§ 27. Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further steps he intends to announce to increase the availability of specialist and low-cost accommodation for rent in areas of high house prices.
§ Sir George YoungHousing associations are now the main providers of new social housing for rent. The Government make capital resources available to them through the approved development programme (ADP) of the Housing Corporation, which also provides revenue support to special needs schemes.
The allocation of the ADP between and within regions is determined by the housing needs indicator (HNI), a composite, relative indicator of the incidence of housing needs which takes account of many factors, including the number of people unable to afford to buy their own homes.
The corporation estimates that over the three years from 1992–93 to 1994–95, 170,000 new social homes will be provided by housing associations in England—far more than the 153,000 originally forecast. Measures taken to encourage the private rented sector and to make better use of empty homes within the public sector should also increase the supply of housing for rent.