§ Mr. Sextonasked the Minister of Health what is the total capital of the North-Eastern Housing Association, Limited; the total amount in housing subsidies paid to the company by the Treasury; the total amount of interest paid by the company on borrowed capital; the total number of houses built to date by the company; and the total sum received in rents from tenants of houses built by the company?
§ Mr. E. Brown:The North-Eastern Housing Association, Limited, was formed at the instance of the Commissioner for the Special Areas as a means of assisting local authorities, without expense to the rates, to provide the houses necessary to deal with the slum clearance and overcrowding problems in their areas. It is a company not having a share capital, and is financed by means of loans from the Public Works Loan Board and loans and grants from the Special Areas Fund. Under the normal arrangements laid down in the Housing Acts for houses built by 51W Housing Associations on behalf of local authorities, the local authority undertakes to pass on to the Housing Association a sum not less than the statutory housing subsidy for each house so erected which the local authority receives from the Exchequer. The rents of the houses are fixed by the Housing Association in consultation with the local authority concerned, having regard to rents of similar accommodation in the area of the local authority. In so far as these rents together with the housing subsidy are insufficient to meet the loan charges, management expenses, etc., grants are made from the Special Areas Fund to meet the deficiency provided that these grants shall not in the aggregate exceed the capitalised equivalent of the rate contribution which the local authority would have had to provide if they had built the houses themselves. In contradistinction to Exchequer subsidies which, as the hon. Member is no doubt aware, are paid annually over a period of 40 years, the grant from the Special Areas Fund is a capital grant paid to the Housing Association as soon as the houses are completed.
The details of the information required by the hon. Member are:
Period ended 4th May, 1938. Share Capital Nil. Exchequer subsidies handed over to the Housing Association by Local Authorities £9,423 Interest paid by the Housing Association to the Public Works Loan Board £23,509 Total number of houses built 2,839 Total amount of rents received from tenants (exclusive of rates) £15,189 The Association, which is, I understand, erecting houses in the hon. Member's own constituency, is prepared to supply him with any further information which he may require.