§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are(a) the budget and (b) the staff available to the housing associations' ombudsman service from the Housing Corporation for (i) 1993–94, (ii) 1994–95 and (iii) 1995–96.
§ Sir George YoungThe ombudsman service for housing association tenants became operational in November 1993. The operating budget is as follows:
1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 £000 £000 £000 Staff Costs 150 227 227 Non-Staff Costs1 79 145 143 Mediation/Legal Other Operational Costs 103 123 110 332 495 480 1 In 1993–94, there was an additional sum of £24,000 to set up premises. The total staffing complement available to the ombudsman service is seven.