HC Deb 21 April 1982 vol 22 cc249-56
4. Mr. Latham

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made in increasing the level of improvement grants that are approved, following the new grant levels announced in the Budget Statement.

19. Mr. Hicks

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give a progress report on the allocation of public funds for discretionary improvement grants at the enhanced rate of 90 per cent.; and whether he is satisfied with the response by the householders.

The Minister for Housing and Construction (Mr. John Stanley)

Following the Chancellor's Budget Statement, an additional £74½ million has been made available for home improvement grants in England in 1982–83. Bids for these resources were invited from all local authorities by 31 March. Authorities have received their provisional allocations today, and with permission, Mr. Speaker, I shall place the details in theOfficial Report. The order increasing the rate of grant to 90 per cent. for intermediate and repairs grant applications made before 31 December 1982 was approved by the House on 8 April and came into effect on 13 April. We shall be monitoring progress closely, but the present indications are that there will be a strong demand for the additional resources for home improvement, which we want to see being fully utilised.

Mr. Latham

Since the new scheme could make a worthwhile contribution to construction output and work load—and the work load is already beginning to improve—will my hon. Friend ensure that an energetic publicity campaign is launched not only by local authorities but by the construction industry?

Mr. Stanley

My hon. Friend has been conspicuous in pressing for an expansion in the home improvement programme. I assure him that the Government wish to draw wide attention to the availability of the higher rate of improvement grant and the additional improvement funds. A national publicity campaign will begin in the middle of May. I endorse what my hon. Friend said. I hope that that campaign will be followed by similar efforts in the construction industry to draw attention to the increased availability of home improvement money.

Mr. Hicks

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the increased allocation to the Caradon district council. May we have an assurance that if the demand for improvement grants at the enhanced 90 per cent. rate exceeds his Department's allocation, additional funds will be made available so that the Chancellor's terminal date for applications of 31 December 1982 is honoured?

Mr. Stanley

Applications relating to mandatory grants have to be processed by local authorities. I cannot undertake that there will be any overall addition to the total resources available. We make it clear to local authorities in the allocation letter that, where authorities are underspending on the additional allocation, we reserve the right to transfer allocations to other authorities which want additional resources.

The £75 million, which is the subject of the special allocation for home improvements, is additional to the existing general HIP resources announced in December last year. The December allocations represent a significant increase in the gross provision for housing for 1982–83.

Mr. Alton

I welcome the sensible decision to increase home improvement grants, but what action will be taken to force the hands of the many private landlords who are not prepared, even with increased improvement grants, to carry out essential improvements? Is the Minister aware that about 1 million homes are still without inside toilets, running water or bathrooms? What powers will the Minister give to local authorities to force private landlords to make basic improvements to homes?

Mr. Stanley

As the hon. Gentleman knows, powers exist to enable local authorities in certain circumstances to compel the improvement of property. The position of private landlords relates to the overall economics of the private rented sector. The Government's aim has been to make an overall improvement in the fair rents system by a reduction in the phasing period from three years to two years.

Mr. Durant

I welcome my hon. Friend's announcement, but will he monitor carefully how the scheme operates, to ensure that maximum benefit is gained from the announcement? Will he encourage local publicity, as well as national publicity, because that often has a greater effect?

Mr. Stanley

The Government's wish is that there should be full use of the additional money. We shall encourage any private bodies—for example, the regional branches of the home improvement industry or local authorities—which wish to publicise the availability of the additional resources.

Mr. Douglas-Mann

Does the Minister agree that £75 million is the merest window dressing? Has he considered the report by the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, published in December, to the effect that about 2½ million houses are in serious disrepair and over 1 million are unfit for habitation? Does he accept that the allocation of £75 million neglects the problem?

Mr. Stanley

The hon. Gentleman refers to window dressing, but there has been a large uplift in available finance for housing in the current year. The capital provision available this year compared with the outturn of last year has increased by about one-third, and home improvement expenditure has increased by about one-half. By no stretch of the imagination is that window dressing.

