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27 Apr 2009 : Column 1112W—continued
First Time Buyers
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have applied for assistance under the first-time buyers initiative; how many applications have been granted; and what the average level of support provided has been. [270638]
Mr. Iain Wright: Since the start of the FTBI programme, 37,455 applications have been registered where the applicant has either specifically mentioned FTBI or included it as one of the HomeBuy products that they are considering. Therefore, the number does not exclusively comprise FTBI applications.
Of the total number of applications, around 30,275 have been approved as eligible for the HomeBuy products, including FTBI.
In terms of the average level of support provided, an average contribution of about £72,500 has been made in each purchase.
Homes and Communities Agency: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what additional funding will be provided for the Homes and Communities Agency as a result of the 2009 Budget; what schemes this funding will be used to support; and in which region each such scheme will be. [271315]
Margaret Beckett: As a result of the Budget 2009 the HCA will receive an additional £635 million. This is broken down as follows:
£400 million to unlock currently stalled developments by providing development finance, and additional funding for social and affordable housing, including help for first time buyers.
£50 million to enable local authorities to deliver new social housing over the next two years.
Up to £80 million to support delivery of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme which is being extended to enable households in negative equity (up to a maximum of 120 per cent. loan to value) to access the scheme.
£84 million to provide cavity wall insulation in the social sector.
£21 million for investment in innovative low-carbon heating systems which support housing developments.
These programmes will be administered nationally and sites will be selected against criteria including value for money, deliverability and affordability. Nevertheless, the Government expect a good regional distribution of projects and have asked regional partners for their priorities.
Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what estimate has been made of the number of homes owned by housing associations in each of the last three years; [270624]
(2) what estimate has been made of the number of homes owned by registered social landlords in each of the last three years. [270626]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 30 March 2009, Official Report, columns 980-82W.
Housing Associations
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the market value of homes owned by housing associations in each of the last three years. [270625]
Mr. Iain Wright: An estimate of the monetary value of homes owned by registered social landlords (RSLs) in each of the last three years provided in the following table is derived from the financial accounts of RSLs. The value given is the aggregate of figures provided by individual RSLs to the TSA by all RSLs that own 1,000 or more homes, representing approximately 97 per cent. of all homes owned in the RSL sector. This is reported in the publication “Global accounts of housing associations” produced by the TSA. The estimate of value is provided taking into account the public grant subsidy received.
| £ million | |||
| As at 31 March each year | |||
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | |
Housing: Care Leavers
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities make specific mention of the accommodation needs of care leavers in their (a) housing and (b) homelessness strategies. [271311]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department does not collect this information centrally. However making sure that care leavers have access to an appropriate range of accommodation options is a priority for Government.
Local authorities are expected to assess and plan for the current and future housing needs for all local people, including vulnerable people such as care leavers. They have statutory responsibilities for providing care leavers with the support they need until they are 21, or longer if they remain in an approved programme of education or training. Where care leavers are under 18 but have moved on from foster care or a children's home, their responsible local authority has a duty to make sure that they are maintained in suitable accommodation.
To support and improve access to suitable accommodation for care leavers my Department has taken a number of recent steps. Last year we jointly published guidance with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) on how agencies should work together to prevent youth homelessness with a focus on enabling care leavers to have access to the full range of supported accommodation for young people in their area. This combines with our ongoing work on PSA 16 which sets out the Government's aim that the most vulnerable adults are offered the chance to get back on a path to a more successful life by increasing the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and in employment, education or training. Care leavers are one of the four groups the PSA specifically focuses on.
This work includes targeted intervention with local authorities across the country who have the lowest percentages of care leavers in suitable accommodation; DCSF staff based in regional Government offices and CLG jointly conduct these visits.
Our work on the National Youth Homelessness Scheme also monitors homelessness acceptances by care leavers on a quarterly basis and has an ongoing visit programme to local authorities to help them improve their approach to preventing and tackling youth homelessness in order to support young people, including care leavers, who need help with their transition to independence.
Housing: Construction
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the projected figure for housing completions in 2007-08 was in October 2007; how many such completions there were in 2007-08; and if she will make a statement. [270356]
Mr. Iain Wright: No projection was made by the Government for housing completions in 2007-08. In 2007-08, housing completions in England totalled 166,990.
Housing: Energy
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many energy efficient homes have been built in England in the last five years. [271331]
Mr. Iain Wright: All new homes built in the last five years have been required to meet the minimum energy efficiency standards of Part L of the Building Regulations. The Part L standard for new homes was raised by 20 per cent. in 2006. This requirement will progressively increase leading up to the Zero Carbon target from 2016.
There are a number of homes that have been built to higher standards than regulation requires at this time. These homes may have been built for a number of different reasons through various schemes, such as the Code for Sustainable Homes.
Affordable Housing
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the London and Quadrant Up2You portfolio completed the investment management system process under the National Affordable Housing Programme. [270123]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) have concluded discussions with L&Q regarding the proposals to unlock additional affordable housing across the Up2U package of development sites. The specific bids which pertain to each individual site have yet to be entered onto the investment management system. This will be completed later this financial year.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the maximum household income is at which a household is eligible for intermediate level (a) affordable housing and (b) shared ownership schemes. [270245]
Mr. Iain Wright: There is no standard maximum household income at which a household becomes eligible for intermediate level affordable housing and/or shared ownership schemes. This will vary depending on the location and type of scheme. Purchasers’ household income must not exceed £60,000 and they must be able to demonstrate that they cannot buy without assistance but can sustain home ownership.
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what regulations govern the provision of domestic properties via property purchase-and-rent-back schemes. [270350]
Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
Sale and rent back agreements are not currently regulated. On 6 February 2009, the Government published a consultation document, proposing that companies offering sale and rent back agreements are brought within the scope of Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation. The consultation will close on 1 May 2009. It is available at:
The FSA has published a separate consultation alongside on the detail of its proposed new regime, available at:
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have applied for assistance via the OwnHome scheme; how many applications have been granted; and what the average level of support provided has been. [270619]
Mr. Iain Wright: 6,409 applications were made for the Own Home scheme to the end of March 2009, of which 4,758 were approved by the provider for the purchaser to seek a property. The average level of support in terms of Government funding was £28,400.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Homes and Communities Agency spent on acquiring unsold stock for affordable housing in March 2009. [270629]
Mr. Iain Wright: Provisional figures show that the Homes and Communities Agency allocated around £118 million in March 2009 on acquiring unsold stock for affordable housing. In total over £350 million was allocated on the purchase of unsold stock from developers to provide around 9,600 affordable homes.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to review the level of maximum right to buy discounts in each region; and if she will make a statement. [270630]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government have no plan to review the maximum limits on Right to Buy discounts.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the maximum right to buy discount was in each region in each of the last 10 years; [270631]
(2) what the maximum right to buy discount was in 2008-09 prices in each region in each of the last 10 years. [270635]
Mr. Iain Wright: The answer is as follows:
| £ | |
|
Chiltern, Epsom and Ewell, Hart, Oxford, Reading, Reigate and Banstead, Tonbridge and Mailing, Vale of White Horse, West Berkshire | |
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing association tenants were eligible to take part in the preserved right to buy scheme in each region in each of the last three years. [270632]
Mr. Iain Wright: Assured tenants of housing associations who were formerly secure tenants of local authorities and have transferred to their present landlords with their homes under large scale voluntary transfers (LSVTs) have a preserved right to buy their homes. The number of dwellings transferred under LSVTs during each of the last three years is as follows:
| Dwellings transferred | |||
| Region | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
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