§ 5. Mr. Tom Levitt (High Peak)What measures the Government are taking to promote increased accessibility of housing for the elderly and disabled. [99010]
§ The Minister for Housing and Planning (Mr. Nick Raynsford)My Department is taking a number of steps to promote better access to housing for elderly and disabled people. We have extended part M of the building regulations to improve accessibility of new housing to disabled people, we have highlighted the needs of disabled people in guidance this year on local authority housing investment programmes, we are increasing the resources available for disabled facilities grants by a quarter over three years, and we will shortly be issuing new guidance to local authorities on registers of accessible housing.
§ Mr. LevittI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. I am sure that he will wish to pay tribute to organisations such as Scope, which has campaigned for so long for accessible housing, and to local authorities which promote the concept of the lifetime home, something that I hope he will encourage. Can my hon. Friend also tell me how the very welcome initiative of extending part M to domestic properties will be monitored and enforced?
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe certainly pay tribute to the work of the many voluntary organisations, including Scope and the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, which advised us thoroughly and well on the procedures leading up to the extension of part M of the building regulations. We are delighted to have their support.
I assure my hon. Friend that we will be reviewing the effectiveness of part M 12 months after the changes were introduced in October this year. In preparation, we have alerted local authorities and house builders so that they can keep appropriate records to enable us to carry out a thorough review.
§ Mr. Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury)How does the Minister reconcile the answers that he has given so far with his party's abolition of the advance corporation tax dividend tax credit, which has had a serious effect on charities' receipts? Charities such as the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association—RUKBA—which help elderly and disabled people to obtain quality housing and give them the support that they require say that they have 137 suffered a marked reduction in income. Removing the ACT dividend tax credit sits ill with the Minister's answers today.
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe hon. Gentleman is trying pretty hard, and stretching logic to an extraordinary extent, to make his point. I stress that the voluntary organisations which deal with disability have warmly welcomed the Government's actions. They applauded our action in extending part M of the building regulations which the previous Government had refused to do, despite the voluntary organisations' entreaties. It is sheer hypocrisy for the Conservative party to pretend that it is the friend of the voluntary sector.