Housing Investment Programme (Hansard, 2 December 1987)

§ 14. Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why his invitation to local authorities to bid for extra housing investment programme allocations in 1987–88 permits the purchase of temporary hostels for the homeless but excludes bids for the purchase of permanent homes for them; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Waldegrave
Local authorities' first priority must be to get existing stock into use, for both long-term and short-term use, before they start acquiring more. Meanwhile, it must be right to get families in particular out of bed-and-breakfast accommodation and into better short-stay housing.

§ Mr. McFall
With £800 million underspent on local authorities' capital expenditure this year, how can the Secretary of State justify a further cut in expenditure next year for housing capital allocations? How is it that on the very day that the recent Autumn Statement was published we had the spectacle of the Chancellor of the Exchequer announcing increased provision for housing investment next year, while the Secretary of State announced reductions in housing capital allocation for next year?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
The hon. Member should note that capital allocations decline in importance every year. Over 926 half the spending power of housing authorities comes from receipts. Although allocations will be 6 per cent. lower next year, gross spending will be 4 per cent. higher.

§ Mr. Jack
On behalf of the people of Fylde I thank my hon. Friend for the additional moneys that I understand he will provide to help local authorities which have a particular burden because of Parkinson frame houses and similar housing problems in this financial year. Does he have plans for a similar helpful response, should that problem recur in the next financial year?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
It is certainly a high priority of my right hon. Friend's Department to get this problem out of the way once and for all. If it is possible to make additional allocations within the constraints that we have we shall make them, as we have in the past.