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18 May 2009 : Column 1194W—continued
Energy Performance Certificates
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Buckingham of 5 May 2009, Official Report, column 128W, on energy performance certificates, from which organisation her Department has commissioned research relating to the implementation of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. [275179]
Margaret Beckett: Communities and Local Government has commissioned AECOM (formerly Faber Maunsell) to undertake the research relating to the implementation of the energy performance of buildings directive.
Fire Services: South West
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her latest estimate is of the cost of the South West fire control centre project. [275442]
Mr. Khan: The full business case for the FiReControl project was published on 6 May. This sets out in detail the forecast costs of project implementation, and contains a South West specific annex. Copies of the business case have been placed in the Libraries of the House and can be found on our website at:
Fire Stations: ICT
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many and what proportion of computers in fire stations malware was detected in 2008. [275401]
Mr. Khan: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Housing and Planning Delivery Grant
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the effect of the recession on the level of housing and planning delivery grant to be paid to each planning authority in 2009-10; and if she will make a statement. [273545]
Mr. Iain Wright: A written ministerial statement on housing and planning delivery grant was made to the House by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Housing and Planning, on 12 May 2009, Official Report, columns 45-46WS.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much is planned to be spent on housing and planning delivery grant in each of the next three years. [276164]
Mr. Iain Wright: £135 million is to be spent on housing and planning delivery grant in 2009-10 and £200 million in 2010-11. No funding has been agreed beyond the current spending review period.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on (a) planning delivery grant and (b) the housing and planning delivery grant in each year since 2003. [276166]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information is as follows.
| Planning delivery grant allocations 2003-04 to 2007-08 | |
| Financial year | PDG (£ million) |
| Housing and planning delivery grant allocations | |
| Financial year | HPDG (£ million) |
Housing: Low Incomes
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) which HomeBuy agents have suspended applications for MyChoice HomeBuy; [275568]
(2) which regions have filled their MyChoice HomeBuy allocations for 2009-10; and when she expects the scheme to be opened to applicants again. [276163]
Margaret Beckett: Mychoice homebuy providers have fully committed their current funds for the scheme. To date the Government have invested £126 million in the scheme this year and are considering the next steps for funding. In managing the Affordable Housing programme, the Government need to strike the right balance between this scheme and other programmes that support the delivery of new homes, including social rented homes, which also support new supply and jobs. Applicants who are eligible for assistance to purchase a home under my choice homebuy are also eligible for our other homebuy products including homebuy direct and new build homebuy.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the Rent to Homebuy scheme became operational. [276165]
Margaret Beckett: The rent to homebuy scheme became operational on 16 July 2008.
Housing: Rents
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average (a) local authority, (b) registered social landlord and (c) private sector rental levels were as a percentage of average earnings in each year since 1997. [275949]
Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 15 May 2009]: Estimates of average rents, for local authority, registered social landlord and private sector tenants, as a percentage of average earnings are given in the following table for each year from 2002 to 2007. Comparable data prior to 2002 are not available.
The estimates are based on average rent data from a number of sources: CLG Housing Subsidy Claim Form; Housing Corporation (now Tenants Services Authority) HAR/10 and RSR; and Survey of English Housing (private rents). For each tenure, the percentage is calculated as the average rent for that tenure divided by the average earnings for England (all tenures).
| Average rent as a percentage of average earnings, England, 2002 - 07 | ||||||
| Percentage | ||||||
| Tenure | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Note: All percentages (for all tenures) are based on the mean gross earnings for England. Sources: Local authority rents—CLG Housing Subsidy Claim form Registered social landlord rents—Housing Corporation HAR/10 and RSR (Regulatory and Statistical Return) Private rents—Survey of English Housing (free market rents) Earnings—ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings | ||||||
Inland Waterways: Planning Permission
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what policies her Department has in place for the protection of wharfs north of Prescott Lock from housing development. [275666]
Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 14 May 2009]: The protection of wharves for river-related use is a matter for the Mayor of London and the relevant local authority, which in this case is the London borough of Newham. The London Plan contains policies to protect a number of safeguarded commercial wharves on the Thames and the Lower Lea and to require referral to the Mayor of any proposals for non river-related uses of these wharves, including housing development. The borough development plans are required to reflect the strategic policies through the inclusion of detailed development control policies. In the case of the Lower Lea, north of Prescotts Lock, there are two safeguarded wharves, Mayer Parry and Priors wharves and these are protected through the saved policies of the Newham Unitary Development Plan of 2001. Change of use of unprotected wharves would be subject to the borough's general policies and, in determining applications for housing development, it would be for the council to judge the suitability of the proposal.
Owner Occupation: Social Mobility
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent research her Department has commissioned on links between home ownership and social mobility. [275556]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department published in February 2007 research on the links between home ownership and social mobility. The final research report is entitled: “Social Mobility and Homeownership: A Risk Assessment—final report” and is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
Rented Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what estimate she has made of the percentage of (a) registered social landlord and (b) local authority residential properties which were built before (A) 1919, (B) 1965, (C) 1980 and (D) 1990; [274839]
(2) how many dwellings owned by (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords were built prior to 1980. [275580]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following table shows an estimate of the percentage of registered social landlord and local authority residential properties which were built before 1919, 1965, 1981 and 1990, and the number of dwellings owned by local authorities and registered social landlords which were built prior to 1980.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the annual turnover rate of (a) local authority and (b) registered social landlord tenancies was in each region in each year since 1997. [274860]
Mr. Iain Wright: The annual turnover rate has been produced by calculating the number of lettings as a percentage of total stock for each year.
A comparison between the figures provided for local authorities (LAs) and registered social landlords (RSLs) is not possible, because RSL figures cover general needs households, while LA figures also include supported needs.
The amount of local authority stock and number of lettings are reported annually by local authorities through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix. Table 1 gives turnover rates by region for all local authority stock for each year since 1997-98.
| Table 1: Number of lettings as a percentage of total stock owned by local authority landlords, for each year since 1997-98, by region | |||||||||||
| Percentage | |||||||||||
| Region | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Notes: 1. Lettings are recorded over the period 1 April to 31 March. Stock figures are reported as at 1 April following this period. 2. Stock and lettings include both general needs and supported housing. Source: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix, Sections A and D | |||||||||||
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