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32172
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2014-01-09more like thismore than 2014-01-09
star this property answering body
HM Treasury more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 14 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion and value of his Department's contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Nottingham East more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Chris Leslie more like this
star this property uin 182696 more like this
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unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-05-07more like thismore than 2014-05-07
unstar this property answer text <p>Since January 2011, central government departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the tenders issued and contracts they award with a value over £10,000 (excluding VAT) (www.gov.uk/contractsfinder).</p><p> </p><p>Public Procurement Regulations require that prescribed procurement procedures are used when procurements exceed the EU contract threshold values. This legal framework helps to ensure that public procurement is conducted in a fair and open manner both within the UK and across the EU.</p><p> </p><p>Less than two percent of all contracts were let under the restricted procedure in each of the last three years.</p><p> </p><p>In 2010/11 there was one contract let under the restricted procedure. This was for actuarial support to the independent commission on Equitable Life Payments that was set up by this government to recommend how best to fairly allocate funds provided for the Equitable Life Payments Scheme (ELPS) and had a contract value of £1million.</p><p> </p><p>In 2011/12 there were two contracts let under the restricted procedure. They were (i) Corporate Financial Advice framework contract (estimated contract value of £5 million over the 2 years but no guaranteed spend)and (ii) a contract for actuarial support for (ELPS) in making fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policyholders who suffered financial losses as a result of Government maladministration which occurred in the regulation of Equitable Life. The contract value was £5.4 million.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The information requested for the proportion and value of HM Treasury contracts that have been let via framework agreements and where a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p>
star this property answering member constituency South Northamptonshire more like this
star this property answering member printed Andrea Leadsom more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-05-07T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-05-07T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
4117
star this property label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom more like this
star this property tabling member
422
unstar this property label Biography information for Mr Chris Leslie more like this
36720
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2014-02-04more like thismore than 2014-02-04
star this property answering body
HM Treasury more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 14 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) contract staff in his Department as paid the living wage or above. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Bradford East more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Mr David Ward more like this
star this property uin 186697 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-05-07more like thismore than 2014-05-07
unstar this property answer text <p>100% of permanent and temporary staff at HM Treasury are paid the Living Wage or above.</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury fully complies with EU procurement directives and awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. Nevertheless, we have encouraged contractors to commit to paying a living wage and expect all employers to pay at least the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government supports businesses that choose to pay the Living Wage however the Government's main policy on wages is the National Minimum Wage, which has continued to protect the relative wages of the low paid. This is independently set by the Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises their wages without reducing employment prospect. It is for workers and employers to decide the level of wages above the minimum wage based on current circumstances. This includes the Government as a procurer and an employer. Over 95%, around 20 million employees earn above the minimum wage and the majority of public sector workers currently earn above the Living Wage.</p><p> </p>
star this property answering member constituency South Northamptonshire more like this
star this property answering member printed Andrea Leadsom more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-05-07T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-05-07T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
4117
star this property label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom more like this
star this property tabling member
3923
unstar this property label Biography information for Mr David Ward more like this
33137
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2014-01-15more like thismore than 2014-01-15
star this property answering body
HM Treasury more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 14 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) laundering plants and (b) millions of litres of fuel were seized in the UK by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last 10 years. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency East Antrim more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Sammy Wilson more like this
star this property uin 183466 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-05-06more like thismore than 2014-05-06
