To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were on the market in each of the last 20 quarters. (264988)

Information on the number of affordable homes on the market is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were constructed in each of the last 20 quarters. (264989)

The following table shows the number of additional affordable homes provided in England in each of the last five years. These figures are not available quarterly.

The affordable housing figures are from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS), and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) returns and P2 house building returns submitted to CLG by local authorities and the National House-Building Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the Design for Manufacture competition was (a) opened and (b) closed; and if she will make a statement. (265263)

The Design for Manufacture Competition was announced by the then Deputy Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott), on 26 September 2004. The Prior Information Notice was issued on 15 February 2005, and the Contract Notice (which formally opened the competition process) was issued on 29 March 2005. This allowed consortiums to register their interest in participating and to request the necessary initial documents. The last of the 10 site contracts was awarded in July 2006, and that brought the competition stage of the programme to a close. A document called ‘Designed for Manufacture—lessons learnt’, which explained the competition process and the individual projects in detail, was published in June 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1107-8W, on housing: low incomes, when she expects a decision to be made on Ministerial approval of funding for the Up2You/First Steps scheme; and if she will make a statement. (265571)

The “Up2U/First Steps” scheme announced by the Mayor of London on 3 March was potentially novel and therefore my approval was required before funding from the Homes and Communities Agency could be committed. I immediately asked my officials to work with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to ensure that the scheme offered good value for money and that there were no practical or legal barriers to it proceeding.

This detailed work showed that there was scope to reduce the delivery risk and improve the value for money offered by the “Up2U/First Steps” scheme. I have now approved a revised deal between the HCA and London and Quadrant (L&Q). This deal will involve the properties that were to be covered by the “Up2U/First Steps” scheme being delivered through the Government’s existing intermediate market products (including Rent to HomeBuy, Intermediate Rent and New Build HomeBuy).

As a result of this deal, all of the properties that were to be covered by the “Up2U/First Steps” scheme will now be made available at completion as affordable housing and will not instead be sold outright. As such, the deal will not only unlock development by L&Q and support the construction industry—it will also offer a better deal for both first time buyers and taxpayers.