§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Tony McNulty)Following consideration of proposals made in a consultation paper issued in July 2001, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy system was changed from 2002–2003 to support the policy of social rent reform announced in the December 2000 housing policy statement—Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All.
We consulted local authorities and others in summer 2002 on further proposals to adjust the HRA subsidy system to take account of aspects of the new policy that it was not possible to address in 2002–2003. We also consulted on proposals about the treatment of service charges within the HRA subsidy system. There was general support for our objectives, and the HRA subsidy system for 2003–2004 will be adjusted as necessary to reflect the consultation proposals.
For 2003–2004, we will increase the resources per dwelling available at the national level for management allowances by about 8.1 per cent and for maintenance by about 5.7 per cent in cash terms, of which about 2.2 per cent will be to correct for technical changes to the subsidy system. This is an increase on the amounts proposed in the previous Spending Review, and will provide authorities with an extra £63 per dwelling compared with 2002—03.
The Government is committed to fighting antisocial behaviour. Local Authorities, as social landlords, are essential in winning this battle. We will encourage local authorities to use this real terms cash increase to tackle this blight, through imaginative prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation initiatives.
The Major Repairs Allowance will increase by about 2.5 per cent per dwelling in cash terms at the national level. For subsidy purposes, we are assuming that all local authority rents will be subject to two changes for 2003–2004. First an increase by about 3.5 per cent from their levels in 2002–2003. Secondly an adjustment, which for some authorities will increase and for others reduce rents, to move rents a second step towards the formula set out in our policy for rent restructuring. We have assumed that all authorities made a first step towards the formula rent in 2002–2003.
We have today issued for consultation the drafts of the HRA subsidy and Item 8 determinations for 2003–2004, as well as the draft general determination of administration of HRA subsidy 2002, which translate these national figures into subsidy allocations for individual housing authorities. Copies of the draft determinations and supporting material are being placed in the Library of the House, and will be available 8WS on my Office's web site. These allocations are based on the most up-to-date information available to us from authorities, and may change as that information is refined. Authorities have until 12 December to comment on the draft determinations