HC Deb 29 March 1990 vol 170 cc244-6W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to ensure a more even spread and consistent provision of improvement and disabled facilities grants to disabled home owners across the country.

Mr. Chope

When the main provisions of part VIII of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 are implemented on 1 July, mandatory disabled facilities grants will be available from all local authorities for a much wider range of adaptation works than the current home improvement grant system allows. Authorities will also be able to give discretionary grants for other works, which will vary according to local needs and priorities.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local housing authorities address the housing needs of disabled people in their area.

Mr. Chope

Local housing authorities are required by Section 3 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 to have regard to the special housing needs of disabled people when considering the housing needs of their district.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will make a supplementary credit approval available for local housing authorities to adapt their own properties for disabled people.

Mr. Chope

Resources for local authority capital expenditure on housing are allocated through the annual round of housing investment programme (HIP) allocations. The distribution of these allocations reflects the entire spectrum of needs for local authority capital expenditure, including the adaptation of council housing stock for disabled tenants. There is no need, therefore, to issue supplementary credit approvals for this purpose.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will take steps to ensure that landlords taking over local authority property under the Housing Acts 1986 and 1988 address the housing needs both of disabled tenants and of future disabled applicants for housing.

Mr. Chope

Purchasers of council housing, whether acquiring under tenants' choice or by a large scale voluntary transfer from a local authority, will be expected to subscribe to the tenants' guarantee, which requires landlords to pay special attention to the specific housing difficulties experienced by particular groups, including disabled people. Purpose-built housing for the disabled which has special facilities, such as a warden, is excluded from transfers under tenants' choice.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will update the guidelines contained in HDD occasional paper 2/74 "Mobility Housing" and HDD occasional paper 2/75 "Wheelchair Housing".

Mr. Chope

I am satisfied that the guidelines contained in these papers are sound and have no plans to update them.

Mr. Hannam

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to encourage the provision of wheelchair and mobility housing by general needs housing associations.

Mr. Chope

The Housing Corporation requires new build and, where possible, rehabilitation schemes by housing associations to be built to mobility standards, and the cost criteria used by the corporation in assessing schemes and calculating grant make due allowance for this. Where associations wish to provide new housing designed specifically for tenants confined to wheelchairs, grant is available to cover the extra costs involved.

Mr. Hannam

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities' action on providing housing for homeless people addresses the housing needs of homeless disabled people.

Mr. Michael Spicer

A revised code of guidance is being prepared which will provide advice to local authorities on meeting their statutory duties to the homeless. This will include the need to recognise special requirements, such as those of the disabled, when securing permanent accommodation for homeless households.

Mr. Hannam

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to make supplementary credit approvals available to local housing authorities to provide housing for disabled people leaving residential care.

Mr. Chope

We have no proposals to issue supplementary credit approvals to local authorities for this purpose in 1990–91. The Department takes account of the housing needs of disabled people in the distribution of local authorities' housing investment programme (HIP) allocations each year. In addition, the Housing Corporation plans to maintain the output of their special needs programme in 1990–91 at no less than current levels, and disabled people are one of the groups helped by this programme.

Mr. Hannam

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will take steps to ensure that all private developers build to mobility standards with a minimum percentage of dwellings to wheelchair standards.

Mr. Chope

My Department fully supports the initiative by the National House-Building Council, in association with other interested bodies, to encourage private developers to design housing convenient for disabled people to live in or visit. We consider that voluntary action and good practice are the best way forward for private dwellings.