To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Exchequer has received in receipts from right to buy schemes in each year since 1997. (274874)

I have been asked to reply.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1118W. Prior to 1 April 2004, receipts arising from the disposal of dwellings under right to buy (RTB) were retained by the local authorities, although authorities with debt set aside 75 per cent. of that receipt to repay their housing debt.

Social homebuy sales have only been made since February 2007. Receipts arising from right to acquire (RTA) sales and social homebuy sales by housing associations are retained by registered social landlords (RSLs) and are reinvested in the provision of affordable housing. Local authorities are allowed to retain all social homebuy sales receipts, provided these are used for the purposes set out in statutory instrument 2006/521.

The following table shows for each financial year since 2004-05 the total housing receipts received by the Department. Data on RTB and local authority social homebuy receipts received by the Department are not collected separately, but most of these arise from RTB sales. The table also shows the amount of those receipts received by the Department which were then passed on to the Exchequer.

The following table shows the amount invested by central Government in housing capital projects. It also shows how much of that was expenditure through the Home and Communities Agency’s Affordable Housing Programme on new build and acquisitions on both social rent and low cost home ownership schemes.