Housing (Hansard, 26 January 2004)

§ Sir Archy Kirkwood
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library copies of the Chief Executive of the Rent Service's correspondence with the Rent Service's area manager for London since November 2001. [150138]

§ Keith Hill
Correspondence between the Chief Executive of the Rent Service and the Rent Service's Area Manager for London is largely of a confidential nature under Part 2 (2) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. To identify any correspondence that is not confidential would incur disproportionate cost.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to find new sites upon which to build(a) private and (b) social housing; and what budget has been allocated for that purpose in 2003–04. [150379]

§ Keith Hill
The Sustainable Communities Plan sets out the policies, resources and partnerships necessary create a better balance in housing supply and demand. This includes the steps the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is taking to improve site assembly for both private and social housing. It is backed by £22 billion investment over three years.
Key initiatives include: Provision of additional homes in designated growth areas, with £610 million over three years for site assembly, delivery mechanisms, additional affordable housing and essential local infrastructure. Combined with London, the growth areas have the potential to deliver an extra 200,000 homes above planned levels. Making better use of surplus public sector land, for instance through a new register established by English Partnerships and through the introduction of new arrangements for its disposal. Identifying sites for additional housing, which would include developments for both private housing, affordable housing and homes for key workers, is one of the key priorities for English Partnerships. 161W Proposals to allow local authorities to seek affordable housing on smaller sites where this is justified, a measure particularly important in the South-east where almost 80 per cent. of housing sites are less than half a hectare in size.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he has taken to ensure that new housing estates are not built on land that is prone to flooding; and what plans he has for further measures. [150381]

§ Keith Hill
The Government's policy requirements for England have been given in Planning Policy Guidance Notes 3 "(Housing)" and 25 "(Development and Flood Risk)". PPG25 categorises the suitability of land for various types of development, including housing, of the basis of the flood risk maps issued by the Environment Agency. The policies in PPG25 are due to be reviewed later this year against possible developments in flood risk assessments since it was issued in 2001.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of social housing is owned and operated by private housing foundations; and what plans he has for the further transfer of social housing to such foundations. [150382]

§ Keith Hill
In 2003 the breakdown between social housing owned by registered social landlords and local authorities was 41.4 per cent. and 58.6 per cent. respectively. The transfer of local authority housing to registered social landlords remains one of the three options available to local authorities where additional resources are required to deliver decent homes.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to encourage council tenants to take better care of their rented property. [150384]

§ Keith Hill
The duty to carry out on-going repairs and maintenance as well as any necessary major improvement works to a home lies with the local authority landlord rather than the tenant. Certain small, urgent repairs which are likely to affect the tenant's health, safety or security are covered by the 'Right to Repair', which means that by law, these must be carried out by the local authority quickly and at no cost to the tenant.
However, through their tenancy agreement, tenants may have responsibilities to carry out certain types of repair or to behave in a way which does not cause nuisance or annoyance to neighbours. The Council Tenant's Charter, published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is readily available to councils and tenants and provides further details of the rights and responsibilities of council tenants.

§ Ms Buck
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what proportion of tenants in the social rented sector are paying rents above the average rent for the appropriate bedroom category in(a) England, (b) each region and (c) each London borough; [150400]
(2) what proportion of tenants in the social rented sector are paying rents £10 or more above the average for their bedroom size in (a) each region of England and (b) each London borough; [150401]
162W
(3) what proportion of tenants in the social rented sector are paying £10 or more above the average for properties with (a) one bedroom, (b) two bedrooms, (c) three bedrooms and (d) four or more bedrooms. [150402]

§ Keith Hill
The Housing Corporation and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister hold data on rents paid by tenants, but only at the level of the average rent paid to RSLs/LAs for each bedroom category. However, the information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

§ Andrew Selous
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect on demand for housing in the UK of the housing needs of nationals of the EU accession states who may come to the UK [151066]

§ Keith Hill
No assessment has been made of the impact upon demand for housing of immigrants who may come to the UK from EU accession countries.
However, this Government does not believe that housing shortages in London and the south-east can be blamed on international migration. We recognised in the Sustainable Communities Plan that for more than 30 years all Governments failed to meet housing need.
The Sustainable Communities Plan sets out the policies, resources and partnerships that will achieve the step change essential to turn around the legacy of decades of neglect and under-investment, including: £5 billion for more affordable homes to be built, including at least £1 billion for key worker housing Measures to ensure delivery of 930,000 new homes in existing regional plans for the south-east to 2016. Additional homes to be provided in designated growth areas, with £610 million over three years for site assembly, delivery mechanisms, additional affordable housing and essential local infrastructure. Combined with London, the growth areas have the potential to deliver an extra 200,000 homes above planned levels Measures to make better use of the existing housing stock, especially to bring empty properties back into use.