Skip to main content

Housing: Waiting Lists

Volume 458: debated on Monday 26 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were registered on local authority housing waiting lists in (a) each English region and (b) each London local authority in 2006; and what the percentage change was on the previous year in each case. (128671)

Information is available on numbers of households rather than people. The number of households on the waiting list for social housing in (a) each English region (b) each London local authority; and the percentage change on the previous year is given in the following tables.

(a) Number of households on waiting list for social housing, as at 1st April by region, as reported by local authorities

2005

2006

Percentage change on previous year

North East

89,747

95,359

6

North West

200,600

217,397

8

Yorkshire and the Humber

227,430

247,499

9

East Midlands

137,095

133,823

-2

West Midlands

137,992

126,629

-8

East of England

129,184

135,444

5

London

309,072

328,116

6

South East

181,196

195,700

8

South West

131,193

151,220

15

England

1,543,509

1,631,187

6

Note:

As reported by local authorities.

Source:

Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA)

(b) Number of households on waiting list by London local authority, as reported by local authorities

2005

2006

Percentage change on previous year

Barking and Dagenham

2,321

4,575

97

Barnet

13,627

16,470

21

Bexley

4,528

5,955

32

Brent

17,351

16,398

-5

Bromley

2,998

4,282

43

Camden

16,532

9,562

-42

City of London

1,204

1,427

19

Croydon

8,856

9,271

5

Ealing

14,324

15,936

11

Enfield

7,872

7,055

-10

Greenwich

7,666

10,239

34

Hackney

7,744

8,815

14

Hammersmith and Fulham

8,384

7,795

-7

Haringey

19,930

24,939

25

Harrow

4,944

5,533

12

Havering

3,477

3,876

11

Hillingdon

7,471

7,136

-4

Hounslow

10,382

11,666

12

Islington

6,326

8,489

34

Kensington and Chelsea

9,436

10,798

14

Kingston upon Thames

4,903

5,726

17

Lambeth

10,648

13,611

28

Lewisham

18,279

17,535

-4

Merton

5,188

3,278

-37

Newham

25,317

29,574

17

Redbridge

7,941

10,807

36

Richmond upon Thames

4,898

5,726

17

Southwark

7,548

8,057

7

Button

3,724

3,408

-8

Tower Hamlets

21,183

12,926

-39

Waltham Forest

8,837

11,059

25

Wandsworth

8,668

8,952

3

Westminster

6,565

7,240

10

Note:

As reported by local authorities.

Source:

Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA)

Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in Taunton constituency are on housing waiting lists; and how many have been waiting (a) less than six months, (b) six to 12 months, (c) 12 to 18 months, (d) 18 to 24 months and (e) over 24 months for housing. (128745)

The constituency of Taunton covers the whole of Taunton Deane district council but also includes a large part of West Somerset district council. Information is not collected at the constituency level, only at local authority level and includes households rather than people. Information on length of waiting time on a housing list for households is not held centrally.

However, the number of households on the waiting list for social housing in Taunton Deane, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The link for this table is as follows:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=l163853

Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.