§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with North-East Lincolnshire council about the adequacy of the provision he has made for repairs and renovations of council housing; what recommendations he has made to them about the benefits of a large scale voluntary transfer, broken down by housing association; and what proposals he has for visiting North-East Lincolnshire to commend the large scale voluntary transfer to council tenants. [126560]
§ Keith HillThe Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber and the Community Housing Task Force have held a number of discussions with the council about their plans for delivering decent homes. The council has benefited from an increase in resources for housing investment from £2.221 million for 1997–98 to £6.563 million for 2003–04, including provision for major repairs allowance that was introduced in 2001–02. This demonstrates the Government's commitment to providing resources to tackle the backlog of council house renovation work and to modernise older stock to a standard of decency that tenants have a right to expect.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to visit North-East Lincolnshire and has made no recommendations to North-East Lincolnshire about large scale voluntary transfer in particular, although all authorities are required to have in place arrangements to ensure the delivery of the decent homes target by December 2010. Housing transfer is one of three options available to an authority where additional resources are required to meet this target.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been(a) claimed by and (b) paid to (i) North East Lincolnshire, (ii) North Lincolnshire, (iii) Hull and (iv) the East Riding in major repairs allowances for council housing in the last 12 months. [126418]
§ Keith HillThe following major repairs allowances for 2002–03 have been claimed and included in the calculation of entitlement to housing revenue account subsidy:
£ North East Lincolnshire 4,837,178 North Lincolnshire 5,685,966 Kingston upon Hull 16,181,820 East Riding of Yorkshire 6,240,493