§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what arrangements he has put in place to assess the effect of orders under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 on local authorities' activities in(a) the issuing of grants and loans for home repair, improvement and adaptation, (b) aiding people to buy new properties, (c) issuing of disabled facilities grants and (d) the creation of renewal areas; [139347]
(2) how many times local authorities have given financial assistance for home repair, improvement and adaptation (a) in each of the last 10 years and (b) since 18 July 2002, broken down by local authority; and how much was spent in each case; [139348]
(3) how many times local authorities assisted people in buying new properties since 18 July 2002, where the authority judged moving to be more appropriate than adapting an existing home; [139350]
(4) how many times local authorities assisted people in buying new properties where existing homes were subject to compulsory or voluntary purchase for renewal or clearance in each of the last 10 years. [139351]
§ Keith HillThe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working in collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Welsh Assembly Government by jointly commissioning research to monitor the development and implementation of new strategies by local authorities and to identify good practice for broader dissemination. This follows the coming into force on 18 July 2002 of the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002 (RRO 2002), which gave local authorities wider powers to provide assistance to private homeowners for repair and renovation. This research work is on-going until October 2004. An initial progress report was published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at the beginning of November showing that, by March 2003, four-fifths of authorities were in the process of planning and developing loan/grant packages, the majority of which include outside expertise and support. Progress in implementing these strategies will be assessed through the research and from statistical information provided by local authorities.
809WA table showing the number of grants and amount spent on private sector housing renewal and on disabled facilities by each local authority in England over the last six years has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Separately, data are being collected for 2002–03 and subsequent years on local authority expenditure in England using the new RRO 2002 power. This will show the amount spent on grants and loans by each authority split by type of recipient (elderly on benefit, non-elderly on benefit, disabled) and by geographical area including the amount spent in renewal areas. These data are still being analysed and will not be published until early 2004.
Council tax requirement (£000) 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 Tyne and Wear1 Gateshead 48,874 51,368 55,313 61,748 Newcastle upon Tyne 66,196 69,413 74,497 82,248 North Tyneside 51,101 54,176 58,548 63,683 South Tyneside 36,408 37,962 41,001 44,056 Sunderland 59,281 63,208 68,444 73,604 Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority 14,311 15,657 16,928 18,449 Durham Durham County Council 99,035 103,761 120,146 131,755 Chester-le-Street 2,041 2,175 2,368 2,623 Derwentside 4,793 5,144 5,899 6,103 Durham City 3,567 3,804 4,304 4,449 Easington 6,279 6,583 7,037 7,220 Sedgefleld 6,623 6,991 7,647 7,924 Teesdale 1,224 1,300 1,453 1,549 Wear Valley 2,925 3,056 3,366 3,292 Durham Police authority2 9,129 9,855 11,374 14,140 Darlington Unitary authority2 20,863 23,767 27,278 29,436 Northumberland1 Northumberland County Council 76,380 81,896 88,322 100,664 Alnwick 1,587 1,703 1,818 1,925 Berwick-upon-Tweed 1,215 1,275 1,341 1,481 Blyth Vallcy 2,897 3,100 3,427 3,446 Castle Morpeth 2,767 2,952 3,360 3,745 Tynedale 3,013 3,178 3,450 3,781 Wansbeck 2,398 2,609 2,715 2,745 Northumbria Police Authority1 21,218 22,872 24,062 26,561 1Northumbria Police Authority covers both Tyne and wear and Northumberland county Council areas. 2Durham Police Authority covers Darlington UA and Durham county Council. Revenue support grant (RSG) figures cannot be considered in isolation in this context, because the amounts payable depend upon the amounts of redistributed national non-domestic rates (NNDR) that
810W
£000 2000–01 2001–02 RSG NNDR Total RSG NNDR Total Tyne and Wear1 Gateshead 92,657 55,370 148.027 97,851 53,836 151,687 Newcastle upon Tyne 132,208 76,848 209,056 139,539 74,215 213,754 North Tyneside 77,075 54,012 131,087 83,013 52,519 135,532 South Tyneside 76,875 43,028 119,903 81,201 41,716 122,917 Sunderland 137,515 81,373 218,888 145,032 79,005 224,037 Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority 21,415 10,728 32,143 22,994 10,488 33,482 Information is not collected separately on local authority expenditure designed to assist people to move to another dwelling, either for adaptation or because the existing home is subject to compulsory or voluntary purchase for renewal or clearance.