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Parish Councils

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what requirement there is for parish councillors to sign the Code of Conduct as individuals in cases where their parish council as a whole has not adopted the Code of Conduct. [59697]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

The Local Government Act 2000 and The Parish Councils (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2001 place a duty on parish councils to adopt a code of conduct by 5 May 2002. If a code is not adopted by a parish council, parish councillors are not under a duty to give a written undertaking to observe a code. However, if a parish council fails to adopt a code, the provisions of the model code apply to all members of that council. Newly-elected members must give an undertaking on accepting office that they will observe the provisions of the model code.

Single Regeneration Budget

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what information he collects on the application of grants paid through the single regeneration budget, their efficacy and effectiveness. [60155]

Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.

The regional development agencies are responsible for administering the single regeneration budget at regional level. The RDAs collect information on grant expenditure and performance data from the regeneration partnerships that manage the individual SRB schemes. The partnerships are required to appraise all projects before grant can be approved. Also, at the end of a scheme, the partnership is required to submit to the RDA a report on the overall achievement of the scheme against the strategic objectives and the end scheme position against the baseline position at the start of the scheme. The RDAs account to the Government for their expenditure, including grant paid to regeneration partnerships under SRB rules, in accordance with detailed reporting requirements and procedures set out in corporate planning

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and other guidance issued to the RDAs. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also collects data from the RDAs on selected outputs generated by SRB schemes.

In addition, the Department has commissioned the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge to undertake an eight-year evaluation of the SRB programme. A mid-term report of the evaluation, based on 10 case study SRB partnerships whose activities have completed, was published in January. The findings of this report and earlier reports are published on the Department's website.

Homelessness

Brian Cotter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress the Homelessness Directorate has made with regard to tackling homelessness. [60493]

Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.

The Homelessness Directorate brings together the Rough Sleepers Unit, the Bed and Breakfast Unit and a new team to advise local authorities on tackling homelessness. The Directorate aims to:

sustain the success of meeting the Prime Minister's target of reducing rough sleeping by two thirds by 2002;


ensure that by March 2004 no homeless families with children are living in bed and breakfast hotels except in an emergency and, even then, for no more than six weeks;


promote new and more strategic approaches to tackle more effectively the growing problem of homelessness.

Since its establishment in March this year, the Homelessness Directorate has:

published the report "More than a roof" which, together with the Secretary of State's response, sets out a new approach to tackling homelessness;


reviewed local rough sleeping strategies in order to sustain the two thirds reduction in the number of rough sleepers in England;


published a good practice handbook to help local authorities to conduct homelessness reviews and develop effective homelessness strategies;


invited local authorities to apply for £10 million funding for homelessness strategies, to commence in July 2002;


held a number of regional good practice conferences on reducing the use of B&B hotels;


required high using B&B authorities to produce B&B reduction action plans, backed up by £35 million of new resources;


participated in seven seminars organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing to promote awareness of the requirements of the Homelessness Act among housing and homelessness professionals;


issued new advice to housing authorities on arrangements to ensure that all babies and children placed in temporary accommodation receive their health and developmental tests;


improved the collection of information from local authorities to monitor the number of homeless families with children living in B&B hotels and to record the length of time they stay there.

Additionally, the Government have:

taken through the Homelessness Act 2002 which will strengthen the statutory safety net for homeless people and ensure that all housing authorities have a homelessness strategy for their districts;


confirmed its intention to bring the main homelessness provisions of that Act into force in July, together with an extension by order of the groups who are in priority need for housing;

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confirmed that £10 million will be allocated to local authorities in 2002–03 to help them deliver the proposed new priority needs order;


amended housing benefit rules to provide additional incentives for private leasing as an alternative to the use of B&B hotels for homeless people;


announced that tackling homelessness is a new theme for the Beacon Councils scheme.

Mrs. May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the administration costs for the (a) National Homelessness Directorate, (b) Bed and Breakfast Unit and (c) Rough Sleepers Unit were in the last 12 months. [60664]

Mr. McNulty: The Bed and Breakfast Unit, the Rough Sleepers Unit and the homelessness responsibilities which had resided in the former DTLR's Housing Directorate were merged from 1 April 2002 to form a new Homelessness Directorate. The administration costs for the Rough Sleepers Unit in 2001–02 were £1.33 million and those for the Bed and Breakfast Unit were £132,000.

Mrs. May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the money allocated to the (a) Bed and Breakfast Unit and (b) Rough Sleepers Unit by him for the current financial year is expected to be spent on administration costs. [60666]

Mr. McNulty: The Bed and Breakfast Unit, the Rough Sleepers Unit and the homelessness responsibilities which had resided in the former DTLR's; Housing Directorate were merged from 1 April to form a new Homelessness Directorate. The Homelessness Directorate has an overall budget for programme expenditure of £125 million for the current financial year. In addition to this the directorate has a separate budget to cover administration costs, which for the current financial year amounts to £1.6 million.

Sound Insulation

Mrs. May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate he has made of the number of households affected by poor sound insulation. [60660]

Mr. Raynsford: The best estimate my Department has of the number of people affected by poor sound insulation comes from the regulatory impact assessment prepared for the revision of Part E of the Building Regulations—which deals with sound insulation between new dwellings. This examined data collected by the 1996 English house condition survey and concluded that 670,000 households were bothered by noise from neighbours which could be attributed to poor design of the building or a combination of poor design and behaviour of the neighbours.

Adapted Housing

Mr. Hurst: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to increase the provision of specially adapted housing for the elderly and the disabled. [60547]

Mr. McNulty: The Housing Corporation through the approved development programme (ADP) and supported housing management grant (SHMG) provide specially adapted housing and support for the elderly and disabled. The Housing Corporation through its national investment strategy sets out the priorities against which registered social landlords should bid for resources for both ADP and SHMG. Included in these priorities are housing for older people and supported housing for people with

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physical disabilities and frail older people. The ADP is set to rise to £1.2 billion in 2003–04, almost double the planned expenditure for 2000–01. The Housing Corporation is currently reviewing its strategy for housing older people to reflect national policy developments such as supporting people and to encourage more joined up solutions to housing support and care needs to this group.

Local housing authorities have a statutory duty to offer disabled facilities grants (DFGs) to eligible applicants who require adaptations to help them live independently in their own homes. The grant is available to homeowners and tenants in both the private and social rented sector. It is subject to a means test. The Government meet 60 per cent. of the total local authority expenditure incurred on DFGs through the payment of specified capital grant. The budget for this grant for English authorities in 2002–03 is £88 million compared with £56 million in 1997–98, an increase of nearly 60 per cent.

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