unstar this property answer text <p>Figures are only available for the years 2010-11 and onwards. The number of laundering plants and millions of litres of fuel seized in those years was as follows.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Laundering Plants</p></td><td><p>Fuel (millions litres)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>23 (20 NI 3 GB)</p></td><td><p>2.74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>29 (NI figure only)</p></td><td><p>2.44</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13 to Dec 13</p></td><td><p>26 (22 NI 4 GB)</p></td><td><p>2.63</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. HMRC has also recently concluded the evaluation of a possible new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC uses several avenues to tackle fraud: criminal prosecution, civil action (such as seizing fuel or pumps), civil penalties and strong regulatory controls.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
star this property answering member constituency Loughborough more like this
star this property answering member printed Nicky Morgan more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-05-06T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-05-06T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
4027
star this property label Biography information for Baroness Morgan of Cotes more like this
star this property tabling member
1593
unstar this property label Biography information for Sammy Wilson more like this
9
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2013-05-08more like thismore than 2013-05-08
star this property answering body
Deputy Prime Minister more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 58 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the outcome of his Department's matching of the electoral register with Department for Work and Pensions data in communities with (a) seaside towns and (b) towns with high student populations; and what effect this work will have on the size of electorates in these constituencies. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Vale of Clwyd more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Chris Ruane more like this
star this property uin 154454 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-02-25more like thismore than 2014-02-25
unstar this property answer text <p>As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER), entries on the electoral register will be matched against data held by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the purposes of confirming existing electors, a process which will simplify the transition for the majority of existing electors. Last year the Cabinet Office undertook pilots to test this process and we published our evaluation of these pilots earlier this year which is available to download from:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-the-transition-to-individual-electoral-registration</p><p> </p><p>The evaluation report includes an analysis of match rates by population groups and while no specific analysis was undertaken of seaside towns, the results did suggest that match rates were lower in areas with high student populations. However, anyone who cannot be confirmed will still be invited to register individually and will retain their ability to vote in the 2015 general election. By using confirmation to simplify the process for the majority of electors it means resources can be focused on maximising registration among those people who cannot be confirmed, including individuals who are not currently registered. We are also currently running a separate set of pilots exploring whether data matching against DWP and other trusted national data sets can be used to find potential electors who are not currently registered but may be eligible to do so, in order to invite them to register. The results of the pilots, which are specifically targeted at boosting registrations among students, attainers and home-movers, will be published in the summer.</p>
star this property answering member constituency Norwich North more like this
star this property answering member printed Chloe Smith more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-02-25T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-02-25T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
1609
star this property label Biography information for Chloe Smith more like this
star this property tabling member
534
unstar this property label Biography information for Chris Ruane more like this
5108
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2013-05-08more like thismore than 2013-05-08
star this property answering body
Cabinet Office more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 53 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the total loss to the economy as a result of underemployment in Scotland. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Glasgow East more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Margaret Curran more like this
star this property uin 153940 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-02-25more like thismore than 2014-02-25
unstar this property answer text <p>This is not a matter for Cabinet Office Ministers.</p> more like this
star this property answering member constituency Norwich North more like this
star this property answering member printed Chloe Smith more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-02-25T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-02-25T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
1609
star this property label Biography information for Chloe Smith more like this
star this property tabling member
3982
unstar this property label Biography information for Margaret Curran more like this
36160
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2014-01-30more like thismore than 2014-01-30
star this property answering body
Ministry of Justice more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 54 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Integrated Offender Management model piloted in the London Borough of Islington on reoffending rates in that area. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Rotherham more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Sarah Champion more like this
