HC Deb 25 April 1994 vol 242 cc10-1
8. Mr. Jonathan Evans

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total level of public expenditure on housing in Wales in 1994–95.

Mr. Redwood

Government provision for Welsh housing programmes for 1994–95 is set at £634.9 million, an increase of £27 million over the plans for 1993–94.

Mr. Evans

Can my right hon. Friend inform the House of the proportion of the overall housing budget that is accounted for by housing benefit? Is he happy with that proportion and the growing proportion that goes towards housing benefit? What steps can be taken to ensure that more goes towards new housing provision rather than creating a situation in which many people on low wages find that they may well be priced out of housing association dwellings?

Mr. Redwood

The best way of tackling that problem is to encourage more jobs and higher incomes because they lift people out of housing benefit. On the supply side, obviously the right answer is to do what the Government are doing, which is to promote actively more housing schemes in suitable places, so that there is sufficient supply to meet the requirements for new family formation. The figures that I gave were figures for the amount of money available for those prime housing programmes of new build and improvement.

Mr. Barry Jones

Does the right hon. Gentleman recollect that I have presented to his Department a series of petitions calling for investment in aging housing stock? Will he therefore give a generous extra allocation to Alyn and Deeside district council, to enable it to modernise a series of aging council estates? Does he also realise that in cold weather many bedrooms are not habitable for young children, and that young mothers in my constituency are asking for central heating and new windows so that their homes may be fit to live in?

Mr. Redwood

Of course I want to see decent homes and I want to encourage councils to maintain and improve their stock, just as I wish to see a high-quality stock in the private sector and among the housing associations. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we work out the amounts of money by a formula that tries to take into account the requirements of each council and I, like him, am impatient to get on with the work. Many homes in Wales have been improved in the past 15 years. More homes need improvement and my hon. Friend can rest assured that money will be made available.

Mr. Llew Smith

Can the Minister tell me how those people in Wales who are unemployed or in low-paid part-time non-union jobs can purchase a home to start their family life?

Mr. Redwood

Some will be able to through the low-cost housing for sale programme that I am currently beefing up along with the housing institutions that operate in conjunction with the Welsh Office. It is the best form of tenure. It is so much better for people to reach retirement owning their home, knowing that they do not have to meet an increasing rent bill out of their pension and, wherever possible, we encourage them to buy, because that is true social housing. Where that is not possible, we will ensure that there is subsidised housing for rent available or decent housing for rent with housing benefit.