HC Deb 03 May 2001 vol 367 cc744-8W
Mr. Love

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much central Government spent on(a) housing and (b) social housing in (i) actual terms and (ii) real terms (A) in each year since 1979 and (B) as projected to the end of the current funding review period. [159689]

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

[holding answer 30 April 2001]: The available information on the Department's allocations, or outturns, for its main programmes of housing capital investment and revenue expenditure since 1979–80 in England is set out in the table, with forecasts for 2002–03 and 2003–04. A revised local authority finance regime was introduced from 1990–91, and so the detail of prior years' figures is not directly comparable. Some of the resources allocated through the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund and City Challenge are applied to housing, but this element is not distinguished in the allocations and is therefore not included.

The tables do not reflect indirect support for housing by central Government through, for example, mortgage interest tax relief and housing related personal benefits such as rent allowances and rate/council tax rebates.

All expenditure by the Housing Corporation, and through Housing Revenue Account subsidy, Estate Action and Estate Renewal Challenge Fund allocations is wholly attributable to social housing. The Department's ACG, CRI and other allocations are not prescribed and authorities are free to apply these resources in support of both social and private housing in accordance with their own strategies and priorities. Private Sector Renewal Support Grant is applied exclusively to private housing, as is the majority of Disabled Facilities Grant expenditure.

Housing expenditure in England: Allocations 1990–91 to 2000–011
£ million
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP)-Gross expenditure 1,063 1,586 2,351 1,796 1,484 1,142 1,044
LA Housing Annual Capital Guidelines (ACGs) 1,296 1,343 1,290 1,378 1,038 994 943
Estate Action 175 264 347 357 373 239 203
Other allocations (Energy Conservation, Insulation, Homelessness, Private Sector Initiative etc.) 221 187 110 45 70 88 88
Capital Receipts Initiative 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3—
Private Sector Renewal Support Grant 413 413 397 392 308 283 271
Disabled Facilities Grant 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3—
Estate Renewal Challenge Fund 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 30
Housing Action Trusts (capital and current spending) 3— 10 27 78 92 93 90
Total Housing Revenue Account Subsidy 3,661 3,750 3,961 4,126 4,142 4,023 3,926
Housing Corporation Revenue allocations inc. SCSHF 66 104 136 146 200 199 217
Starter Homes Initiative — — — — — — —
Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund — — — — — — —
Arms Length Management Companies — — — — — — —
Total (cash prices) 6,894 7,657 8,618 8,318 7,706 7,061 6,811
Total (real terms at 1999–2000 prices) 9,037 9,456 10,307 9,691 8,853 7,885 7,369
£ million
1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04
Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP)-Gross expenditure 684 607 638 642 767 918 1,214
LA Housing Annual Capital Guidelines (ACGs) 628 544 609 2,019 882 793 842
Estate Action 155 99 65 69 39 11 5
Other allocations (Energy Conservation, Insulation, Homelessness, Private Sector Initiative etc.) 51 31 3— 3— 3— 3— 3—
Capital Receipts Initiative 174 569 570 3— 3— 3— 3—
Private Sector Renewal Support Grant 192 166 165 0 21 3— 3—
Disabled Facilities Grant 56 59 65 72 85 88 89
Estate Renewal Challenge Fund 103 146 165 81 3— 3— 3—
Housing Action Trusts (capital and current spending) 88 90 83 86 98 123 72
Total Housing Revenue Account Subsidy 3,682 3,370 3,104 2,974 4,344 4,107 3,878
Housing Corporation Revenue allocations inc. SCSHF 208 149 154 143 158 189 200
Starter Homes Initiative — — — — 50 100 100
Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund — — — — 20 40 60
Arms Length Management Companies — — — — — 100 200
Total (cash prices) 6,022 5,830 5,618 6,086 6,465 6,469 6,660
Total (real terms at 1999–2000 prices) 6,336 5,964 5,618 5,981 6,199 6,052 6,078
1 All component figures are in cash prices
2 Denotes figures not available
3 Not applicable in this period

Notes:

ADP Gross Expenditure: Excludes ADP funding of City Challenge, Rough Sleepers Initiative and ERCF. Data prim to 1981–82 is unavailable as corporation expenditure was not cash limited in this period. 1992–93 figures includes £591 million under Housing Market Package. 2000–01 figure is forecast.

