I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend Joan Walley on securing this important and timely debate. She has been a tenacious champion of more and better housing not just in her own constituency, but in the wider areas of Stoke-on-Trent and the rest of the west midlands. I have had several meetings with her on these matters, and I am sure that she will recall one such notable meeting that coincided with a fire alarm and subsequent evacuation of the entire building. I do not think that she had anything to do with that; the case was never proven! She has, however, had quite an impact on the Department.

I have been to Stoke-on-Trent several times to examine for myself the issues of housing and regeneration in the area. I greatly enjoyed my time at Weston Heights in the Colville area, having been invited there by another tenacious champion for housing in Stoke, my hon. Friend Mr. Flello. Weston Heights is a landmark regeneration scheme in the city, demonstrating great partnership working, led by RENEW, North Staffordshire, which has produced something like £55 million worth of investment, providing 300 modern, good-quality houses for the people of Colville and beyond. This development very vividly shows what can be achieved in Stoke-on-Trent. I look forward similarly to visiting the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North very soon.

I have mentioned partnership working, and in a well-reasoned and passionate argument, my hon. Friend also mentioned the importance of such working between RENEW North Staffordshire, the Homes and Communities Agency, Advantage West Midlands and Stoke-on-Trent city council in producing co-ordinated and complementary outcomes at both regional and local level, which are also led by the community. She is absolutely right about that, as the relationship between the regional Homes and Communities Agency, the regional development agency and the local authority is the vital key to securing what she referred to as the triumvirate of housing, jobs and skills.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her recent appointment to the West Midlands Regional Committee. I urge her to use her powers of argument and her membership of that powerful Committee to ensure that the approach that she has advocated tonight is adopted by the various agencies.

My hon. Friend mentioned the west midlands regional spatial strategy. As she said, the RSS is under review. I understand that the examination-in-public stage began only a couple of days ago. In those circumstances, and given the quasi-judicial role of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in the process, I hope my hon. Friend will forgive me for not commenting in detail on her points about the RSS.

One of the central elements in my hon. Friend's speech was the importance of housing market renewal areas in rejuvenating communities, and the important role that RENEW North Staffordshire has played in realising her vision for her area. We have made allocations since 2004 totalling £167.5 million for RENEW to create a stronger, more stable housing market, and to provide a better future for communities hit by low demand for property and poor-quality housing. In the current financial year, 2009-10, that represents an allocation of £34.2 million, which, as my hon. Friend said, represents 90 per cent. of the indicative allocation announced in February 2008.

I am keen for RENEW, and indeed all housing market renewal areas, to use the significant local market intelligence that they have acquired over the past few years to help to address the challenging economic conditions that we face. It is important for the Government to provide significant investment to give communities real help now. It is also important for that investment to provide direct benefits for people living in housing market renewal areas, and for real and tangible outputs in terms of delivery to ease the current economic conditions now. We, along with the Homes and Communities Agency, want the pathfinders to lead the response to conditions in their areas. We look to them to use their intelligence, to shape local markets, to underpin current activity, and to lead the drive towards effective recovery.

It is in that context that, in 2009-10 and 2010-11, all pathfinders will receive the 90 per cent. level of funding as a base allocation. When pathfinders demonstrate an active response to market conditions, achieve expenditure and make impacts, we will offer further resources up to the original 100 per cent. budget. In RENEW's case that would mean that an additional £3.8 million could be made available this year, which would help my hon. Friend's area. I am keen to allow that to go ahead to provide real help for RENEW's areas of investment.

Arrangements for accessing the additional funds are currently being worked out by the Homes and Communities Agency and by me, and the HCA will notify pathfinders of the outcome in due course. Meanwhile, I am due to meet chairs and chief executives of pathfinders in the next week, when I shall want to set out further our wish for clear and achievable criteria on the basis of which the additional money could be obtained by pathfinders.

I hope that that clear expression of my intention reassures my hon. Friend that money would be available if direct and tangible benefits were provided by RENEW. In the meantime, the £34.2 million already awarded for 2009-10 will enable RENEW to undertake the refurbishment of 700 homes, the acquisition of 220 homes, the demolition of 300 homes that have reached the end of their useful life, and the construction of 150 new homes.

Although RENEW North Staffordshire is an important vehicle for the achievement of regeneration and growth, it is not the only vehicle. The provision of new homes in Stoke-on-Trent, particularly affordable homes, is something that this Government hold dear. That is why, last year and this year, we have already contracted—through the national affordable housing programme, the national clearing house scheme and HomeBuy Direct—for more than £27 million in Stoke to deliver an additional 400 affordable homes for social rent and low-cost home ownership, with more in the pipeline.

