [240001]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information for average length of time on a housing waiting list is not collected centrally.
Local authorities in England report the number of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Where local authorities and registered social landlords operate a common register, households registered with the RSL will be included in the data. However, registered social landlords are independent bodies and can keep their own waiting lists. Information on the number of households on local authorities' waiting lists is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600 at:
Copies of this table have been deposited in the Library of the House.
The number of households on local authorities' waiting lists for Suffolk in each of the last five years is given in the following table.
| Numbers of households on local authorities' housing waiting: 2003-2007 | |||||
| Number of households on the waiting list (excludes households looking for transfers) | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Note: As reported by local authorities. Excludes households looking for transfers. Rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA) | |||||
The size of the waiting list is not an indicator of absolute need; it is only useful as a broad indicator of housing demand in an area. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house.
Housing: Standards
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the housing stock in each of the principal seaside towns has been assessed as (a) meeting and (b) not meeting the Decent Homes standard. [238460]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the relationship between opportunities for regeneration and redevelopment in seaside towns and levels of public housing below the decent homes standard in such towns. [238461]
Mr. Iain Wright: Regeneration schemes are one option that a local authority uses to help it deliver decent homes. The role and use of such schemes is a matter for local decision making and Communities and Local Government has made no assessment of the relationship between opportunities for regeneration and redevelopment in seaside towns and levels of public housing below the decent homes standard.
The Department's report ‘England's Seaside Towns—A Benchmarking Study’ published in early November present findings on the socio-economic conditions of the principal seaside towns in England. It highlights considerable variations exists between seaside towns, with a number faring markedly better than others and some faring better than England as a whole. The report can be found at:
Local Area Agreements: Coastal Areas
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress her Department has made in implementing its statutory duty to co-operate in local area agreements (LAAs) in respect of those LAAs which cover principal seaside towns. [239977]
John Healey: While it is still too soon to make a definitive judgment on the impact of the duty to co-operate, early indications are that LAAs have led to a strengthening of partnership working in local areas. Further evidence will be considered as part of CLG's ongoing work programme on LAAs into 2009, which will include seaside towns. All LAAs are publicly available on the IDeA website at: http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do? pageId=8399555 and contain details of partners that are signed up to LAA targets.
Local Authorities: Copyright
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much additional funding the Government has allocated to local authorities for enforcement of sections 198 and 101A of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988; and how much of that sum local authorities have allocated to trading standards departments for that purpose; [238354]
(2) what proportion of the increase in the revenue support grant for 2008-09 intended for the enforcement of sections 198 and 107A of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 she expects local authorities to allocate to their trading standards departments. [238355]
John Healey: The Government provided a specific grant of £4.191 million in 2007-08 for the enforcement of section 198 and 107A of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 by English authorities. The new burden associated with these additional powers was taken into account in the spending plans for local government as announced in the comprehensive spending review 2007. Local authorities are responsible for decisions on their spending priorities.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |