§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether it is his policy that the owner of a house in multiple occupation will be required to hold a licence for(a) the whole property and (b) each room within the property; and if he will make a statement on the level of fees. [158548]
§ Keith HillThe licence for a House in Multiple Occupation will be held either by the owner of the property or a managing agent, depending on which of those persons is the more suitable to hold the licence. The licence will be in respect of the whole property.
Licence fees will be payable on the application for a licence and will normally be chargeable once every five years. The fee payable will be determined by reference to the number of habitable dwellings in the House in Multiple Occupation, subject to a maximum charge per dwelling. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are in discussion with the Local Government Association on the level of that maximum charge, but that is likely to be in the region of £110.00 per dwelling for a five-year licence.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his projections are, for(a) the demand level for affordable housing in Greater London, (b) the level of public subsidy that will be required to meet these demand levels in Greater London and (c) the number of affordable houses which will be provided in Greater London through public subsidy in to each of the next 15 years. [158764]
§ Keith HillThe London Housing Board's London Housing Strategy 2003 identifies 306,000 additional households, 20,400 per year, over the period to 2016. In addition there is backlog of unmet need of 112,000 households. The London Housing Strategy 2003 has a target of 23,000 new homes per annum by 2005–06, of which 10,000 housing completions should be affordable. The London Housing Board has begun the preparation of the next long-term housing strategy for the capital to cover the period up to 2016, which will take account of the detailed housing requirements study the Greater London Authority is currently carrying out. On 21 October last year my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced £2.1 billion for investment in housing in London for the next two years. I expect to 1203W make an announcement in the next few weeks on the Housing Corporation's Annual Development Programme of £1.5 billion for affordable housing in the capital for 2004–05 and 2005–06.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many properties have been provided in each London borough by the Housing Corporation in its London approved development programme in each of the last five years. [158446]
§ Keith HillInformation about the number of properties that have been provided through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme in each authority in London in each of the last five years is being collated. I will write to the hon. Member and will make a copy available in the Library of the House.