CLG "seeks clarification" on NHB empties figures

A parliamentary answer by Mark Prisk, Housing Minisiter, confirms that most of the zero figures for empty homes returned to use in the provisional New Homes Bonus allocations are for authorities where the empties figures are being queried. The parliamentary answer states: For year 3, there are 29 authorities where we have asked for clarification of empty homes data provided, and have not included an empty homes component in their provisional allocations. We will take account of those authorities' responses when determining final allocations, and at that stage all authorities will receive an allocation that includes any empty homes element due to them. It is not clear how this will be taken into account in the Local Government Revenue Settlement given that New Homes Bonus is funded in part by a top slice from the Revenue Support Grant. The amount of NHB is likely to go up, given that the percentage of NHB attributable to returning empties to re-use has declinjed over the previouse two years. But all the suggestions are that the government has decided to absorb any extra as they have given a firm figure for the amount of topslice of £411million, following negotiations with LGA: the negotiations are understood to be around the provisional nature of the NHB figrures, with the government originally proposing to top-slice £500million. The 32 authorities reporting zero empties returned to use are listed below. We do not know which of these are the 29 where clarification is being sought. Barking & Dagenham Bexley Bolton Cherwell Cornwall UA Dacorum Dartford Dover Ealing Enfield Epsom and Ewell Hillingdon Isles of Scilly Kettering Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Maidstone Melton Oldham Poole UA Reading UA Redbridge Redditch Rushcliffe Sandwell South Northamptonshire Southend-on-Sea UA Spelthorne St Helens Stafford Stoke-on-Trent UA Torridge