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Highways Legislation
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to legislate for changes in highways legislation, following the judgment in Goodes v. East Sussex county council. [16712]
Mr. Jamieson: We are continuing to consider the legal position on the winter service provided by Highway Authorities in the light of this judgment. In the meantime we strongly recommend highway authorities in England to implement winter service provisions on their roads in accordance with the Code of Practice for Maintenance "Delivering Best Practice in Highway Maintenance" published on Tuesday 10 July 2001.
Station (Wootten Bassett)
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what consideration he has given to a new station at Wootten Bassett; and if Railtrack's receivership will delay its development. [17162]
Mr. Jamieson: The proposal for a new station at Wootten Bassett has been given initial consideration by the Strategic Rail Authority and is a matter for them to consider further upon receipt of further proposals. This would be unaffected by the High Court's decision to put Railtrack into administration.
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Central Railway
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will announce his decision on Central Railway's application for a hybrid Bill. [17116]
Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 25 October 2001, Official Report, column 383W.
Renewco
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will list correspondence between his Department and the SRA concerning Renewco (a) since 5 October and (b) between 1 April and 5 October; [17138]
- (2) what representations his Department made to the Strategic Rail Authority concerning the timing of the payment of money to Railtrack as part of the Renewco agreement; [17112]
(3) if he will list the meetings between his Department and the Strategic Rail Authority at which Renewco was on the agenda (a) between 1 April and 5 October and (b) since 5 October. [17137]
Mr. Jamieson: Details of commercially sensitive communications between Government agencies and their sponsor Departments are exempt from disclosure under section 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Local Councillors
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many local councillors there are; and what their political affiliation is. [17198]
Dr. Whitehead: This information is not held centrally.
Leylandii
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many letters he has received in 2001 concerning leylandii from residents of the Buckingham constituency. [16899]
Ms Keeble: The information is not recorded in the format requested, but my Department has received a total of over 400 letters and e-mails about leylandii since 1 January.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for increasing public participation and confidence in the democratic process. [16926]
Dr. Whitehead: The Home Office published the following PSA target in 1998.
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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for improving fire service efficiency. [16918]
Dr. Whitehead: Fire authorities in England and Wales, including single purpose authorities, are subject to the duty to secure continuous improvement in efficiency under best value. This is underpinned by a process of target-setting against key national performance indicators, such as the incidence of accidental fire-related death and injury in the home. For certain functions where collaboration is considered to offer the most potential scope for improved efficiency, fire authorities have been required to conduct best value reviews to a common timetable.
Regulatory Impact Assessment Costs
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the gross costs were of the regulatory impact assessment for (a) the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2001, (b) the Merchant Shipping (Mandatory Surveys for Ro-Ro Ferry and High Speed Passenger Craft) Regulations 2001, (c) the Goods Vehicle (Authorisation of International Journeys) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2001 and (d) the Road Vehicle (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001. [17690]
Mr. Jamieson: These costs are shown in the published regulatory impact assessments which are in the House Libraries.
Index of Multiple Deprivation
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the (a) programmes and (b) funding streams to which the Index of Multiple Deprivation applies (i) wholly and (ii) in part; and if he will make a statement. [17773]
Ms Keeble: The following table sets out Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions programmes and funding streams to which the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD 2000) applies, either wholly or in part.
| Programme | 2001–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | 200 | 300 | 400 |
| Neighbourhood Management | (9)45 | ||
| Land and Property Programme | — | (10)370 | — |
(9) Funding for this programme runs from 1999 through to 2003.
(10) Along with the Single Regeneration Budget, this programme will be subsumed into 'single pot' for Regional Development Agencies from April 2002. The Department for Trade and Industry will have effective responsibility for all grant in aid to RDAs from November 2001.
'The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund' is distributed to authorities which figure in the 50 most deprived authorities against the six individual district level measures in the Indices of Deprivation 2000. This
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produces a list of 81 authorities, to which were added seven authorities that were not included in this list but were included among the 50 most deprived areas on any of the four measures under the Index of Local Deprivation 1998. The allocations are based on a standard amount per head of population living in the 10 per cent. most deprived wards nationally.
'The Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Programme' is targeted on areas selected from among authorities which include more than one ward in the worst 10 per cent. as measured by the Indices of Deprivation 2000, but excluding any local authority where there is a New Deal for Communities Partnership.
'The Land and Property Programme' includes an element of the Indices of Deprivation 2000 for the period 2001–02 only. 80 per cent. of the budget was allocated on a criteria basis involving the use of seven indicators, one of which was based on the Indices of Deprivation 2000—a 'deprived wards' indicator which captured the number of people living in the most deprived local authority districts. The indices element therefore represents only a small aspect of the allocation methodology. The Index of Deprivation 2000 will not be used in future years due to the commitment of the new single pot for Regional Development Agencies from April 2002.
'Allocation of Housing Capital Resources' to local authorities (Generalised Needs Index and Registered Social Landlords (Housing Needs Index)) is based on needs indices that include an element of targeting of resources to deprived areas. The targeting for 2002–03 will be based on the ID 2000; targeting had previously been based on the largely 1991 Census-based Index of Local Conditions.
The way in which the indices are constructed and used means that the targeting does not allocate a specific amount of the available resources. The targeting currently accounts for 30 per cent. of the Generalised Needs Index and 15 per cent. within the Housing Needs Index (before adjustment for regional cost variations. For this reason we have not included these programmes in the table.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to review the methodology underpinning the Index of Multiple Deprivation with specific reference to (a) incorporation of a crime domain, (b) incorporation of a physical environment domain and (c) the impact of the access domain; and if he will make a statement. [17774]
Ms Keeble: At the time of the publication of the Indices of Deprivation, in July 2000, we acknowledged that they should be revised when further substantial small area data streams become available and could be incorporated into the indices. My Department is intending to commission a project shortly to explore what new data have come on stream since the review that led to the Indices of Deprivation 2000. This will pay particular attention to the development of measures on crime and the physical environment.
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