Following is the information:

Provisional additional allocations for home improvement grants (April 1982)
£'000
North
Hartlepool 400
Langbaurgh 150
Middlesbrough 550
Stockton-on-Tees 250
Chester-le-Street 80
Darlington 200
Derwentside 400
Durham 180
Easington 240
Sedgefield 40
Teesdale 190
Wear Valley 290
Alnwick 100
Berwick-upon-Tweed 75
Blyth Valley 140
Castle Morpeth 50
Tynedale 140
Wansbeck 210
Gateshead 320
Newcastle upon Tyne 600
North Tyneside 670
South Tyneside —
Sunderland 400
Total for Region 5,675
£'000
Yorks and Humberside
Beverley 150
Boothferry 85
Cleethorpes 110
Glanford 100
Great Grimsby 500
Holderness 1
Kingston upon Hull 340
East Yorkshire 70
Scunthorpe 120
Craven 133
Hambleton 140
Harrogate 80
Richmondshire 10
Ryedale 220
Scarborough 200
Selby 191
York 190
Barnsley 240
Doncaster 800
Rotherham 300
Sheffield —
Bradford 1,320
Calderdale 350
Kirklees 450
Leeds 2,000
Wakefield 250
Total for Region 8,350
East Midlands
Amber Valley 204
Bolsover 100
Chesterfield 100
Derby 477.5
Erewash 49
High Peak 50.5
North East Derbyshire 48.5
South Derbyshire 100
West Derbyshire 70
Blaby 42.5
Charnwood 100
Harborough 100
Hinckley and Bosworth 32
Leicester 650
Melton 60
North West Leicestershire 150
Oadby and Wigston 30
Rutland —
Boston 20
East Lindsey —
Lincoln 120
North Kesteven 100
South Holland 30
South Kesteven 120
West Lindsey —
Corby 14.25
Daventry 65
East Northamptonshire 93
Kettering 125
Northampton 75
South Northamptonshire 60
Wellingborough 60
Ashfield 200
Bassetlaw 43
Broxtowe 25
Gedling 300
Mansfield 250
Newark 48.75
Nottingham 550
Rushcliffe 137
Total for Region 4,800
Eastern £'000
North Bedfordshire 60
Luton 120
Mid Bedfordshire 42
South Bedfordshire 115
Aylesbury Vale 160
South Bucks 33
Chiltern 54
Milton Keynes 80
Wycombe 142.5
Cambridge 35
East Cambridgeshire 130
Fenland 80
Huntingdon 16.5
Peterborough 228
South Cambridgeshire 25
Basildon 10
Braintree 76.9
Brentwood 25
Castle Point 8
Chelmsford 2
Colchester 120
Epping Forest 15
Harlow 9
Maldon 25
Rochford 59
Southend on Sea 90
Tendring 250
Thurrock 35
Uttlesford 10
Broxbourne 186
Dacorum 20
East Hertfordshire 250
Hertsmere 7
North Hertfordshire 50
St. Albans 36
Stevenage 4
Three Rivers 7.5
Watford 250
Welwyn/Hatfield 50
Breckland 30
Broadland 86
Great Yarmouth 250
North Norfolk 250
Norwich 90
South Norfolk 135
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk 425.6
Babergh 110
Forest Heath 25
Ipswich 97
Mid Suffolk 25
St. Edmundsbury 90
Suffolk Coastal 70
Waveney 200
Total for Region 4,800
Greater London
Greater London Council 474
City of London —
Barking and Dagenham 58
Barnet 290
Bexley 218
Brent 560
Bromley 240
Camden 138
Croydon 136
Ealing 500
Enfield 356
Greenwich 750
Hackney 88
Hammersmith and Fulham 949
Haringey 329
Harrow 345
Havering 120
Hillingdon 294
Hounslow 79
Islington 949
£'000
Kensington and Chelsea 147
Kingston upon Thames 96
Lambeth 171
Lewisham 420
Merton 245
Newham 500
Redbridge 300
Richmond upon Thames 752
Southwark 949
Sutton 178
Tower Hamlets 34
Waltham Forest 122
