§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the Stonefrost inquiry report into the future of housing associations' development in central London.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 15 January 1990]: I was pleased to note the report's acknowledgement of the value of work carried out by London housing associations, and the part played in this by private finance. Since the inquiry was concluded, we have announced our decision to move over the next two years to a regional distribution of the Housing Corporation's capital investment programme based on the housing needs indicator, an objective measure of the relative need for investment by housing associations in different areas which was fully reviewed last year by my Department, the Housing Corporation and the National Federation of Housing Associations. As a result housing associations in London and the south-east will receive significantly higher levels of resources to help them continue their important work in providing homes for people in housing need.