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Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the actual, estimated or budgeted amount allocated to each housing market renewal Pathfinder area, and to each local authority within each such area, for each year since the scheme started and for each of the next three years. [HL86]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Baroness Andrews): The actual funding or allocation ceiling for each Pathfinder area by year for the Housing Market Renewal Fund is set out in the following table.
Distribution between local authority areas is a matter for the Pathfinder to determine, based on the devised strategy for achieving market renewal in their areas.
All figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million.
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Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the actual and estimated number of
(c) houses renovated as two into one;
(d) new dwellings from conversion of other properties; and
(e) new dwellings from new build,
for each housing market renewal Pathfinder area and for each local authority within each Pathfinder area, for each year since the scheme started and for each of the next three years. [HL129]
Baroness Andrews: The table below provides information on actual and estimated outputs for demolitions, refurbishments and new builds and is broken down by Pathfinder area. Information by local authority area is not collected centrally, nor is information on the number of houses renovated as two into one and the number of new dwellings from conversion of other properties.
The table shows that demolition is only part of a package of measures within the housing market renewal programme, which includes substantial refurbishment.
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* Actual figures are latest figures up to September 2004. Estimated figures are up to 31 March 2006. Figures relate to outputs funded by housing market renewal funding only.
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Hybrid Bill Procedures
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they will take to ensure that the parliamentary hybrid Bill procedure complies with European Union Directive 2003/35/EC. [HL239]
Baroness Andrews : The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not planning to recommend changes to parliamentary hybrid Bill procedures. Standing Order 27A of Private Business, to which hybrid Bills are subject, already requires the deposit of an environmental statement in accordance with Schedule 4 to the Town and Country Planning (Environmental
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Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999, and we are satisfied that hybrid Bills will be handled so that they meet all the objectives of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (85/337/EEC as amended by 97/11/EC and 2003/35/EC).
London Boroughs: Private Residential Developments
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what dates each of London's boroughs adopted a policy of securing planning gain from new private residential developments. [HL125]
Baroness Andrews: Information is not held centrally on the timing of adoption of planning obligations policies in London borough plans and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether local authorities can require planning gain as a condition of planning approval for properties for market sale to be built on sites acquired by English Partnerships under its London-wide initiative. [HL126]
Baroness Andrews: Local planning authorities can seek to enter into planning obligations under the provisions of Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as revised by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991. It is for the local planning authorities to decide if it would be appropriate to negotiate planning obligations for the sites acquired for the London-wide initiative.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which sites were acquired by English Partnerships under its London-wide initiative; and how many dwellings and affordable homes have been built or are planned to be built on each site. [HL127]
Baroness Andrews: English Partnerships has acquired 15 sites for the London-wide initiative and provided one site it already owned at East India Dock Road, Tower Hamlets.
The sites acquired are located at:
Lymington Fields, Barking and Dagenham
Catford Greyhound stadium and rail site, Lewisham
The Mayor of London has also pledged to transfer the Gallions 2 site in Docklands to the initiative. This site is expected to deliver around 300 new homes.
This pilot phase of the initiative is expected to deliver about 4,500 homes, 2,000 of which will be affordable homes for sale to key workers and first time buyers. Work is continuing with partners and the relevant local authorities on the total number and mix of units on each site and to bring them forward for development. Development is expected to commence on the first site later this year.
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Carers
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What allowances a full-time carer of working age, with a severely disabled adult dependant, is entitled to claim, including income support; and whether these allowances provide the carer and the dependant with a reasonable standard of living. [HL38]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Carers and severely disabled adults have access to the full range of social security benefits: carer's allowance, incapacity benefit, jobseeker's allowance, income support, disability living allowance, attendance allowance, industrial injuries benefits, bereavement and widow's benefits, maternity allowance, state pension and state second pension, pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit, which are dependent upon their individual circumstances. They may also have access to payments under the tax credits and war pensions schemes, and to statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay or statutory paternity pay.
A carer's allowance, currently £45.70 per week, can be paid to a carer whose weekly earnings, net of allowable expenses, are £82 or less and who regularly provides care for at least 35 hours a week to a severely disabled person in receipt of attendance allowance or the middle or highest rate of the disability living allowance care component. Extra money can be paid with carer's allowance for a partner whose net earnings are no more than £27.30 per week.
Carers and the disabled people they care for may also be entitled to income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or pension credit. These entitlements are assessed separately unless they are partners living in the same household, in which case they are subject to a joint assessment. In either circumstance, the assessment can include a carer premium (carer's additional amount in the case of pension credit) on account of the carer's entitlement to carer's allowance, and one or more disability premia (disability additional amount in the case of pension credit) on account of the disabled person's eligibility for attendance allowance or disability living allowance. Receipt of attendance allowance or disability living allowance is ignored in the assessment of entitlement to income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or pension credit. The maximum levels of housing benefit and council tax benefit are available to recipients of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or pension credit who are liable to pay rent or council tax.
Overall, households which include a carer and/or a severely disabled person can receive significantly more benefit than other households receiving income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or pension credit. These benefits are set at levels which ensure that recipients should be able to meet their normal daily living needs. To protect their purchasing power, they are increased each year in line with the movement in the
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general level of prices or, in the case of the pension credit guarantee credit, in line with earnings up to and including 2007–08. The higher levels at which the benefits may be paid to carers, and to those for whom they provide care, are part of the package of support available to severely disabled people and their carers. Further help, including means-tested domiciliary services or direct payments in lieu of such services, may be available from local authority social services departments.
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