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East-west Transport Links
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 892W, on east-west transport links, if the London to South Midlands multi-modal study is considering east-west rail links between Cambridge and Bedford, and Bedford and Milton Keynes. [10065]
Mr. Jamieson: The London to South Midlands multi-modal study will concentrate on three north to south transport corridors (M1/WCML, A1/MML/ECML, M11/WAnglia) but will also look at east-west movements in the study area. The east-west rail link will be considered in this context.
Empty Homes (East Sussex)
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many empty homes there are in east Sussex broken down by sector. [10398]
Ms Keeble: The numbers of vacant local authority and Registered Social Landlords' dwellings in each local authority area in east Sussex on 1 April 2000 (the latest available data) are set out in the table alongside the local authorities' estimates of private and other public sector dwellings.
| (1)Local authority | (2)RSL | (1)Other public | (1)Private | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton and Hove | 196 | 81 | 28 | 2,178 | 2,483 |
| Eastbourne | 33 | 37 | 0 | 1,240 | 1,310 |
| Hastings | 0 | 102 | 0 | 3,184 | 3,286 |
| Lewes | 42 | 11 | 0 | 520 | 573 |
| Rother | 0 | 130 | 1 | 2,106 | 2,237 |
| Wealden | 50 | 25 | 6 | 937 | 1,018 |
| East Sussex total | 321 | 386 | 35 | 10,165 | 10,907 |
(1) Housing Investment Programme (HIP) 2000: Operation Information returns.
(2) Annual Regulatory and Statistical Returns (RSR 1).
Notes:
1. RSL—Registered Social Landlord.
2. Other public—includes Government Departments and public sector agencies (eg health authorities).
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Rail Maintenance
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many wheeltappers were employed by the railway industry in (a) 1990 and (b) 2000. [10379]
Mr. Jamieson: We do not hold this information.
European Single Sky Agreement
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what criteria were assessed when deciding to sign the European Single Sky Agreement; and if he will make a statement. [11068]
Mr. Jamieson: The European Commission presented its legislative proposals on the European Single Sky to the Transport Council on 16 October.
The Government are considering their response to these proposals, but have not signed any agreement.
Social Tenants
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in what way (a) new and (b) existing social tenants will have greater choice over their housing in the choice-based lettings pilot scheme. [10166]
Ms Keeble: The 27 local authority-led pilots were chosen to test different choice-based approaches to lettings, operating in a variety of circumstances.
Nearly all the schemes are designed to give greater choice to new and existing tenants by moving away from bureaucratic, points-based, allocation schemes to schemes where applicants select directly from available vacancies.
There is a strong emphasis on partnership working between the pilot authorities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) operating in their area; and in some cases the intention is to bring private landlords on board as well, to offer as wide a choice as possible to new and existing tenants. Some of the pilots involve a consortium of authorities and RSLs working together. Some include links between areas of high and low demand. These schemes offer the opportunity to test the potential for promoting mobility across local authority boundaries,
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increasing choice for tenants and new applicants, and enabling better use to be made of the national housing stock.
We expect all the pilot schemes to ensure that the needs of vulnerable households are considered and addressed during the development of the pilot, to ensure that they are not disadvantaged under the new scheme. This will include the provision of information and advice to help people make appropriate and informed choices—as well as practical support to help them make the move.
Housing Construction Programmes
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many new housing construction programmes since 1997 have built houses on (a) brownfield sites and (b) greenfield sites. [10165]
Ms Keeble: Information on the proportion of new homes built on previously developed land in England is available from the Department's land use change statistics. Between 1997 and 2000, 57 per cent. of new dwellings were built on previously developed land (including new dwellings provided from the conversion of existing buildings, which account for three percentage points).
Key Worker Housing Grant Scheme
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 October 2001, Official Report, column 1367–68W, what the successful bids from (a) local authorities and (b) other bodies under the key worker housing grant scheme involving (i) NHS staff and (ii) social services staff were; and what the amounts were. [11024]
Ms Keeble: The allocation of £230 million Starter Home Initiative funding to 95 schemes was announced on 6 September. This will help around 4,000 nurses and other essential health workers, 2,800 teachers, 900 police, and 300 other key workers including social workers.
The successful bids and the total amount of funding allocated to each bid are shown in the table. The table also indicates which schemes include assistance to health staff and social services staff (see notes to the table).
(3) Schemes include assistance to health staff
(4) Schemes include assistance to social services staff
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