My hon. Friend will be well aware of our commitment to delivering affordable homes both despite and because of the current difficult economic conditions. Let me give her an example in her constituency. A major housing development in Greenhead street, Middleport, stalled recently owing to the prevailing economic conditions. We were already involved with the development through the Homes and Communities Agency in the west midlands, providing £2.7 million of gap funding to support the delivery of 320 new homes. We were made aware of the problems in delivering homes on this development, and held discussions with key partners and the developers with a view to helping them during these difficult times, and with the twin aims of keeping people in work and making sure that the homes we need get built. This resulted in a further £2.5 million being provided to the registered social landlord partner, Countryside, through the national affordable housing programme, to support the delivery of much-needed affordable homes. This timely intervention has enabled the development to continue.

This example demonstrates that investment to revive stalled housing schemes can play a decisive role in housing delivery and regeneration. I hope, therefore, that my hon. Friend will welcome the Chancellor's Budget announcement that a further £400 million will be made available to ensure that stalled developments will go ahead. We estimate this will create or safeguard 30,000 jobs in the construction industry and ensure the delivery of an extra 10,000 homes, and I hope my hon. Friend will ensure that Stoke plays a part in that.

Despite the difficult economic conditions, we remain committed to the delivery of affordable housing, and our aspiration is nationally to reach 70,000 homes a year by 2010-11, including 45,000 homes for social rent. To help us deliver this target, we want to give all local authorities, including Stoke-on-Trent, the opportunity to play a bigger role in the delivery of affordable housing where this can be done cost-effectively, and we also want to allow councils to bid for social housing grant from the Homes and Communities Agency should they wish to do so.

My hon. Friend mentioned the important role that local authorities can play in the delivery of housing, and I agree. We have just consulted on new freedoms for councils, which could remove some of the old barriers and disincentives that councils face in building new homes. Specifically, we have consulted on whether councils should keep all the rental income from the new homes they build, and whether they should keep the full capital receipts if those homes went on to be sold under any future right to buy.

I have already mentioned the Budget. My hon. Friend will be aware that an extra £100 million was made available in the Budget to allow local councils to build good-quality, energy-efficient homes.

In the meantime, over the last two years we have also supported Stoke-on-Trent city council's delivery of housing, to the tune of almost £21 million to the regional housing pot. This comprised about £14.5 million for the regeneration of existing housing stock in addition to the previously mentioned allocations to RENEW, and more than £6 million to bring the council's housing stock up to the decent homes standard.

Stoke-on-Trent city council advises my Department that all homes will be decent by 2010, and to help them and other authorities achieve this, as part of the recent fiscal stimulus package we announced the bringing forward of expenditure through the major repairs allowance to sustain and accelerate the decent homes programme. I am pleased to report that Stoke-on-Trent successfully bid to bring forward expenditure worth almost £3 million from 2010-11 into 2009-10, one of only three local authorities to do so in the west midlands.

I am also delighted to report to the House that in the past two years we have fully met Stoke-on-Trent's bids for disabled facilities grant. Let me remind Members that this small but vital grant enables assistance to be given to some of the most vulnerable people in our community, thereby enabling them to remain in their own homes. For Stoke-on-Trent, this amounted to £1.8 million over the two years.

I know that my hon. Friend is very concerned about rounds 5 and 6 of the housing private finance initiative. She mentioned that Stoke-on-Trent city council submitted an expression of interest for a comprehensive housing-led regeneration scheme, and that it is eagerly awaiting a decision on this. I am afraid I cannot give her the news on that tonight. However, I can say that we received a large number of high-quality expressions of interest in this initiative from various other parts of the country. We are currently considering the Homes and Communities Agency recommendations, and an announcement on the outcome will be made shortly. I shall certainly ensure that my hon. Friend is made aware of any news.

I congratulate my hon. Friend again on securing this debate. I commend her ambition and determination for her area, and I hope that I have demonstrated to her that the Government match her determination and ambition in delivering more and better homes in Stoke- on-Trent. This demonstration has been matched by significant and, indeed, unprecedented investment in housing and regeneration by this Government for her area. In difficult economic times, this investment will continue to provide real help now for people and businesses in Stoke, and to ensure that the city has the housing stock that she knows that it wants and deserves. I look forward to visiting her constituency soon, to see for myself the plans that she has for Stoke-on-Trent. Again, I thank her for the opportunity to debate this important issue, and I look forward to seeing her soon.

Question put and agreed to.

House adjourned.