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WQ.247/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND HOUSING BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 30th JUNE 2020
Question
Will the Minister advise Members of the current social housing situation in the Island and in particular –
- the number of people on the social housing waiting list and the average waiting time on the list;
- the demand for 1-bed, 2-bed and 3-bed accommodation;
- the number of houses or apartments currently being constructed and their expected completion dates; and
- how he plans to meet the demand for housing over the next 5 years?
Answer
- 2547 people are currently waiting on the Housing Gateway list. 1645 of those are on Band 5 which is the assisted purchase scheme.
902 are those waiting for social housing provision
Below is the table showing the average waiting time in months.
Bedrooms Average of Avg Waiting (Months) Requested
Grand Band 0 1 2 3 4 5 Total
Band 1 11 23 19 8 15 13 19 Band 2 18 27 17 21 23 0 21 Band 3 26 34 23 27 26 29 Band 4 28 28 Band 6 12 15 19 42 17 Grand Total 16 26 20 17 20 11 22
Please note the average waiting time would not be useful information as there are clients on the list who have waited years due to not expressing interest or due to the type of property that they require.
- 1 bed = 397 2 bed = 261 3 bed = 134
- Andium Homes is planning to develop more than 1,100 new homes between now and 2024. This will make a significant contribution towards meeting the demand for social housing over the next 5 years, including homes for rent and assisted purchase.
I anticipate that the demand for social housing over the next five years will be met through the acquisition and development of new sites, including Government-owned sites that are no longer required and through regeneration in St. Helier ; and intensification of development on existing social housing sites.
The Housing Policy Development Board is due to report with recommendations about how to meet the island's future housing needs. The Board's work has been postponed due to Covid-19, but it is expected to report with its recommendations in Q4 2020. The Board will recommend a range of potential measures to increase housing supply, including the release of sites for housing, potential funding arrangements and new tenure models.
The Board's work, alongside the 2019 Objective Assessment of Housing Need Report, is helping to inform the Island Plan Review programme.