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Private Finance Initiative (Universities)
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many universities have made use of the private finance initiative to date; and what is the total expenditure involved. [8425]
Mr. Forth: I have been asked to reply.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England has an active programme for seeking private finance initiative "pathfinder" projects which can be used as exemplars of good practice for the sector as a whole. So far, 12 institutions have been awarded this status and are progressing projects to a capital value of some £120 million. The funding council has recently closed
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round two of its "pathfinder" programme, and we expect announcements regarding additional successful projects early in the new year.
Universities are autonomous institutions and make their own procurement decisions. It is therefore impossible to know the exact number of institutions which have procurement arrangements involving private finance. The Higher Education Funding Council for England estimates that total commercial funding in the sector to date exceeds £1.6 billion.
Departmental Staff (Local Government)
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many personnel in his Department work full time on local government matters; at what cost; and if he will make a statement. [7773]
Sir Paul Beresford: In the Department of the Environment, approximately 222 staff work full time on local government matters at a total administration cost of approximately £8.5 million.
Leader Project
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Leader project; how much funding from European Community resources is available for the United Kingdom, and in which financial years; to what extent matching funding from Her Majesty's Government are required; and which areas of England qualified to receive Leader funding. [8066]
Sir Paul Beresford: The purpose of the Leader II initiative is to permit those engaged in the rural economy to implement measures which will help develop their own potential within an overall policy for stimulating rural development.
The United Kingdom has been allocated £62.64 million up to the end of 1999. Leader II will pay up to 50 per cent. of the eligible costs of a project. The remaining match funding must be found by the applicant, and may come from the Government and other public and private sector sources. The initiative is targeted at objective 5b areas and those eligible in England are parts of the northern uplands, midlands uplands, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, the south-west and the west midlands marches.
Stockton City Challenge
Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what decision he has reached on the application by Stockton city challenge to redevelop the north end of Stockton high street. [8069]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Secretary of State received the report of the inspector who conducted the public inquiry on 3 June 1996, and is considering it. Following receipt of the report, he was asked to reopen the public inquiry by one of the non-statutory objectors to the compulsory purchase order, and this required some further consultation with the parties involved in the inquiry.
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Those consultations are now complete and are also being considered. The decision will be issued as soon as it is practicable to do so.
Rooms over Shops
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on progress with the Government's scheme to encourage shopkeepers to use rooms over the shop for private tenancies; what financial incentives are available; and how many units are estimated to have become available since the scheme began. [8067]
Mr. Clappison: My Department ran a demonstration flats over shops programme providing £25 million between 1992-93 and 1994-95 to bring empty space above retail premises into residential use. This created some 1,500 additional housing units directly and many more indirectly. Capital funding for such schemes has continued under the Government's housing partnership fund which provided £30 million a year in 1995-96 and 1996-97 for innovative housing projects including the provision of flats over shops. We will be publishing a research report by the South Bank university early in the new year which evaluates the flats over shops programme and other similar initiatives.
Battersea Power Station
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the London borough of Wandsworth last forwarded a report to his Department on the overall condition of (a) the structure and (b) the site of Battersea power station; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library. [8515]
Sir Paul Beresford: I have received no such reports. The building is regularly inspected by English Heritage. The last such inspection was on 5 December.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the state of the internal structure of Battersea power station. [8637]
Sir Paul Beresford: No. The building is regularly inspected by English Heritage. The last such inspection was on 5 December and is a matter for the Secretary of State for National Heritage.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when officials from his Department last visited the site of Battersea power station; what reports were published on their visit; and where such reports can be obtained. [8638]
Sir Paul Beresford: Officials visited Battersea power station on 3 December for a presentation of the proposals to redevelop the site. No reports have been published.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the acreage of the site of Battersea power station. [8514]
Sir Paul Beresford: I understand that the site is some 30 acres--12 hectares.
New Housing (Access)
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research his Department has
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commissioned on the additional building costs involved in extending part M of the Building Regulations to improve access to new housing; who will be consulted in the course of that research; and when he expects it to be completed. [8293]
Mr. Clappison: My Department has not yet commissioned any such research, but we have agreed to undertake a joint study with the House-Builders Federation on the additional building costs involved in extending part M of the Building Regulations to improve access to new housing. To this end, officials have written to eight local authorities to ask for their help in selecting suitable schemes for the study. Once all the authorities have replied, the Department will be in a position to commission the research and establish a date for its completion.
Local Government Finance
Ms Armstrong: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the (i) total standard spending assessment and police grant and (ii) total external support including revenue support grant, non-domestic rates, SSA reduction grant and police grants to be received by (a) all local authorities, (b) each class of local authority, (c) education authorities, (d) authorities other than police authorities and (e) all authorities, in (1) 1997-98 and (2) 1996-97 and for each the change over 1996-97 in pounds and percentages, adjusting 1996-97 amounts for local government reorganisation and for changed local authority functions and responsibilities, and the further transfer for responsibilities for care in the community from central Government budgets in 1997-98; and if he will list each such adjustment and its monetary value; [8002]
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- (2) what is the (i) total standard spending and (ii) total aggregate external finance for (a) all local authorities and (b) all local authorities other than police authorities in England in 1997-98 and 1996-97, and for each the change over 1996-97 in pounds and percentages, adjusting 1996-97 totals for changed local authority functions and responsibilities, and the further transfer for responsibilities for care in the community from central Government budgets in 1997-98; and if he will list each such adjustment and its monetary value. [8003]
Sir Paul Beresford [holding answer 9 December 1996]: I have placed the information requested in the Library.
Ms Armstrong: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is (i) the total standard spending and (ii) the total aggregate external finance for (a) all local authorities and (b) all education authorities in England in (1) 1997-98 and (2) 1996-97; and in each case what was the change over 1996-97 in pounds and percentages, adjusting 1996-97 totals for changed local authority functions and responsibilities in 1997-98, and the further transfer of responsibilities for care in the community from central Government budgets in 1997-98; [8564]
- (2) what are (i) the total standard spending assessments and police grant external support and (ii) the total external support to be received by (a) all local authorities, (b) each class of authority, (c) education authorities, (d) all authorities other than policy authorities and (e) all authorities, in (1) 1997-98 and (2) 1996-97; and in each case what was the change over 1996-97 in pounds and percentages, adjusting 1996-97 amounts for local government reorganisation and for changed local authority functions and responsibilities in 1997-98. [8565]
Sir Paul Beresford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier. The remaining information is contained in the table.
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| Adjusted 1996-97 | Provisional 1997-98 | Change | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (£ million) | (£ million) | (£ million) | Percentage | |
| Total Standard Spending for Education Authorities | 35,198.8 | 36,011.4 | 812.6 | 2.3 |
| Total Standard Spending for Education Authorities (adjusted for 1997-98 Community Care STG) | 35,517.5 | 36,011.4 | 494.0 | 1.4 |
| Aggregate External Finance for Education Authorities | 27,426.3 | 27,879.8 | 453.5 | 1.7 |
| Aggregate External Finance for Education Authorities (adjusted for 1997-98 Community Care STG) | 27,745.0 | 27,879.8 | 134.90.5 |
Notes:
1. The aggregates for TSS and AEF presented in the table include only those types of specific and special grants which are allocated solely to education authorities (whether or not the grant relates to education). Some £150 million of further specific grants are allocated both to some Education Authorities and to other classes of authority. These are housing benefit administration grant, council tax benefit administration grant, national parks grant and part of the ethnic minorities (s11) grant.
2. The figures for adjusted TSS and AEF are derived from information about standard spending assessments for education authorities and total external support for education authorities set out in tables 3 and 4 of the information provided in the answer referred to above. The notes to those tables provide details of the derivation of the figures.
3. All figures for TSS and AEF exclude 1997-98 reorganisation SCAs. They also exclude funding for specified bodies, the city offset and reorganisation: transitional reduction grant.
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