§ 31. Mr. FlanneryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to expand the numbers of council houses and cheaper rented houses in rural communities to deal with the increase in homelessness and the developing queues for rented housing.
§ Mr. ChopeWe have planned for a major increase over the next three years in public funding through the Housing Corporation for new subsidised rented housing development by housing associations. Some of the extra resources will go to rural areas, and we have recently announced an increase in the targets for the Housing Corporation special rural programme aimed at smaller villages. Rural areas should also benefit from the encouragement we have given to private investment in the rented sector through deregulation of rents and tax relief under the business expansion scheme.