§ Mr. Thurnhamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the Housing Corporation's corporate plan.
§ Mr. GowThe Housing Corporation's first corporate plan for England and Wales, prepared as part of the Government's financial management initiative, was published on Tuesday 11 June.
The plan reviews the achievements of the corporation's programme of investment in housing association projects, sets out its objectives and proposes an investment strategy for its future programme. It also outlines the corporation's administrative responsibilities and operating costs, and lists its corporate targets. Of the options for the level of public and private investment by the corporation, the board's preferred option is for a substantial increase over the next four years, for example from gross expenditure in England of £685 million in the present year to £1,144 million in 1989/90. The plan must be considered against the background of the continued need for restraint on public expenditure but my right hon. Friends and I have taken note of the information set out in the plan, which will be taken into account in the forthcoming public expenditure survey.
The Government aim to direct the resources available for housing where they are most needed. We pay tribute to the important contribution of the voluntary housing movement particularly in meeting the needs of the elderly, handicapped and others, such as single parent families, who face special difficulties, and to its role in developing innovative schemes for low-cost home-ownership. The publication of this corporate plan is an opportunity to pay tribute to the corporation and to the voluntary housing movement in England and Wales for their success and resourcefulness.