LA Housing Annual Capital Guidelines (ACGs): From 2000–01 the ACG incorporates allocations for private sector renewal and the Capital Receipts Initiative which were previously made separately. The introduction of Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) from 2001–02 caused a switch of resources from LA Housing ACGs into Housing Revenue Account Subsidy. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 exclude the component of housing ACGs covering 'Receipts taken into Account' (RTAs); this amounted to £199 million in 2001–02. Estate Action—Figures up to 1994–95 represent supplementary credit approval (SCA) and continuation scheme allocations; thereafter, direct grant payment outturns within the Single Regeneration Budget. There is no revenue expenditure attributable to Estate Action.

Capital Receipts Initiative: Initial allocations

Private Sector Renewal Support Grant: Distributed via Specified Capital Grant Allowances 1990–91 to 1992–93; SCG-dependent SCAs 1993–94 to 1996–97.

Disabled Facilities Grant: Initial allocations. DFG was included within SCG and SCG-dependent SCAs prior to 1997–98.

Estate Renewal Challenge Fund: From 2001–02, ERCF baseline expenditure is included in ADP settlements.

Housing Action Trusts: HATs figures include all revenue expenditure, except for 2002–03 and 2003–04. Figures for 2001–02 are allocations.

Housing Revenue Account Subsidy: Includes the rent rebate subsidy element. Prior to 1990–91 rent rebates were part of the Department of Social Services programmes; outturn figures provided by DSS for the period 1984–85 to 1989–90 include those for Welsh authorities, but comparable data for earlier years are not available. A substantially revised HRA subsidy system was introduced from 1990, which includes MRA from 2001–02 (see note above).

Housing Corporation Revenue Allocations: Information as published in the Housing Corporation's Annual Accounts; figures for 2001–02 onwards include revenue spend on the Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund.

Fiona Mactaggart

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish the allocations of capital housing expenditure for 2001–02 for the Slough unitary authority, broken down into(a) repairs to local authority property, (b) repairs to regulated social landlord property, (c) new local authority build and (d) new regulated social landlord property. [160249]

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

On 7 December 2000, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions announced the Housing Improvement Programme (HIP) figures. The unitary authority of Slough's allocation figure for the HIP programme 2001–02 totalled £1,872,000. This is made up with the Annual Capital Guideline £1,722,000 and the Disabled Facilities Grant (a specified capital grant) of £150,000. The Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) 2001–02 for the unitary authority of Slough of £4,731,300 was announced on 7 December 2000. The MRA covers repairs to local authority property. Funding towards repairs to regulated social landlord property is minimal. There is no funding for the local authority to build new properties. The Housing Corporation has published the allocation statement for the unitary authority of Slough on 17 April 2001 for new registered social landlord property totalling £2,946,292. This is made up of £2,714,576 for Mixed Funded Rent and £231,716 for Mixed Funded Sale.

Fiona Mactaggart

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people were(a) on the housing waiting list, (b) registered priority homeless and (c) accommodated in bed and breakfast accommodation under housing legislation in the unitary authority of Slough at the latest date for which figures are available. [160251]

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

As at 1 April 2000 there were 1,931 people on the housing waiting list in the unitary authority of Slough, and there were 249 people registered as priority homeless. As at December 2000, there were 198 people in temporary accommodation of which four are in bed and breakfast accommodation in the unitary authority of Slough.

Mr. Willetts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library the local authority audits on the provision of and need for semi-independent housing with support for lone parents below the age of 18 years. [160204]

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

Information on the provision of and demand for accommodation in their area which could be used for semi-independent housing with support for 16 and 17-year-old lone parents was collected from local authorities in last year's Housing Investment Programme exercise.

I am arranging for a copy of the information provided by authorities to be placed in the Library.

Mr. Willetts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many new places in semi-independent housing have been provided for lone parents under the age of 18 years since(a) May 1997, (b) June 2000 and (c) over the most recent period for which data are available. [160218]

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

Since April 1997, 388 new units of accommodation have been provided by Registered Social Landlords with funding from the Corporation's Annual Development Programme (ADP). In last year's ADP (April 2000—March 2001), funding for 128 new units of accommodation was approved. This year's ADP includes 205 new units of accommodation for lone parents under the age of 18 years. In addition under the Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund, funding has been approved for 134 new units of accommodation for teenage parents, as well as floating support for 275 existing units of accommodation. This does not include accommodation funded by charities, or other similar bodies.

Mr. Willetts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many lone parents under the age of 18 years(a) have lone tenancy of a council property, (b) claim Housing Benefit on the basis that they live alone, (c) live in semi-independent housing, (d) live with other family members and (e) have other accommodation arrangements. [160219]

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

The information in answer to(a), (d) and (e) is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

(b) Approximately 1,000 lone parents aged under 18 are in receipt of Housing Benefit.

(c) 1,352 units of semi-independent accommodation are provided to lone parents under 18 years by Registered Social Landlords.