§ Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will announce the outcome of the second round of applications for housing private finance initiative schemes. [156324]
§ Mr. RaynsfordI am announcing today the names of 12 local authorities with whom my Department will work on the development of a second round of housing PFI schemes.
The authorities are: Ashford borough council, the London borough of Camden, the London borough of Islington, the London borough of Hackney, Leeds City council, The London borough of Lewisham, Manchester City council, The London borough of Newham, North East Derbyshire district council, Oldham metropolitan borough council, Rochdale metropolitan borough council, and Sandwell metropolitan borough council.
Whether schemes ultimately proceed will depend on authorities working up business cases which satisfy the scrutiny of the inter-Departmental Project Review Group (PRG), which considers all local government PFI schemes seeking central government support. Endorsement by PRG is essential before schemes can proceed to EU competition.
These projects are all aimed at tackling the backlog of renovation and repairs in existing council housing and many include wider estate regeneration proposals. They form an important element in authorities' wider housing and regeneration strategies.
645WPFI credits worth £760 million are available to support housing PFI schemes in the current spending review period. There will be a further opportunity for authorities to apply for support later this year.