A better quality of life through stronger regions, better housing and a cleaner environment.

Housing, the regions and the environment received a major boost today, with spending in these areas set to rise by 11 per cent on average a year in real terms over the next three years. Spending in in these areas in 2003-04 will be £8.7 billion - £2.9 billion higher than now. This is in addition to the massive £4.2 billion increase in transport spending also announced.

This increase will help ensure every region shares in economic growth, will improve the quality and supply of social housing, and will deliver a cleaner environment and more resources for rural areas.

Welcoming the announcement, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said:

"Improving the air we breathe, the homes and communities we live in and the transport services we depend on are at the heart of my department's responsibilities. Together with the launch of our new Ten Year Plan for Transport, the extra money announced today will deliver real improvements in all these areas and marks a further step in putting right years of under-investment in our basic social fabric."

Total spending on transport, the regions, housing and the environment will be £7.1 billion higher in 2003-04 than it is now, which will mean a better quality of life for everyone.

The three-year spending plans for the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions announced today will deliver:

Decent homes - spending on housing to grow by an average 12 per cent in real terms each year, with spending in 2003-04 £1.6 billion higher than now. This will mean an extra half a million homes modernised by 2004 and twice as many families helped into home ownership as well as an improved supply of social housing in high demand areas;
Rising prosperity for all regions - regeneration budgets to grow by an average 15 per cent in real terms each year, with spending in 2003-04 £932 million higher than now. This will deliver a major strengthening in the role of the Regional Development Agencies to help ensure every region shares in rising prosperity and high employment, and will mean that by 2010 over 17 per cent of brownfield land will have been reclaimed.
Protecting the environment - budgets to grow by an average 11 per cent a year in real terms. This will help to improve energy efficiency in business; reduce fuel poverty; and provide support for local authorities to promote sustainable waste management and help raise levels of household waste recycled or composted to 17 per cent by 2004.
Enhancing Opportunity in Rural Areas - an average 10 per cent real annual growth in budgets to deliver improved access to open country, implementing the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill, and support for rural communities with a new initiative to help market towns. Today sees cross-cutting objectives for rural and countryside policy across all areas of Government action brought together for the first time.

Value for money will continue to improve as a wide range of reforms to policies are implemented over the coming months including taking forward the Housing Green Paper and the Urban and Rural White Papers due to be published in the autumn.

Key Public Service Agreement targets for DETR include:

in housing, the Government will ensure that all social housing meets set standards of decency by 2010 with the number of families living in non-decent social housing falling by a third by 31 March 2004, and with most of the improvement taking place in the most deprived local authority areas as part of a comprehensive regeneration strategy;
for the environment, the Government will improve air quality by meeting our National Air Quality Strategy targets, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enable 17 per cent of household waste to be recycled or composted by April 2004, and reduce fuel poverty among vulnerable households by improving the energy efficiency of 600,000 homes between April 2001 and 31 March 2004;
for the countryside, the Government will open up public access to mountain, moor, heath and down and registered common land by the end of 2005, and bring 95 per cent of all nationally important wildlife sites into favourable condition by 2010;
for regional development, the Government will improve the economic performance of all regions, measured by the trend in growth of each region's GDP per capita, and will ensure that by 2004 5% and by 2010 17% of current brownfield land has been reclaimed and that by 2008 at least 60 per cent of new housing is provided on recycled land or by re-using existing buildings.

Notes for editors

1. Further details on DETR's transport programmes are set out in a separate press notice, see SR2000/DETR2; and the local government settlement is in press notice SR2000/DETR3.

2. The new DETR spending plans provide for a total increase of over 15 per cent a year in real terms over the next three years as compared to spend for this year, including an average real increase of 20 per cent a year in net investment through DETR programmes. The numbers exclude over £3 billion per year which will be spent on housing through the Housing Revenue Account which is included in Annually Managed Expenditure.

Key Figures: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions - Main Programmes

£ million	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Transport	4895	6019	7369	9120
Housing and Regeneration	4462	5664	6361	7000
Environment, Countryside & Other	1384	1510	1785	1730
Total*	10741	13193	15514	17850
of which: Resource Budget	4305	5124	5574	5663
Capital Budget	6436	8070	9942	12187
* Departmental Expenditure Limit

3. Further details will be announced by the Deputy Prime Minister in due course.

4. For more details contact the DETR Press Office on 020 7944 3118; out of hours: 020 7944 5925 or 5945; website:

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External links

Department for Communities (formerly Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions)