To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people living (a) in the Chelmsford Local Authority area and (b) outside the Chelmsford Local Authority area are on the Chelmsford housing waiting list; and what the figures were in 1997. (132413)

[holding answer 23 April 2007]: Local authorities in England report the numbers of households (not people) on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. However, the information is not broken down by whether the household is living within or outside the local authority district.

The number of households on Chelmsford borough council’s housing waiting list, 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 and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=1163853

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 on to the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.