star this property uin 186075 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-04-01more like thismore than 2014-04-01
unstar this property answer text <p>I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office. Integrated Offender Management is an important approach to cutting crime and reoffending in local areas. One of the key strengths of the approach is that the local model should be responsive to local needs and priorities as identified by the agencies and the partners in the area. For this reason, we have not imposed any particular model of Integrated Offender Management on areas, nor do we performance manage from Whitehall the crime and reoffending outcomes that local partners in areas such as the London Borough of Islington may be achieving through their local approach.</p> more like this
star this property answering member constituency Ashford more like this
star this property answering member printed Damian Green more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-04-01T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-04-01T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
76
star this property label Biography information for Damian Green more like this
star this property tabling member
4267
unstar this property label Biography information for Sarah Champion more like this
34369
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2014-01-22more like thismore than 2014-01-22
star this property answering body
Department for Communities and Local Government more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 7 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average proportion of market rent of all affordable housing is in each London borough. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Tooting more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Sadiq Khan more like this
star this property uin 184627 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-05-14more like thismore than 2014-05-14
unstar this property answer text <p> </p><p>I have placed in the Library of the House, a table showing affordable and social rents as a proportion of market rents, for each London borough.</p><p>The affordable rent model allows for more new affordable housing to be delivered with lower levels of taxpayer capital subsidy and by levering in more private investment. The programme is helping deliver £15 billion of private investment in new affordable housing over the current spending review, alongside £4.5 billion of public investment. Social rent and affordable rent go hand in hand; both help provide accommodation for those on low incomes.</p><p>As the National Audit Office has observed: “the Department selected the best delivery model open to it for the funds it had available” and “the Department has so far achieved its policy objective to maximise the number of homes delivered within the available grant funding” (National Audit Office, “Financial viability of the social housing sector: introducing the Affordable Homes Programme”, 4 July 2012, <em>HC465,</em> pp.6-7).</p><p>I note in his recent Fabian Society pamphlet, the rt. hon. Member has complained that affordable rent would result in rents of 80 per cent of market rents in London. Whilst it varies by borough, as the table shows, for example, affordable rent levels are 38 per cent of average local market rents in Camden, 48 per cent in Islington, 54 per cent in Southwark and 35 per cent in Westminster, reflecting local circumstances.</p><p>I also observe that the housing policy announced at the Labour Party Conference in October 2012 also endorsed the use of affordable rents to build new homes; albeit this point is frequently lost on many Labour hon. Members who proceed to attack the basic principle of affordable rent in allowing more new affordable homes to be built using taxpayer capital subsidy.</p><p> </p>
star this property answering member constituency Keighley more like this
star this property answering member printed Kris Hopkins more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-05-14T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-05-14T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
4043
star this property label Biography information for Kris Hopkins more like this
star this property tabling member
1577
unstar this property label Biography information for Sadiq Khan more like this
34375
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2014-01-22more like thismore than 2014-01-22
star this property answering body
Department for Communities and Local Government more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 7 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families were placed in temporary accommodation in each London borough in each of the last five years. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Tooting more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Sadiq Khan more like this
star this property uin 184631 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-05-09more like thismore than 2014-05-09
unstar this property answer text <p> </p><p>I refer the rt. hon. Member to Live Table 784 available on my Department's website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness</a></p><p>The numbers of households in temporary accommodation in London are still well belowthe level they were at their peak, under the previous Administration, when they hit more than 63,800. Councils have a responsibility to move homeless households into settled accommodation as quickly as possible and we made common sense changes to the law to enable them to use suitable private rented homes. Indeed, the average stay in temporary accommodation in England has been reduced from 20 months at the beginning of 2010 to 14 months now.</p><p>We have also seen a 42% reduction in the numbers of families with children in Bed and Breakfast for more than six weeks on this time last year across the country. The seven local authorities that we funded to tackle families in Bed and Breakfast have made significant progress achieving an overall reduction of 96% since the funding began.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
