Oral Answers to Questions

Iain Stewart Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

13. If he will estimate the proportion of the funding for the new homes bonus scheme which will be spent in Milton Keynes.

[The Minister for Housing and Local Government (Grant Shapps)]

The new homes bonus will match-fund the same amount of council tax for every single home built for an additional six years, and we have published a very helpful calculator on the Department’s website, where people can go today to find out how much they will get for the additional homes built.

[Iain Stewart]

I warmly welcome the new homes bonus, which will go a long way to providing the infrastructure that new housing estates need, but will local authorities have the discretion to use that bonus for capital and revenue items?

[Grant Shapps]

The new homes bonus is available for local authorities to spend as they see fit. Under the localism Bill and the flexibility that we now provide, it is absolutely possible for local authorities to use that money potentially even to borrow against, because the income stream is guaranteed for six years. It is a simple, very straightforward approach to making sure that people get more money to their area. To give Members an indication of the calculator, I should say that for every 100 homes that are built in any given area £1 million is likely to go to it over the six-year period.