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Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the public service agreement target on the overall international ranking of the science and engineering company base in terms of quality, relevance and cost- efficiency. [23171]
Ms Hewitt: The most recent measurements of the international ranking of the Science and Engineering Base (SEB) in terms of quality, relevance and cost- effectiveness indicate that the UK continues to maintain its position relative to other G7 nations. The details are as follows:
- The quality of the science and engineering base is measured by the UK's world ranking in terms of citations of published papers. Over the period 1981–2000 the UK received a 9.1 per cent. share of the citations in the international Science Citation Index, second only to the US. The UK was second in 'citation shares' for 15 out of 20 scientific fields with the lowest placing being fifth.
One measure of relevance is the UK's world ranking in terms of the proportion of university research funding from non- governmental sources. For the latest year for which data are available (1997), the UK was again ranked first among the G7 countries.
Cost-effectiveness is measured by the UK's world ranking in terms of the number of papers published per £1 million of public expenditure on science. In 1990, 1993, 1996 and 1999, the UK was the leading country in the G7. For the latest year (2000) the UK was again ranked first.
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While the public service agreement targets described here provide a valuable indication of the strength of the UK science base relative to our competitors, other indications are also available. The results of the latest Research Assessment Exercise were published on 14 December and show that, since 1996 when the last study was carried out, many university research groups have significantly improved their performance.
Departmental Sickness Absence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will commission and publish an independent report on the reasons for the level of sickness absence in her Department. [26995]
Ms Hewitt: The Cabinet Office already commissions and publishes an independent annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service". This report includes details of the causes of absenteeism. The report for the year 2000 will be published shortly.
TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND
THE REGIONS
London Boroughs (Funding)
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the category and amount of each item of funding outside the revenue support grant which his Department made available to (a) Westminster city council and (b) Kensington and Chelsea in (i) 2000–01 and (ii) 2001–02. [26248]
Ms Keeble: The information requested is, as far as possible, given in the table:
| Type of grant | 2000–01 | 2001–02 |
|---|---|---|
| London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea | ||
| Income from non-domestic rates | 47.167 | 48.566 |
| Housing Investment Programme(11) | 16.305 | 12.855 |
| Housing Revenue Account | 20.212 | 26.195 |
| Neighbourhood Renewal | n/a | 0.054 |
| Transport Block Supplementary Credit Approval | 1.521 | (12)— |
| Disabled Facilities Grant | 0.090 | 0.055 |
| Invest to Save | 0.225 | (13)— |
| London Borough of Westminster | ||
| Income from non-domestic rates | 61.301 | 62.783 |
| Housing Investment Programme(11) | 25.499 | 17.107 |
| Housing Revenue Account | 31.149 | 46.109 |
| Neighbourhood Renewal | n/a | 0.748 |
| ERDF Funding | 0.173 | (14)0.451 |
| Transport Block Supplementary Credit Approval | 2.221 | (12)— |
| Estate Action | 2.687 | 3.828 |
| Disabled Facilities Grant | 0.114 | 0.239 |
(11) Basic Housing ACG
(12) Now administered by Transport for London
(13) Figure supplied represents Invest to Save grant available for drawing down during 2000–01 or 2001–02.
(14) Figure supplied represents payments thus far in 2001–02. Another claim is forecast for March although the grant amount is as yet unknown.
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Housing
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many development schemes have been funded by English Partnerships and have secured redevelopment on sites formerly occupied by sub-standard housing in each of the last five years; and at what locations. [26747]
Ms Keeble: During the five years to 31 March 2001:
- (a) the CNT (Commission for the New Towns) side of English Partnerships funded no such schemes.
- (b) the URA (Urban Regeneration Agency) side of English Partnerships does not record "sub-standard" housing in the form requested.
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress being made in (a) house clearance and (b) redevelopment through the Housing Corporation pilot grant scheme. [27115]
Ms Keeble: The Housing Corporation's "New Tools" pilot is currently operating in six areas across the north- west and north-east. The pilot programme is investigating housing associations' contribution to the redevelopment of low demand areas.
Progress on funding the pilot acquisition and demolitions in 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02 are as follows:
| North-west | North-east | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 0 | £2,107,000 |
| — | 130 units cleared | |
| 2000–01 | £610,000 | £156,000 |
| 27 units cleared | 11 units cleared | |
| 2001–02 | £820,000 | 0 |
| to clear 40 units | — |
The 2002–03 allocation is currently being finalised and will include allocations in three additional pilot areas in Merseyside.
The programme is being evaluated by the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham, and the final report is due this summer.
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many English Partnerships funded projects have involved housing development in the last five years in (a) Telford and (b) the west midlands. [26749]
Ms Keeble: During the five years to 31 March 2001:
(a) the CNT side of English Partnerships spent £12.3 million on site infrastructure in Telford, predominantly to promote housing development. In the same five year period, 125 hectares of land in Telford was sold to the private sector for housing development. In the wider west midlands area, CNT spent around £1 million on site infrastructure, some of which went towards promoting housing development. 7.4 hectares of land was sold for this purpose.
(b) the URA side of English Partnerships approved no projects in Telford during these five years. In the wider west midlands, 12 projects were approved under the Partnership Investment Programme, committing £16.6 million towards
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projects facilitating the provision of housing. (Since 1999–2000, such projects were approved in conjunction with Advantage West Midlands).
Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what policy was adopted in publicising and disseminating the consultation document: "Change to the Decent Home Definition"; what agencies other than local authorities were invited to comment; from which of these agencies responses have been received; and if he will make a statement. [26129]
Ms Keeble: The consultation document was disseminated widely using the usual mechanisms—through placement on the Department's website and through direct mailing. All English and Welsh local authority chief executives and housing directors received copies directly, as did chief executives of Registered Social Landlords with more than 250 units of housing stock. Copies were also sent to a number of national organisations such as umbrella housing organisations and academic organisations. Bodies with a specific interest in energy efficiency issues were alerted to the consultation.
We received 140 responses to the consultation. The table shows the number of responses received from the different types of organisations:
| Organisation | Number of responses |
|---|---|
| Local authorities | 82 |
| Registered Social Landlords | 34 |
| Housing Umbrella organisations | 8 |
| Building surveyors | 4 |
| Energy efficiency organisations | 9 |
| Other | 3 |
| Total | 140 |
An announcement regarding the outcome of the consultation will be made later this month.
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