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Fire Service Pensions

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he expects the review of fire service pension arrangements to be concluded; when the review commenced; and which Government Departments and agencies are engaged in the review. [52114]

Dr. Whitehead: In 1998 the Home Office published a consultation document on options for changes to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme. There was no consensus among Fire Service interests on the costs and benefits which might be included in any new pension scheme. We have no immediate plans to introduce a new scheme but continue to discuss amendments to the current scheme with the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils which include representatives of the Scottish Executive, the Northern Ireland Administration, Fire Service employers, unions and staff associations.

Council Tax

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will set out the distribution of properties, by council tax band, in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne, (b) the London borough of Wandsworth and (c) the London borough of Richmond; and what the average distribution by band is in each Government office region of England. [52116]

Dr. Whitehead: Information on the number of properties in each council tax band is shown on the valuation list, compiled by the Valuation Office Agency. The latest information available is at 26 March 2002. The number of properties in each council tax band, and the distribution of properties by council tax band, for Newcastle upon Tyne, the London borough of Wandsworth and the London borough of Richmond are shown in the table. The table also gives information for each Government office region of England.

Number and percentage of properties in each council tax band

	Band A	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Band F	Band G	Band H	Total
Newcastle upon Tyne
Number	73,125	17,252	16,508	7,249	3,538	1,654	1,291	115	120,732
Percentage	60.6	14.3	13.7	6.0	2.9	1.4	1.1	0.1	100.0
Wandsworth
Number	5,995	11,758	34,363	28,792	17,800	11,845	10,751	1,881	123,185
Percentage	4.9	9.5	27.9	23.4	14.4	9.6	8.7	1.5	100.0
Richmond
Number	596	1,917	11,361	19,250	19,484	11,082	11,692	2,661	78,043
Percentage	0.8	2.5	14.6	24.7	25.0	14.2	15.0	3.4	100.0
	Government Office Region
North East
Number	667,963	157,421	157,846	80,695	40,190	17,627	10,298	1,173	1,133,213
Percentage	58.9	13.9	13.9	7.1	3.5	1.6	0.9	0.1	100.0
North West
Number	1,322,421	563,533	514,026	285,914	167,010	82,021	56,127	5,612	2,996,664
Percentage	44.1	18.8	17.2	9.5	5.6	2.7	1.9	0.2	100.0
	Yorkshire and the Humber
Number	1,007,232	422,759	351,695	187,306	119,051	57,371	33,834	2,943	2,182,191
Percentage	46.2	19.4	16.1	8.6	5.5	2.6	1.6	0.1	100.0
East Midlands
Number	708,205	406,075	320,954	184,684	108,634	52,261	30,941	2,812	1,814,566
Percentage	39.0	22.4	17.7	10.2	6.0	2.9	1.7	0.2	100.0
West Midlands
Number	732,699	559,441	427,208	238,448	149,545	81,514	49,742	5,017	2,243,614
Percentage	32.7	24.9	19	10.6	6.7	3.6	2.2	0.2	100.0
East
Number	338,768	497,471	617,989	402,793	243,008	132,541	90,901	10,783	2,334,254
Percentage	14.5	21.3	26.5	17.3	10.4	5.7	3.9	0.5	100.0
London
Number	109,217	424,581	832,400	794,520	478,877	237,732	195,448	52,909	3,125,684
Percentage	3.5	13.6	26.6	25.4	15.3	7.6	6.3	1.7	100.0
South East
Number	297,106	561,367	883,401	681,627	459,244	276,049	223,648	30,091	3,412,533
Percentage	8.7	16.5	25.9	20	13.5	8.1	6.6	0.9	100.0
South West
Number	378,657	538,373	508,093	343,986	232,043	117,013	69,361	6,596	2,194,122
Percentage	17.3	24.5	23.2	15.7	10.6	5.3	3.2	0.3	100.0
England
Number	5,562,268	4,131,021	4,613,612	3,199,973	1,997,602	1,054,129	760,300	117,936	21,436,841
Percentage	25.9	19.3	21.5	14.9	9.3	4.9	3.5	0.6	100.0

Note:

Percentage figures are subject to rounding.

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School Run

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research he has commissioned into the psychosocial impact on children of parents taking them to school by car. [51980]

Mr. Byers: In October 2000 my Department commissioned a scoping study and literature review to establish what was already known about the effect of travel mode on children's mental health and cognitive and social development. The study reported in April 2001. The executive summary is on the DTLR website at www.local-transport.dtlr.gov.uk/schooltravel/cogdev/ index.htm and has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Voluntary Sector

Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire of 25 January 2002, Official Report, columns 1183–85W, on Government funding of the voluntary sector, if he will list the grant schemes and other mechanisms by which (a) his Department, (b) the housing action trusts, (c) English Partnerships and (d) the regional development agencies distribute funding to voluntary sector organisations. [51409]

Dr. Whitehead [holding answer 19 April 2002]: The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions does not hold information centrally on the grant schemes and other mechanisms by which it distributes funding to voluntary sector bodies. However, information in respect of the bodies specifically mentioned in the hon. Member's question is as follows:

(b) Housing Action Trusts give grants to support a wide range of local community groups and projects. Details are published in each Housing Action Trust's annual report and accounts. In 2000–01 the five trusts gave grants totalling approximately £1.1 million to support over 100 local initiatives.

25 Apr 2002 : Column 398W

(c) English Partnerships is not a significant contributor of funds to the voluntary sector.

(d) Regional development agencies currently provide Single Regeneration Budget funding to various regeneration partnerships who support projects that benefit the voluntary sector. Regional development agencies may also choose to provide support to the voluntary sector through their new single programme that started on 1 April 2002.

Housing (East Lancashire)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what consideration he has given to the proposals submitted to him by local authorities in East Lancashire to tackle the problem of run-down and abandoned housing in the region. [50684]

Ms Keeble: The East Lancashire Housing Forum submitted in December 2001 a proposed programme to tackle the problem of low demand and abandoned housing in the area. The Government is considering the proposal in the context of the spending review, along with the proposal from various northern housing bodies for a housing market renewal fund.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 10 April that nine areas where the problems of low demand housing are most acute, of which East Lancashire is one, were being invited to work with Government to establish pathfinder projects to tackle low demand. Their aim will be to provide lasting solutions for communities blighted by derelict homes through investment and innovation. They will do this by developing a strategic approach for regenerating their sub-regional housing markets that will bring together key stakeholders, inform future investment, and test out new and innovative approaches to combating low demand.

A key element of the pathfinder projects' approach will be a unified agenda. Experience shows that it is not sufficient to tackle the housing problem alone. Local authorities must work closely together with their

25 Apr 2002 : Column 399W

partners—the police, the health authority, the Regional Development Agency, Housing Corporation and private sector—to rejuvenate our towns and cities.

Low demand and abandoned housing is a major problem. But it also provides a unique opportunity to restructure and rebuild our cities for the twenty-first century. We must now seize that opportunity. The Government will work with local people to deliver the change necessary and bring hope to those communities.

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