§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many low-cost housing units for nurses in London have been found by the Department's housing tsar; and how many are now occupied by nurses. [68160]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 11 July 2002]: The National Health Service housing co-ordinator was appointed by NHS Estates in April 2000. He has a target of facilitating access to an additional 2,000 units of affordable accommodation for nurses in London by July 2003 either by directly contracting or assisting NHS trusts in negotiations. The current position is that agreements have been reached for 1997 additional units. Of this figure, 1051 are available but 389 units have only recently been opened and occupancy is being built up.
The Department's housing co-ordinator has also been directly involved in negotiating 50 per cent. of the total starter home initiative budget allocation. This should enable approximately 5,000 staff NHS staff to gain a foothold on the property ladder by 2004. Assistance is in the form of equity loans, interest free loans and shared ownership.
[This information is correct as at Friday 2 August 2002]