The information requested is tabled as follows.
Right to buy receipts Set aside/pooling1 St. Albans 1997-98 2— 3,643 1998-99 2— 3,299 1999-2000 3659 5,318 2000-01 7,586 5,642 2001-02 3,426 2,522 2002-03 — — 2003-044 9,615 — 2004-05 6,000 1,080 2005-06 3,343 1,185 2006-07 3,738 2,019 Hertfordshire5 1997-98 2— 40,100 1998-99 17,268 34,305 1999-2000 43,871 60,362 2000-01 60,317 30,682 2001-02 50,621 54,704 2002-03 63,481 36,568 2003-044 70,048 — 2004-05 39,669 8,180 2005-06 26,835 10,794 2006-07 23,467 14,309 ‘—’No data 1 The table does not provide the percentage of right to buy receipts set aside or pooled, because only the total amount of housing receipts set-aside/pooled is collected. 2 Information available only at disproportionate cost. 3 Data only available for one quarter. 4 No data on set-aside were collected for 2003-04 as a result of the transition to the pooling regime which was introduced in 2004-05. 5 For some years, the figures for Hertfordshire may actually be higher, because data may be missing from some of the authorities.
The table shows the total capital receipts from right to buy (RTB) sales of local authority dwellings in St. Albans and Hertfordshire. The figures for Hertfordshire are the aggregate of figures for the following 10 authorities that lie within that county: St. Albans city council, Broxbourne borough council, Dacorum borough council, East Hertfordshire district council, Hertsmere district council, North Hertfordshire district council, Stevenage borough council, Three Rivers district council, Watford borough council, and Welwyn Hatfield district council. The figures are net of discount and are as reported by local authorities.
The table also shows the value of capital receipts set-aside from 1997-98 to 2003-04 (the last year in which the set-aside regime existed). Under the set-aside regime, with-debt local authorities (that is, authorities with outstanding major long-term loans) were required to set-aside a proportion of the capital receipt generated by the disposal of a housing revenue account (HRA) asset, for the repayment of housing debt. Debt-free authorities (that is, authorities with no outstanding major long-term loans), on the other hand, were free to use the whole of their housing receipts for any capital purpose. When set-aside exceeds RTB receipts, it is because set-aside includes a proportion of receipts from not only RTB, but also whole-stock transfers, non-RTB dwelling sales, and sales of other HRA assets such as housing land.
From 1 April 2004 set-aside no longer applied to most housing receipts. All local authorities, both with-debt and debt-free, paid over or “pooled” the same amounts to the Secretary of State which would have formerly been set aside by with-debt authorities. Until the introduction of the pooling regime, set-aside was the mechanism that allowed a proportion of housing capital receipts to be redistributed for investment elsewhere. When an authority set aside an amount, the need for central government revenue support for that amount of borrowing through HRA subsidy disappeared, thereby enabling central to provide support for borrowing elsewhere.
The process of pooling is currently being reviewed as part of the wider review of housing finance.