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Empty Council Houses
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish figures for the number of empty council houses, broken down by region, in England, for each year since 1997. [42227]
Mr. Byers: The number of council houses reported as being empty in each year since 1997 by region in England is as follows:
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North east | 8,300 | 9,000 | 9,400 | 10,000 | 9,300 |
| North west | 16,300 | 18,700 | 18,800 | 19,600 | 19,500 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 12,200 | 12,800 | 14,000 | 15,400 | 14,600 |
| East Midlands | 5,600 | 5,100 | 5,400 | 6,100 | 6,100 |
| West Midlands | 9,200 | 10,000 | 11,200 | 12,800 | 10,600 |
| Eastern | 4,200 | 3,900 | 3,900 | 4,000 | 3,900 |
| London | 18,500 | 15,700 | 14,700 | 12,900 | 11,100 |
| South east | 4,100 | 3,700 | 3,700 | 3,600 | 3,000 |
| South west | 2,800 | 2,800 | 2,800 | 2,800 | 2,200 |
| England | 81,200 | 81,700 | 83,900 | 87,200 | 80,300 |
Note:
A level of vacancy is a usual feature of housing management, reflecting turnover and movement within the stock. There is likely to be some variation in the proportion of dwellings vacant in a local authority from one date to another during the year.
Source:
Housing Investment Programme (HIP) returns.
Non-Governmental Organisations
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer on 5 March 2002, Ref: 39179, what information he collates on the funding of non- Governmental organisations by his Department, with particular reference to those operating on a regional level; and if he will make a statement. [41829]
Dr. Whitehead: The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions does not hold information centrally on the proportion of its various budgets which go to organisations operating in the charity/voluntary sector.
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A6 Rothwell/Desborough Bypass
Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what provisions have been made to maintain access to public footpaths after the construction of the A6 Rothwell/ Desborough bypass; [41966]
- (2) what provisions have been made to reduce the noise impact of the A6 Rothwell/Desborough bypass. [41967]
Mr. Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Tim Matthews to Phil Sawford, dated 13 March 2002:
- I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the A6 Rothwell/Desborough Bypass.
- The bypass affects five public footpaths. Two will continue on their present route with suitable crossings where they meet the bypass. Two will be subject to minor diversions with new crossing arrangements to provide safer crossing points. Stiles will be placed in any boundary fences at all of the crossing points. The other footpath will be diverted to cross the A14 at an existing road bridge. Access for footpath users will be maintained across the line of the by-pass during its construction.
- In line with the Government's commitment to using quieter road surfaces for all new roads, the new bypass will have a low-noise road surface.
Social Services SSA (Stoke-on-Trent)
Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the elderly personal social services standard spending assessment per person aged 65 and over for Stoke-on- Trent adjusted for inflation each year since 1998–99. [41909]
Dr. Whitehead: The table shows the data requested, together with a year-on-year percentage change after adjusting for changes in the function and funding of services:
| Elderly, personal social services SSA per person aged 65 and over(1) | Year-on-year percentage change | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 671.56 | — |
| 1999–2000 | 777.17 | 15.7 |
| 2000–01 | 810.46 | 4.3 |
| 2001–02 | 812.32 | 2.8 |
| 2002–03 | 813.38 | 2.6 |
(1) At 2002–03 prices: £ per person
British Transport Police
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in how many cases the British Transport police have acted on the basis of out-of-date arrest warrants since 1999; and if he will make a statement. [41883]
Mr. Jamieson: The British Transport police have advised that no record is kept of when an arrest is made using an invalid warrant, but since 1999 three civil claims have been made against the force for unlawful arrest regarding the arrest warrant used.
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Channel Tunnel Freight Services
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many rail freight services have been cancelled as a result of the SNCF channel tunnel restrictions. [42739]
Mr. Jamieson: EWS advise that over 1,700 rail freight services have been cancelled since November.
Flexible Working
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many and what proportion of the staff of his Department are (a) job sharing, (b) term working and (c) engaged in another form of flexible working. [42423]
Dr. Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given on 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 742W. Information specifically on job sharers, term working and other forms of flexible working is not held centrally and can be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Energy Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on energy costs incurred by his Department in each of the last 10 years. [42441]
Dr. Whitehead: The annual energy cost for DTLR's predecessors is as follows:
| Department(s) | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | DOT and DOE | 6,020,891 |
| 1992–93 | DOT and DOE | 5,883,013 |
| 1993–94 | DOT and DOE | 5,074,426 |
| 1994–95 | DOT and DOE | 4,519,596 |
| 1995–96 | DOT and DOE | 4,316,044 |
| 1996–97 | DOT and DOE | 4,095,629 |
| 1997–98 | DETR | 4,099,099 |
| 1998–99 | DETR | 3,993,520 |
| 1999–2000 | DETR | 3,473,024 |
| 2000–01 | DETR | 2,584,778 |
Concessionary Coach Fares
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress he has made in introducing the national minimum half-fare scheme for pensioners with respect to coach travel; and if he will make a statement. [42719]
Ms Keeble: We are currently considering next steps in the light of our discussions so far with the industry on the introduction of this scheme.
Gazumping
Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans the Government have to stop the practice of gazumping. [42612]
Ms Keeble: We believe the answer to the problems caused by gazumping lie in increasing transparency and speeding up the home buying and selling process. That is what our proposals for sellers' packs will achieve. Sellers' packs will bring about earlier certainty and reduce the
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period of time during which gazumping can occur. The necessary legislation for this will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.
New Deal for Communities (Kings Norton)
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the total expenditure to date has been from the budget of the new deal for communities in Kings Norton; and what have been the main achievements. [42682]
Ms Keeble: Kings Norton NDC has been awarded £54 million for its 10-year life of which £4,293,399 has been so far spent.
The west midlands police have seconded an officer to the NDC team. Beats have been redrawn to better reflect the needs of the area, and an additional eight officers are employed on the estates at no cost to the NDC.
Cadbury college has significantly increased the numbers of residents participating in adult education from 30 to over 300 through outreach courses. It has successfully bid for DfES funding for a UK on-line centre, which will come on stream during 2002.
Primrose hill community project, funded by the NDC, is the main provider of nursery care. It provides 80 day places, 20 after school places and employs five residents as early learning assistants. Fifteen residents have NVQ qualifications in child care.
The Befriend project, led by the family service unit and funded by NDC, offers support to new tenants moving to the three estates. A domestic violence worker is also funded through NDC.
A residents' resource room provides a centre for producing a monthly newsletter, organising community events, and giving information on services and volunteering opportunities.
The NDC has brokered better inter-agency working between local service providers and has a place on Birmingham city council's Best Value Review panel.
A community development trust was established in 2001 and board members have been appointed.
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