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Social Rented Housing

Volume 460: debated on Monday 21 May 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of households faced with possession actions by social landlords in England in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2004-05. (131000)

The following table shows the number of social landlord possession actions made, in the county courts of England and Wales in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Social landlord possession actions in England and Wales in 2004-5 and 2005-6

Claims Issued

Orders made (suspended and outright orders)

Warrants of possession successfully executed1

2004-05

131,812

90,215

24,125

2005-06

127,901

86,141

23,574

1 Figures are estimates Source: Department for Constitutional Affairs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the revenue from the sale of council houses in (a) Castle Point and (b) England was reinvested in new social housing in each of the last 10 years. (132251)

The Department does not collect data on the proportion of the sale of council houses that is reinvested in the provision of new social housing.

In general, on disposal of a council house, for instance through the right to buy, 75 per cent. of the capital receipt comes back to Government for recycling to other areas and investment, the local authority is free to use the remaining 25 per cent. for any capital purpose it sees fit—including the provision of new social housing. Prior to 2004-05, local authorities that had housing attributable debt set aside a proportion (75 per cent. for right to buy sales) of the housing capital receipt to repay their housing debt. That mechanism was replaced in 2004 with the pooling regime, which recovers a proportion (again, 75 per cent. for right to buy sales) of housing capital receipts for investment elsewhere.

Capital investment by central Government in affordable housing for the last 10 years generally (that is, investment in, maintenance of and provision of new affordable housing) has been greater than the value of capital receipts generated by the sale of council housing nationally. Since 1997 the Government have consistently invested more in housing than has been received in receipts.

The following table shows:

Spend for Castle Point from 1997-98 to 2005-06 for social rent and low cost home ownership (LCHO) through Housing Corporation Affordable Housing Programme (AHP). The figures provided are for new provision through either new build, acquisition and refurbishment.

The right to buy receipts generated by the disposal of social housing, in Castle Point and in England.

The amount of housing receipts (including RTB sales but not limited to those, this data also includes non-RTB sales of housing assets such as bare land) that were recycled for investment, either through the set-aside regime or through the pooling of housing capital receipts, in Castle Point and in England.

The value of capital investment in Castle Point (local authority stock investment only) and nationally.

£ million

Castle Point

England

RTB Receipts

Set-Aside/ Pooling

LHCO/ AHP1

LA Capital Investment

RTB receipts

Set-Aside/ Pooling

Capital Investment

1997-98

No data

0.62

0.41

0.07

No data

934

1,894

1998-99

0.51

0.39

0.14

0.23

911

1,085

2,098

1999-2000

1.18

0.89

0.37

0.35

1,374

1,477

2,173

2000-01

1.04

0.78

0.35

0.59

1,793

1,626

2,866

2001-02

1.27

0.99

0.37

1.25

1,566

1,382

3,312

2002-03

1.09

0.86

0.02

1.45

2,210

1,857

3,598

2003-04

1.26

n/a

1.17

1.44

2,936

No data

4,685

2004-05

0.54

0.42

0.96

1.53

2,575

1,718

4,767

2005-06

0.65

0.47

0.26

1.42

1,545

1,076

5,151

Note:

Data pre-1997-98 is available only at disproportionate cost. 2005-06 is the latest year for which we have audited data.

1 Source:

Housing Corporation

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of each English local authority's housing stock was social housing in (a) 1986, (b) 1996 and (c) 2006. (137771)

The proportions of social housing for rent as a total of the housing stock by local authority have been tabulated and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. Social housing is defined as those dwellings that are owned or managed by local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs). Figures are as reported by local authorities and RSLs.