§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people are on the housing transfer list of the Southampton City Council; and what were the equivalent figures at the same time in each of the last five years. [27899]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe information requested is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people are on the housing waiting list of the Southampton City Council; and what were the equivalent figures at the same time in each of the last five years. [27558]
§ Mr. RaynsfordLocal authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing register/waiting list (excluding existing tenants awaiting a transfer) at 1 April each year in their annual Housing Investment
14WProgramme (HIP1) returns. The data reported by Southampton City Council for 1997 and the previous five years are as follows:
Year Waiting list 1992 5,915 1993 5,721 1994 5,704 1995 4,504 1996 6,233 1997 2,329 Local authorities have different practices for compiling and managing their housing register/waiting lists which mean that simple comparisons between authorities can be misleading. The substantial change in the figures between 1996 and 1997 resulted primarily from a review exercise linked with revisions to the housing register in order to meet the requirements of the 1996 Housing Act.