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Written question asked by Margaret Moran (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 June 2006. It was answered by Yvette Cooper (Labour) on Monday, 3 July 2006 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Housing (Luton)

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) failed and (b) successful bids have been made by Luton council for Housing Corporation funding; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for the decision in each case.
Answer

No bids were made by Luton borough council for the Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) 2006-08. All bids for the Luton borough council area were made by registered social landlords and other developers. Successful schemes in Luton were allocated a total of £7.5 million for the 2006-08 AHP.The Secretary of State does not make decisions on individual schemes. An overall package of funding and outputs is submitted to Ministers by the Corporation. The schemes making up this programme have been assessed by the Housing Corporation as part of a competitive bidding round.In assessing bids the Corporation used a two stage process for the 2006-08 AHP round. Bids were assessed for compliance with the competition requirements as follows:"(i) Additionality—Grant must be necessary for the affordable housing to be delivered;""(ii) Rent levels in accordance with Corporation or statutory rent regimes to ensure affordability;""(iii) Schemes must be financially independent;""(iv) Schemes must meet or exceed the minimum standards covering design and quality (expressed through the Corporation’s Scheme Development Standards, Housing Quality Indicator system, and a Very Good EcoHomes rating);""(v) Scheme must start on site by 31 March 2008;""(vi) Schemes must complete before 31 March 2011;""(vii) Scheme must conform to the relevant regional housing board priorities;""(viii) Schemes must meet management and maintenance Standards (for Housing Associations schemes must comply with all of the Corporation’s regulatory requirements in relation to the management and maintenance of affordable homes);""(ix) Bidders must have the capacity to enter into a programme agreement."Bids which met these competition requirements were then subject to competitive assessment using four criteria:"Value-for-money;""Quality;""Fit with Regional and Local housing strategies;""Deliverability within the programme time scale."

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
80517; 448 c770-2W
Session
2005-06
Subjects
Housing Luton
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk