Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 October 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 October 2008. It was answered by Iain Wright (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 October 2008 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Council Housing: Immigrants

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what estimate she has made of the number of (a) non-UK EU national-headed households and (b) A8 national-headed households in social housing in (i) the most recent period for which figures are available and (ii) each year since such figures became available; and what proportion this represented of housing stock in each year;

Answer: The latest results from the Survey of English Housing, based on the period 2005-06 to 2006-07, are that there were an estimated 310,000 social tenants in England who were foreign nationals—8 per cent. of all social tenants. This question on nationality was introduced for the first time in 2005-06.The Survey of English Housing doesn't identify the nationalities of householders to a level that can identify non-UK EU nationals or A8 nationals. However, results from the new English Housing Survey that started in April 2008 (replacing the Survey of English Housing) will capture more detailed information about the nationality of householders.Information on the number of foreign national households allocated social housing is collected in the Continuous Recording of Letting form (CORE). For this information, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 16 May 2008, Official Report, column 1798W.

Secondary information