Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that housing associations aim to maintain a social mix in an area when selecting tenants.

The key principle behind allocation of social housing is to meet housing need. Allocation of Private Registered Provider (housing association) homes to prospective tenants is done through:

• Nominations from local authorities under statutory framework in Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996. This allows local authorities to nominate people who have sufficient priority under the Reasonable Preference category from their waiting list and Private Registered Providers are required by law to co-operate with councils in providing accommodation for such people.

• Direct allocation by Private Registered Providers which is not subject to a statutory framework but is regulated by the Homes and Communities Agency's Allocation Standard.

While there is no specific requirement in the Standard regarding maintaining a social mix in the area, Private Registered Providers are required to deliver allocations processes in a way which supports their effective use by the full range of actual and potential tenants. In addition, local authorities are able to use their powers under the Localism Act 2011 to set their own criteria determining who qualifies to go on their waiting list and can use the power to address specific issues identified as problems in the local area.