star this property answering member constituency Keighley more like this
star this property answering member printed Kris Hopkins more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2014-05-09T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-05-09T12:00:00.00Z
star this property answering member
4043
star this property label Biography information for Kris Hopkins more like this
star this property tabling member
1577
unstar this property label Biography information for Sadiq Khan more like this
33630
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2014-01-16more like thismore than 2014-01-16
star this property answering body
Department for Communities and Local Government more like this
unstar this property answering dept id 7 more like this
star this property answering dept short name
star this property answering dept sort name
star this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on plans to increase house building by 2030. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Redditch more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Karen Lumley more like this
star this property uin 183915 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-05-13more like thismore than 2014-05-13
unstar this property answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Thursday 23 January 2014]</em></p><p>The Government does not have a Whitehall building target. The last Administration had a state target to increase house building to 240,000 dwellings a year, yet house building then fell to its lowest peacetime rate since the 1920s.</p><p>By contrast, the Coalition Government has put in place a range of measures to get Britain building again, fix the broken housing market and help hard-working people get the home they want.</p><p>Action taken includes wide-ranging planning reform through National Planning Policy Framework; new incentives to deliver housing growth through the New Homes Bonus; as well as the Government's broader long-term economic plan to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration and keep interest rates down. I would note:</p><p>· We have already delivered 420,000 new homes since 2010.</p><p>· New orders in residential construction have risen to their highest level since 2007 according to the Office for National Statistics;</p><p>· Housing starts are at their highest since 2007 according to DCLG figures;</p><p>· The number of first time buyers is at its highest since 2007 according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders;</p><p>· Repossessions are at their lowest since 2007, according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders; and</p><p>· New home registrations rose by 30 per cent in 2013 in England, the highest since 2007, and are up 60 per cent in London, according to the NHBC.</p><p>In relation to specific programmes:</p><p><em>Affordable housing</em></p><p>170,000 affordable homes have been delivered in England since April 2010.</p><p>Our Affordable Homes Programme will deliver 170,000 homes over the current spending review period (2011-2015) levering in £19.5 billion of public and private funding. We have announced a new ‘Affordable Rent to Buy' scheme which will deliver affordable homes through a recoverable fund. We have also published details of a new Affordable Homes Programme for the next spending period, which will lever in up to £23 billion in public and private funding to deliver 165,000 homes from 2015 to 2018.</p><p>The Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme is worth up to £3.5 billion (with further lending capacity held in reserve according to demand) and supported by up to £450 million grant funding in England. Up to 30,000 additional affordable homes will be underway by December 2017. Affordable Housing Finance Plc was awarded the licence for the Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme in June 2013. The first eight housing associations to be approved to borrow through the scheme were announced in January 2014, who will raise over £400 million of debt to facilitate the delivery of over 4,000 new affordable homes. We also announced a European Investment Bank loan facility worth £500 million. More borrowers will follow.</p><p>The Right to Buy Scheme, allowing eligible social tenants to buy their homes at a discount has achieved almost 24,000 sales since April 2010, with the majority (16,200) since we reinvigorated the scheme in 2012. A total of 2,845 council properties were sold between October and December last year, a 42 per cent increase on the same period in 2012. The reinvigorated Right to Buy ensures, for the first time, that the receipts from the additional sales, that is those over what was forecast prior to the change, are reinvested in helping to fund new homes for affordable rent. So far, £300 million has been generated from additional sales and already over 2,000 homes have been started on site or acquired since April 2012.</p><p><em>Home ownership schemes (Help to Buy)</em></p><p>Since April 2013, the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme has offered buyers a 20 per cent equity loan that can be used towards the cost of buying a new build homes, allowing people to buy with a 5 per cent deposit. There were over 30,000 reservations and 19,394 completed loans across England by the end of March 2014, with funding for up to 74,000 sales by March 2016. Alongside this, the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme has so far supported a further 5,173 households purchase new build homes by the end of March 2014. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme was extended through the 2014 Budget announcement to 2020 to help 120,000 more households purchase a new build home.</p><p>The FirstBuy scheme was announced in the Budget 2011 to help support 10,000 first time buyers on the property ladder. The scheme was replaced in April 2013 with Help to Buy. There were 11,590 FirstBuy sales to the end of March 2014.</p><p>Since the end of last year, the Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee scheme is providing up to £12 billion of Government guarantees to support people to buy with a 5 per cent deposit, and over 2,500 homes have so far (by the end of January 2014) been brought through this route, and has helped lower interest rates for those with smaller deposits. The three Help to Buy schemes complement each other, and their success can be taken in the whole.</p><p><em>Private rented sector</em></p><p>The £1 billion Build to Rent programme, which provides development phase finance, is supporting new high quality development purpose built for private rent and is on track to create up to 10,000 new homes. The programme received £1.4 billion of bids under Round One, which is expected to support 15 developments which will provide over 2,600 homes across England in locations which include Durham, Liverpool, Manchester and London. Five contracts to the combined value of over £74.5 million have already been agreed which will deliver over 1,000 new homes for private rent; construction has already started in Southampton (Centenary Quay) and Manchester (Three Towers); more contracts will follow.</p><p>Bidding for Round Two of the Build to Rent Fund was significantly oversubscribed receiving 126 bids to the value of around £3 billion. 36 projects on the shortlist from Round Two are now going through a competitive due diligence process, with successful bids receiving funding to deliver thousands of new homes. A list of all shortlisted bids has been placed in the Library of the House. The shortlist is over-programmed, meaning not all shortlisted projects will receive funding. Shortlisting and due diligence are the first stages of the Build to Rent approval process. The Homes and Communities Agency will continue to work with bidders until exchange of contracts in order to ensure value for money for taxpayers.</p><p>In addition to direct funding, the Government's Private Rented Sector Taskforce is continuing to build the private rented sector as an investment market and have identified £10 billion of domestic and foreign investment available in the private rented sector.</p><p>The Private Rented Sector Guarantees scheme will provide a government guarantee for up to £3.5 billion debt (with further lending capacity held in reserve according to demand) for borrowers investing in new build private rented sector homes across the UK. The guarantees will use the UK Government's hard earned fiscal credibility to help lower the cost of borrowing and incentivise investment in the sector. DCLG is open for business to issue direct guarantees and is actively discussing potential applications with a number of borrowers looking to invest in large scale developments. On 18 March, we also launched a procurement inviting bids from the market to be our delivery partner for Private Rented Sector Housing Debt Guarantees, with the aim of maximizing take up of guarantees including for small and medium enterprises. My Department will be evaluating bids to perform the role in due course.</p><p><em>Infrastructure and development finance</em></p><p>The Get Britain Building investment fund has been provided over £500 million of finance to unlock smaller stalled sites. As at February 2014, it has helped kick start 11,893 new homes on stalled sites.</p><p>The Growing Places Fund is providing £770 million to deliver the infrastructure needed to unlock stalled schemes that will promoted economic growth, create jobs and build homes. The fund has been fully allocated to Local Enterprise Partnerships and the devolved administrations to fund local projects. Progress updates in June 2013 reported that £652 million of capital funding had been allocated to 305 projects across England. Local Enterprise Partnerships expect these projects to create 4,900 businesses, 94,000 jobs and 27,000 houses. A further update will be published in due course.</p><p>The £474 million Local Infrastructure Fund is helping to unlock large scale housing developments. To date, we have unlocked 15 sites capable of delivering almost 80,000 homes through a combination of financial and non-financial support. We are currently working to unlock a further 13 stalled schemes to deliver up to 40,000 new homes. In addition to the capital investment, we have made available £13 million of capacity funding to support local authorities in fulfilling their local housing ambitions.</p><p>The 2013 Autumn Statement also announced a further £1 billion to unlock development on large housing sites and a Prospectus inviting bids was published on 14 April. During the Easter Recess, we also published the Local Growth Fund (Housing Infrastructure) prospectus. This sets out the detail on how to access the £50 million part of the Local Growth Fund in 2015-16. It is designed to help speed up and restart housing developments between 250 and 1,499 units that have slowed down or stalled.</p><p>The 2014 Budget announced further funding for driving up housing supply including a £525 million Builders Finance Fund to provide development finance for small sites to support the construction of 15,000 new homes; the prospectus has also recently been published.</p><p>The Budget announced the intention to create an Urban Development Corporation for the Ebbsfleet area to accelerate the construction of a garden-city style development which will unlock up to 15,000 homes – with up to £200 million capital being made available. We have also published a prospectus to support further locally-led garden cities.</p><p>A new Estate Regeneration Fund of £150 million of recoverable investment will help kick start and accelerate the regeneration of some of our most deprived estates. And we will work with the Greater London Authority to support the regeneration of Brent Cross and unlock 11,000 homes at Barking Riverside.</p><p>We have also taken steps to scale back economically unrealistic Section 106 agreements, such as from the last Administration's housing bubble, which result in no housing development, no regeneration and no community benefits.</p><p><em>Self-build</em></p><p>The £30 million investment fund for Custom Build Homes is currently assessing loan funding of £22.6 million with the potential to deliver 270 units. At the 2014 Budget, we announced that the Government will consult on a new ‘Right to Build' to give self builders a right to a plot from councils, a new £150 million investment fund to help provide up to 10,000 service plots, and announced will we look to extend Help to Buy equity to custom build. We have also exempted self-build from the Community Infrastructure Levy and we are consulting on a similar policy change for Section 106 tariffs.</p><p><em>Empty homes</em></p><p>This Government has provided £235 million of funding which aims to bring up to 12,000 homes back into use by March 2015. This is part of a wider package of measures to get empty homes and empty buildings back into productive use, in contrast to the last Administration's policy of wholesale demolition. The numbers of empty properties in England have fallen to a 10-year low, and the number of long-term vacant properties has fallen by around a third since 2009.</p><p><em>Public sector land</em></p><p>The Public Sector Land Programme has identified land with capacity for over 100,000 homes which we aim to release to the private sector by March 2015. At the end of December 2013, we had released land capable of delivering 68,000 homes to be built.</p><p>Through the Strategic Land and Property Review we have identified scope to generate £5 billion of receipts from government land and property between 2015 and 2020. This will put land and property into the hands of those who can exploit them for commercial purposes – creating opportunities for housing and economic development.</p><p>This was part of a series of measures to support brownfield development, as outlined in more detail in the answer of 3 April 2014, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 780W.</p><p>There is more to do, but I hope this illustrates how this Government's long-term economic plan is helping build more houses, help people move on and up the housing ladder and clean up the mess left by the last Administration.</p><p> </p>
star this property answering member constituency Keighley more like this
star this property answering member printed Kris Hopkins more like this
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less than 2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z
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star this property date less than 2013-11-04more like thismore than 2013-11-04
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Department for Communities and Local Government more like this
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star this property question text To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding was allocated from Homes and Community Agency to (a) develop new affordable housing and (b) bring empty homes back into use in Harrow in each of the last five years. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Harrow West more like this
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Mr Gareth Thomas more like this
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unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer less than 2014-04-28more like thismore than 2014-04-28
unstar this property answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Thursday 7 November 2013]</em></p><p>The figures for affordable housing are as follows for the London Borough of Harrow area:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2008-09</p></td><td><p>£22 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>£45 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£26 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£15 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£13 million</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Since April 2012, allocations from the Affordable Housing Programme have been overseen by the Greater London Authority rather than the Homes and Communities Agency. There have been no specific allocations on empty homes over this period.</p><p>As outlined to the hon. Member in the answer of 7 January 2013, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 121W, I would note that the new Affordable Rent model now allows for more affordable housing to be delivered with lower levels of taxpayer capital subsidy and lever in more private investment.</p><p>As the National Audit Office has observed: “The Department selected the best delivery model open to it for the funds it had available” and “The Department has so far achieved its policy objective to maximise the number of homes delivered within the available grant funding” (National Audit Office, “Financial viability of the social housing sector; introducing the Affordable Homes Programme”, 4 July 2012, HC465, pp.6-7).</p><p>I also note that the Mayor's proposed Housing Strategy states: “£1.8 billion of public funding has been secured by the Mayor which will unlock an estimated additional £3.7 billion of other investment for London to enable 55,000 affordable homes to be delivered between 2011-15” (Mayor of London, “The Revised London Housing Strategy”, December2011, p.35).</p><p>Across England, 170,000 affordable homes have been delivered so far since April 2010, and a total of £19.5 billion of public and private investment is being spent on affordable housing over the current Spending Review period.</p><p> </p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p>
star this property answering member constituency Keighley more like this
star this property answering member printed Kris Hopkins more like this
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less than 2014-04-28T12:00:00.00Zmore like thismore than 2014-04-28T12:00:00.00Z
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unstar this property label Biography information for Gareth Thomas more like this