| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Performance Targets
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council how many and what proportion of the staff of his Department are part-time employees. [47192]
Mr. Robin Cook: My Department currently employs two members of staff on a part-time basis.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what new initiatives his Department has taken in 2001–02 to assist in achieving its Public Service Agreement targets. [47182]
Mr. Robin Cook: I refer the hon. Member to my Answer given on 21 March 2002 Official Report, column 514W.
Property Protection
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what new measures his Department took in 2001–02 to protect its property from theft or damage. [47246]
Mr. Robin Cook: My Department has a number of security measures in place to protect the property from theft or damage, although not all of them were introduced in 2001–02. These include physical security (electronic surveillance equipment; locked storerooms; video entry); security passes for all staff; a visitor book and special visitor passes and asset registers and inventories of equipment.
Television
Mr. Yeo: To ask the President of the Council if he will list the (a) number and (b) total cost of television licences paid for by his Department. [48360]
Mr. Robin Cook: All televisions in my Department are for business use only and therefore exempt from licensing.
TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND
THE REGIONS
Haven Gateway
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to visit the Haven Gateway; and if he will make a statement. [47038]
10 Apr 2002 : Column 71W
Dr. Whitehead: I have no plans to visit the area in the near future. However, I am following closely the efforts of the Haven Gateway Partnership to raise the profile of the area and attract inward investment and tourism.
Register of Electors
Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the Government policy paper on the effect of the Robertson Judgment on the continuing sale of the Register of Electors will be published; and if he will make a statement. [48263]
Dr. Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 26 March 2002 to the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) Official Report, column 968W.
Polling Stations
Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will urge returning officers to seek, whenever possible, premises other than school premises for voting purposes. [47126]
Dr. Whitehead: It is the duty of district and London borough councils in England and county or county borough councils in Wales to provide for all electors such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances and, so far as is reasonable and practicable, accessible to the disabled. Guidance about the conduct of elections is now a matter for the Electoral Commission. Existing guidance, issued in 2001 by my right hon. Friend, then the Home Secretary, makes it clear that, where it is necessary to use school premises for voting purposes, every effort should be made to liaise with school authorities to limit disruption to school activities.
Renewal Fund (Lancashire)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many local authorities have benefited from the new neighbourhood Renewal Fund in Lancashire, giving (a) the amounts and (b) the local authorities. [47428]
Ms Keeble: The table shows the local authority areas in Lancashire that are eligible for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) and their confirmed allocations in
10 Apr 2002 : Column 72W
the first two years of the fund. Allocations for 2003–04 will be confirmed prior to that financial year, subject to parliamentary debate and approval:
| NRF allocation £ million | ||
|---|---|---|
| Local authority | Year 1 2001–02 | Year 2 2002–03 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 2.167412 | 3.251118 |
| Blackpool | 1.503944 | 2.255916 |
| Burnley | 0.636635 | 0.954953 |
| Hyndburn | 0.646818 | 0.970227 |
| Pendle | 0.980471 | 1.470707 |
| Preston | 1.260217 | 1.890326 |
Local Authority Expenditure
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the impact of tax changes since 1997 on (a) local authority pension schemes and (b) additional resulting revenue costs incurred by authorities. [46962]
Dr. Whitehead: The Local Government Association assessed the net effect of the 1997 decision to abolish Advanced Corporation Tax relief, which impacted on local authority pension funds, as £130 million per annum. This was taken into account in the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will rank each local authority in England showing the proportion of expenditure in 2000–01 which was met by central Government grant. [44792]
Dr. Whitehead: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
London Borough of Merton
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much public money has been provided to the London Borough of Merton since 1997. [47520R]
Dr. Whitehead: London Borough of Merton have reported the following public funding.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outturn | Outturn | Outturn | Outturn | Budget | |
| Revenue Grants | |||||
| Revenue Support Grant | 53,036 | 57,342 | 59,829 | 54,923 | 59,104 |
| Redistributed Non-Domestic Rates | 39,124 | 41,496 | 45,252 | 51,169 | 50,701 |
| Central Support Protection Grant | — | 0 | 0 | 376 | 0 |
| Ring-fenced Grants inside AEF(9) | 7,024 | 8,310 | 11,237 | 17,011 | 18,800 |
| Revenue Grants paid into GFRA(10) | 99,184 | 107,148 | 116,318 | 123,479 | 128,605 |
| Capital Grants (11) | 0 | 3,380 | 4,610 | 4,057 | 5,971 |
| Total | 99,184 | 110,528 | 120,928 | 127,536 | 134,576 |
Notes:
(9) Aggregate External Finance (AEF) is central government support towards total standard spending. It comprises RSG, NNDR, and certain Ring-fenced grants.
(10) This includes all revenue grants paid into the General Fund Revenue Account (GFRA), but may exclude certain public funding, for example for some non-departmental public bodies, which is recorded as income and is not separately identifiable.
(11) Consists of central government, non-departmental public bodies and national lottery.
Sources:
1997–98 to 2000–01 Revenue Summary and Capital Outturn returns. 2001–02 General Fund Revenue Account and Capital Estimates returns.
10 Apr 2002 : Column 73W
Non-domestic Rate
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what non-domestic rate is proposed for (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland in 2002–03. [47943]
Dr. Whitehead: The national non-domestic rate poundage (multiplier) for England for 2002–03 is 43.7 pence.
The multiplier for Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government. The multiplier for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive.
Physical Agents Directive
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make it his policy to make representations to the European Commission in opposition to the draft Physical Agents Directive on vibration. [47976]
Dr. Whitehead: Agreement has already been reached on the Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive and it now merely needs to be ratified by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The UK has successfully negotiated provisions which meet the major concerns expressed by industry. The Government therefore welcomes the Directive, which it considers will result in time in significant improvements in health.
Local Authority Councillors (Employment)
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what statutory provisions govern restrictions in the employment of local authority councillors in a maintained school in the same local education authority area. [47574]
Dr. Whitehead: Section 80 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 prohibits anyone, apart from a local authority's chair, vice chair, deputy chair, or members of its executive, from being a member of a local authority and holding paid employment to which they are appointed by that local authority, or a committee of that authority.
Regulation 9 of the Education (Transition to New Framework) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1999 provides that the disqualification applies equally to teachers in schools maintained by a local authority who do or do not hold employment contracts with the local authority.
Section 81(3) of the 1972 Act applies an exception enabling teachers employed by institutions maintained or assisted by county council to be members of a district council even where that district council nominates members of the county council's education authority.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |