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27 Apr 2009 : Column 1116W—continued
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has undertaken into the effects of increasing the maximum right to buy discounts in each region. [270633]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 October 2008, Official Report, column 970W.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords offered cash incentive schemes to assist their tenants to purchase their homes in each of the last 10 years. [270634]
Mr. Iain Wright: The number of English local authorities giving cash incentive scheme grants in the last 10 years is as follows:
| Number | |
| Source: HSSA (2001-02—present), HIP Annual Plan (1997-98—2000-01) as reported by 354 local authorities. | |
The figures supplied count the number of local authorities giving cash incentive scheme grants and will not include any local authorities offering cash incentive scheme grants that were not taken up in that year.
In terms of registered social landlords, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Regent’s Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck) on 10 March 2009, Official Report, column 322W.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been purchased under the right to acquire scheme in each year since the scheme began; and if she will make a statement. [270639]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of housing association homes purchased under the Right to Acquire scheme in each year since it commenced in 1997.
| RTA sales figures by year | |
| Number of sales | |
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was (a) retained by her Department and (b) passed on to the Exchequer from the proceeds of the right to buy scheme in each year since 1980; and what use was made of those receipts in the most recent year for which figures are available. [270680]
Mr. Iain Wright: Prior to 1 April 2004, receipts arising from the disposal of dwellings under right to buy (RTB) were retained by the local authorities, although authorities with debt set aside 75 per cent. of that receipt to repay their housing debt.
The following table shows for each financial year since 2004-05 the total housing receipts paid by local authorities in England which were retained by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and those receipts which were passed to the Treasury. Most of these receipts arise from RTB sales, but data on this are not collected separately.
| £ million | ||
| Receipts passed to the Exchequer Consolidated Fund | Receipts retained by the Department for Communities and Local Government | |
| (1) Figures for 2008-09 are estimates. | ||
Receipts surrendered to the Exchequer Consolidated Fund are not hypothecated to specific policy areas but, together with other resources, contribute towards the overall fiscal package within which departmental public expenditure programmes are agreed as part of the Spending Review process. Receipts retained by CLG are used to support its housing and planning capital programme expenditure.
In 2007-08 CLG supported £5.5 billion of housing capital expenditure.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many new social homes she expects to be built using the £100 million funding for local authorities to deliver new social housing at higher energy efficiency standards, as referred to on page 105 of the Budget 2009 Red Book; [271375]
(2) whether funding from the £100 million fund to deliver new social housing at higher energy efficiency standards referred to on page 105 of the Budget 2009 Red Book will be available to housing associations; and if she will make a statement; [271376]
(3) how much is planned to be allocated to each local authority from the £100 million fund for new social housing at higher energy efficiency standards as referred to on page 105 of the Budget 2009 Red Book; [271377]
(4) what the higher energy efficiency standards will be for new social housing to be delivered with the £100 million of funding referred to on page 105 of the Budget 2009 Red Book. [271316]
Mr. Iain Wright: The £100 million of funding referred to on page 105 of the Budget 2009 Red Book could potentially deliver up to 900 new council homes. The funding is specifically for local authorities, not housing associations, and will be allocated against bids assessed by the Homes and Communities Agency. The higher energy efficiency standards will be those in the Code for Sustainable Homes, which are ahead of the current building regulation standards. Schemes at higher code levels will be favoured.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) on what date the first property was sold under Homebuy Direct; and how many properties have been sold under this scheme; [271497]
(2) what the average level of financial support from the public purse has been for a home purchased under the Homebuy Direct scheme; [271378]
(3) how many properties have been purchased through the Homebuy Direct scheme in each region; and what the average price of a property purchased through the scheme has been to date. [270582]
Margaret Beckett: The first HomeBuy Direct completions occurred during week commencing 20 April. Detailed sales data for the scheme are compiled and analysed on a monthly basis. These will be available early next month.
Local Government Finance
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was allocated to each local authority (a) in cash terms and (b) per head of population in the most recent round of the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme funding allocations. [270128]
John Healey: Funding allocated under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentives Scheme reflected the business growth achieved by each local authority. A table setting out the information requested has been placed in the Library of the House. The table uses National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 2007, published 21 August 2008.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department provides guidance to local authorities on provision of public funding to groups which campaign in local referendums or elections. [270249]
John Healey: While there are statutory restrictions on election expenditure by or on behalf of a candidate at a local election, and on expenditure incurred by or on behalf of an individual or body in connection with the conduct or management of any campaign conducted with a view to promoting or procuring a particular outcome in a referendum held under part 2 of the Local Government Act 2000, we have not issued guidance to local authorities on the provision of public funding to groups which campaign in local referendums or elections.
The Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity, which all local authorities must have regard to, makes clear that the principles set out in the publicity
code, including those pertaining to elections, referendums and petitions should be taken into account by local authorities in decisions on assistance to others to issue publicity.
Maps: EC Law
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans Ordnance Survey has to implement the EU INSPIRE Directive; and whether it plans to provide data under the Directive free of charge to the public. [270240]
Mr. Iain Wright: The INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) directive has the aim of improving the availability of spatial datasets (including geographical data) held by, or on behalf of, the public sector, for the purposes of Community environmental policies, and policies or activities which may have an effect on the environment.
The directive will be accompanied by a series of implementing rules (IR) which will frame the practical implementation and operation of the directive. Ordnance Survey continues to provide experts to support UK engagement with the development of the IRs. Until these are adopted and operational it is not possible to be definitive on what information will be required to be made available through INSPIRE-compliant information services.
Ordnance Survey's responsibilities as the national mapping agency of Great Britain are not changed by the INSPIRE directive. It will continue to be responsible for the official, definitive surveying and topographic mapping of Great Britain, as defined in its Public Task and Framework Document.
Since the INSPIRE directive makes provision for member states to allow public sector information holders to make charges for the use of their data, Ordnance Survey's new business strategy, announced in the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) alongside the Budget, is unaffected.
Mortgages
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home owners in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) England took out mortgages in the last five years. [271332]
Mr. Iain Wright: Data on actual numbers of mortgage taken out are available from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). However they are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest press release on this is on their website at:
The CML data on mortgage lending are no longer freely available from their website. For detailed time series information members of the public can request to subscribe to CML to obtain access to a restricted website.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what changes to the eligibility criteria of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme have been introduced as a result of the 2009 Budget; and if she will make a statement; [271381]
(2) what changes to the eligibility criteria of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme have been introduced as a result of the Budget 2009; what estimate has been made of the number of households which will become eligible for the scheme as a result of those changes; whether she plans to publish a revised impact assessment for the scheme; and if she will make a statement. [271317]
Margaret Beckett: It was announced in the Budget 2009 that the eligibility criteria for the Mortgage Rescue Scheme will be amended to include eligible households in negative equity, provided that their loan to value ratio is less than 120 per cent. This reflects our commitment to keep the scheme under review to respond flexibly to changing housing market conditions. This is a demand-led scheme, but we estimate that it should help up to 6,000 of the most vulnerable households at risk of repossession remain in their home. This change means that households who borrowed responsibly but have fallen into negative equity because of falling house prices can still be considered for support under the scheme. This does not materially affect the Impact assessment published on 16 September 2008, so we have no plans to update this.
Non-Domestic Rates: Ports
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 12 March 2009, Official Report, columns 750-1W, on non-domestic rates: ports, if she will publish the address and rateable value of each hereditament in each port (a) pre-review and (b) post-review. [270180]
John Healey: The 2005 non-domestic rating list is published on the website of the Valuation Office Agency and is available to inspect at:
A single rating list has been compiled for each billing authority area and the Valuation Office Agency do not hold separate lists of properties attributable to smaller locations such as ports. The information requested could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
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