§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to produce an interim report on housing association programmes for the next three years; what are the available indicators for forecasting the effects of cuts in housing association grants; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he plans to produce an interim report on the Housing Corporation's committed development programme for the next three years; what curtailments of this programme are projected following his Department's reduction in funding for this year; what effects the reduction in the subsequent year has been projected to have; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryThe Housing Corporation published details of its approved development programme for the period 1994–95 to 1996–97 in December 1993. This took account of the outcome of last November's unified Budget, and set out the number of new lettings that it expected housing associations to be able to provide over the period together with the grants which the corporation expected to approve.
The Housing Corporation reviews housing association grant rates each year. The review considers changes in a range of public and private sector indicators of future earnings, construction costs, inflation and interest rates, in order to determine the likely impact of changes in HAG rates on rents, benefit dependency and the availability of private finance. I am currently considering the findings of the latest review and hope to announce decisions on the 1995–96 HAG rates shortly.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to ensure sufficient affordable housing in the rented sector is available; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what new plans he has to ensure sufficient housing is available to allow occupants the freedom to choose between buying or renting properties; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryMy Department's plans are set out in the annual report, Cm. 2507. The Housing Corporation is investing some £1.5 billion this year, enabling housing associations, the main providers of new social housing, to provide over 58,000 homes in 1994–95. The corporation now estimates a total output of around 179,000 homes over the three years 1992–93 to 1994–95. This is some 26,000 more than we promised in 1992.
We have encouraged local authorities to make the most effective use of the council housing stock by keeping the number of empty dwellings to a minimum. We are also encouraging landlords to bring empty private sector 460W properties back into use, for example, by means of grants to bring them up to standard and through the housing associations as managing agents—HAMA—scheme which aims to bring 10,000 units back into use by the end of 1995–96. To build on the existing management strengths of HAMA, an additional £5 million has been made available in 1994–95, under the HAMA-plus scheme, for capital works to bring empty private sector properties back up to standard. Housing benefit is available to those who have difficulty in meeting the full rent themselves.
We are committed to giving tenants the opportunity to become home owners. The right to buy has brought home ownership to nearly 1.5 million families in Great Britain and these opportunities have been broadened by rent to mortgage. Local authority cash incentive schemes and the Housing Corporation's tenants' incentive scheme have helped a further 21,000 people into their own homes, while releasing their existing accommodation for reletting to those in need. In addition, do-it-yourself shared ownership and other low-cost home ownership initiatives run by housing associations, are opening up home ownership opportunities where none previously existed.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to offset any reductions in the Housing Corporation's programme with increases in the private sector over the next three years.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he now forecasts(a) public sector, (b) Housing Association and (c) Housing Corporation housing starts to be for each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryThe Department does not prepare forecasts of new house-building starts. The Housing Corporation does not build houses. In its approved development programme, published in December 1993, the Housing Corporation expected to approve grants to housing associations for some 96,600 new homes to be provided through new build, renovation or the purchase of existing dwellings, across the period 1994–95 to 1996–97.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of housing is unfit in(a) Coventry, (b) the west midlands and (c) nationally.
§ Mr. Curry[holding answer 20 July 1994]: Local authorities are requested to provide figures on their annual housing investment programme returns of dwellings in their area which are unfit. Coventry's 1993 HIP1 return did not provide a total for unfit dwellings, but its 1992 HIP1 showed 13 per cent. dwellings as unfit.
There are doubts about the quality of the data provided by some local authorities on numbers of unfit dwellings, and the 1991 English house condition survey provides a more reliable source for national and regional estimates. The EHCS shows that 5.6 per cent. of dwellings in the West Midlands were unfit and 7.6 per cent. in England.