Wandsworth 1,200
Westminster 763
Total for Region 12,750
South Eastern
Bracknell 11
Newbury 80
Reading 190
Slough 20
Windsor and Maidenhead 35
Wokingham 30
Brighton 137
Eastbourne 45
Hastings 625
Hove 50
Lewes 210
Rother 66.7
Wealden 200
Basingstoke and Deane 260
East Hampshire 100
Eastleigh 36
Fareham 57
Gosport 217
Hart 37
Havant 8
New Forest 210
Portsmouth 160
Rushmoor 95
Southampton 334
Test Valley 37.5
Winchester 93.75
Medina 20
South Wight 150
Ashford 62
Canterbury 10.5
Dartford 100
Dover 37
Gillingham 76
Gravesham 600
Maidstone 107
Rochester upon Medway 308.5
Sevenoaks 66
Shepway 225
Swale 60
Thanet 177
Tonbridge and Malling 81.3
Tunbridge Wells 100
Cherwell 201
Oxford 145
South Oxfordshire 114
Vale of White Horse —
West Oxfordshire 80
Elmbridge 35
Epsom and Ewell 30
Guildford 250
Mole Valley 20
Reigate and Banstead 69
Runnymede 92
Spelthorne 127
Surrey Heath 100
Tandridge 100
Waverley —
Woking 100
Adur 143.75
£'000
Arun 25
Chichester 20.2
Crawley 50
Horsham 100
Mid Sussex 16.8
Worthing 106
Total for Region 7,450
South West
Bath 166
Bristol 2,918
Kingswood 129
Northaven 26
Wansdyke 40
Woodspring 79
Caradon 342
Carrick 8
Kerrier 35
North Cornwall 129
Penwith 210
Restormel 10
Isles of Scilly —
East Devon 182
Exeter 244
North Devon 100
Plymouth 82
South Hams 220
Teignbridge 192
Mid Devon 50
Torbay 100
Torridge 93
West Devon 25
Bournemouth 93
Christchurch 6
North Dorset —
Poole 374
Purbeck 55
West Dorset 71
Weymouth and Portland 593
Wimborne 30
Cheltenham 515
Cotswold 167
Forest of Dean 180
Gloucester 67
Stroud 395
Tewkesbury 38
Mendip 100
Sedgemoor 50
Taunton Deane 55
West Somerset 198
Yeovil 176
Kennet 45
North Wiltshire 72
Salisbury 184
Thamesdown 100
West Wiltshire 31
Total for Region 8,975
West Midlands
Bromsgrove 25
Hereford 81
Leominster —
Malvern Hills 50
Redditch 80
South Herefordshire 101
Worcester 100
Wychavon 25
Wyre Forest 33
Bridgnorth 15
North Shropshire 216
Oswestry 40
Shrewsbury and Atcham 100
South Shropshire 20
The Wrekin —
Cannock Chase 3
£'000
East Staffordshire 150
Lichfield 55
Newcastle-under-Lyme 110
Stafford 10
South Staffordshire 50
Staffordshire Moorlands 80
Stoke-on-Trent 350
Tamworth 40
North Warwickshire 20
Nuneaton and Bedworth 51
Rugby 50
Stratford-on-Avon 125
Warwick 20
Birmingham 3,500
Coventry 1,002
Dudley 140
Sandwell 144
Solihull 14
Walsall 450
Wolverhampton 200
Total for Region 7,450
North West
Chester 49
Congleton 50
Crewe and Nantwich 150
Ellesmere Port and Neston 110
Halton 118
Macclesfield 60
Vale Royal 42
Warrington 600
Allerdale 350
Barrow-in-Furness 285
Carlisle 110
Copeland 427
Eden 120
South Lakeland 69
Blackburn 750
Blackpool 584
Burnley 275
Chorley 207
Fylde 131
Hyndburn 350
Lancaster 50
Pendle 425
Preston 140
Ribble Valley 276
Rossendale 200
South Ribble 97
West Lancashire 92
Wyre 95
Bolton 360
Bury 500
Manchester 1,446
Oldham 100
Rochdale 532
Salford 600
Stockport 576
Tameside 337
Trafford 500
Wigan 643
Knowsley 95
Liverpool 500
St. Helens 326
Sefton 750
Wirral 725
Total for Region 14,202