Housing Associations (Hansard, 27 October 1992)

§ Mr. Raynsford
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the affordability of new housing association homes to households on low incomes if current presumptions continue to prevail; and if he will make a statement on what action the Government intend to take.

§ Mr. Baldry
Grant rates for housing associations are proposed by the Housing Corporation and approved by the Secretary of State in the light of all relevant factors, including outturn rents on completed schemes. We are currently considering the rates of housing association grant for 1993–94. Outturn rent levels are for associations to determine. The Government do not publish the underlying factors and assumptions implicit in the grant rate model, nor any general definition of affordability, since they do not wish to imply a view as to what constitutes an affordable rent in any particular case.

§ Mr. Raynsford
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what change he expects to make in housing association grant rates for housing association developments, and what will be the average housing association grant rate in 1993–94;
(2) what percentage change he expects to make in the total cost indicator levels applicable to housing association developments In 1993–94;
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(3) when he expects to announce his decision on total cost indicator and grant rates for housing association development schemes in 1993–94.

§ Mr. Baldry
Final decisions on grant rates and total cost indicators are not yet available but will be communicated to associations as soon as they are announced.

§ Mr. Raynsford
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 16 July,Official Report, column 1044, whether his Department has received any further evidence from the Housing Corporation on the affordability of new homes provided by housing associations; and if he will place in the Library reports of the main findings and supporting research which the Housing Corporation has made available to his Department in the past six months.

§ Mr. Baldry
The Housing Corporation has made available to the Department some of the results of its continuous monitoring of rents set for new housing association tenants. Information on these rents, contained in the National Federation of Housing Associations' continuous recording—CORE—quarterly bulletins, is already in the House of Commons Library.

§ Mr. Raynsford
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the output of(a) newly built and (b) rehabilitated housing associations homes in England, over the years 1975 to 1991, and his estimates of their expected output in 1992, 1993 and 1994.

§ Mr. Baldry
Estimates of housebuilding completions, and of renovations of dwellings, by housing associations in England are shown in tables 6.1(a) and 7.1 respectively of the annual publication "Housing and Construction Statistics". Figures for the years 1981 to 1991 will shortly be published in the 1981 to 1991 edition, and those for earlier years are shown in previous editions: viz for 1980 in the 1980 to 1990 edition, for 1979 in the 1979 to 1989 edition, etcetera. Copies of these publications are in the Library.
The Department does not prepare forecasts of housebuilding completions, nor of conversions and renovations.