§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister how(a) the Starter Homes Initiative and (b) the Abandoned Homes Initiative have benefited the residents of Heywood and Middleton. [168433]
§ Keith HillBetween September 2001 and 31 March 2004, the Starter Home Initiative (SHI) helped key workers into home ownership in areas where the high cost of housing serves to undermine recruitment and retention of skilled staff in our key public services. The SHI was available in London and the South East region and in some housing hotspots in the East, South West and West Midlands regions. It was not available to key workers in the North West region.
887WThe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of an Abandoned Homes Initiative. However, our Market Renewal Pathfinders are a comprehensive programme to tackle low demand and abandonment in nine English areas. The Oldham and Rochdale pathfinder, which includes Middleton but not Heywood, received £53.5 million to April 2006, which will fund a large-scale programme of capital works to revive the housing market and improve the environment. The boundaries of this scheme were drawn up following an analysis of local housing markets to identify those areas most acutely affected by low demand and abandonment.