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28 Nov 2002 : Column 383W—continued

Local Government (Parishes)

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures have been taken to strengthen the parish tier of local government. [83508]

Mr. Leslie: Recent measures to strengthen the parish tier of local government include:

increasing the amount local councils can spend per elector under Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972, on matters that will have a direct benefit on their communities, from £3.50 to £5.00;


£2 million Government funding over three years to help the Countryside Agency and NALC develop a national training strategy for parish councillors and clerks;


reducing the accounting and audit burden on parishes following the introduction of the Xlighter touch" audit;

the introduction of a new ethical framework, including new codes of conduct to promote the highest standards of conduct in parish and town councils; anda wide-ranging consultation on proposals for a Quality Parish and Town Council scheme which we are now working with NALC and others to establish.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he has issued on the remuneration of parish clerks. [83507]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not issued any guidance on the remuneration of parish clerks, which is a matter for each local council.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Minister has responsibility for parish councils; and if he will make a statement. [83411]

Mr. Raynsford: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister assisted by my right hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich and I are responsible for policy and legislation on English parish

28 Nov 2002 : Column 384W

and town councils. We share these responsibilities with our Right Honourable and Honourable Friends who have responsibility for those service and policy objectives which parish councils can help to deliver.

Mobile Phone Masts

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many mobile phone masts have been constructed in England and Wales, in each year since 1997 in each local authority area. [83412]

Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold the information requested centrally.

However, all mobile phone antennas are registered with the Radiocommunications Agency. Information on the location and ownership of the antennas is available on the Agency's Site Finder database at www.sitefinder.radio.gov.uk The site is updated every three months.

Public Highways

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what procedure an applicant must undertake to seek the permanent closure of areas of the public highway to prevent use by motorised vehicles; and what action is open to opponents to seek to prevent such an order being granted. [82466]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 25 November 2002]: I have been asked to reply.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to him today (PQ ref. 82465).

Referendums

Mr. Brady: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on the use of public funds to support campaigns for (a) referendums on regional government and (b) a particular outcome in a referendum campaign. [83847]

Mr. Raynsford: This is a matter for the Electoral Commission under the provisions of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (sections 108–110 and schedule 12); or, if pertaining to a local authority publicity campaign relating to regional referendums, a matter for the Code on Local Authority Publicity which my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has issued under section 4 of the Local Government Act 1986.

Regional Government

Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost of the headquarters for a regional government in the North West of England; and what the breakdown of this sum is broken down by budget heads. [83786]

Mr. Leslie: The Government has made no estimate of the cost of a headquarters for a regional government in the North West of England. As paragraph 6.7 of the Government's White Paper on Regional Governance says, it will be for an assembly to decide on the best way to meet its accommodation requirements, including the location of its headquarters.

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Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost of the initial start-up costs of regional government in the North West of England; and what the breakdown of this sum is broken down by main budget heads. [83787]

Mr. Leslie: The costs of establishing elected regional assemblies will vary from region to region, mainly because of different sizes of their electorates. We expect them all to fall in a range around £15 million to £30 million a region, including the costs of a referendum and of the first assembly elections. The North West is likely to fall towards the upper end of this range.

Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) holding and (b) promoting a referendum on regional government in the North West of England. [83788]

Mr. Leslie: Paragraph 69 of the Explanatory Notes to the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill says that the cost of a referendum may range from about £2m in the North East to about £6m in the South East.

With regard to the costs associated with the promotion of a referendum in the North West, that would be a matter for the Electoral Commission under the provisions of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (sections 108–110 and schedule 12); or, if pertaining to a local authority publicity campaign relating to regional referendums, a matter for the Code on Local Authority Publicity which my Rt. Hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has issued under section 4 of the Local Government Act 1986.

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the administrative costs of (a) regional development agencies, (b) government offices for the regions and (c) regional chambers were, in each region in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2002–03. [83815]

Mr. Leslie: The information is as follows:

(a) The Regional Development Agencies' administrative costs for 2000–01 and 2001–02, together with estimates for 2002–03, are set out in the following table:

Thousand

RDAs administrative costs	2000–01 spend	2001–02 spend	2002–03 forecast expenditure
North East	10,463	11,603	16,722
North West	14,476	15,004	19,921
Yorkshire	8,284	10,354	14,750
East Midlands	7,213	7,488	10,467
West Midlands	8,352	9,083	13,500
East	4,710	5,925	7,245
South East	6,343	7,143	12,839
South West	8,380	9,099	13,975
London	5,354	9,805	14,044

(b) The Government Offices' administrative costs for 2000–01 and 2001–02, together with estimates for 2002–03, are set out in the following table :

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GO	2000–01 spend	2001–02 spend	2002–03 forecast expenditure
North East	8,197.33	8,973.88	8,658.69
North West	13,651.03	15,250.91	13,852.48
Yorkshire and Humber	9,357.21	9,889.50	9,520.69
West Midlands	9,960.77	10,315.96	9,213.41
East Midlands	7,335.77	8,200.80	7,395.22
East	7,542.50	8,532.82	7,704.08
South East	9,477.27	10,309.34	9,249.80
South West	8,711.39	10,671.85	9,418.63
London	13,860.98	13,175.10	12,215.67
Totals	88,094.25	95,320.16	87,228.67

(c) Regional Chambers are not Government bodies. They receive funding from a variety of sources, primarily the participating local authorities. The Government have agreed to provide a contribution towards their costs for the next three years, starting in 2002–03. This equates to £600,000 per Chamber—£15 million in total across all the regions over the three year period.

Regional Planning

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received on the likely effect of the draft Regional Planning Guidance on the Warrington area; and if he will make a statement. [83892]

Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Member for Tyneside, North (Mr. Byers) Proposed Changes to Draft Regional Planning Guidance for the North West were published in May 2002, and the closing date for comments was 16 August 2002, 201 organisations responded to the consultation, and a total of 1,825 individual comments were made on the whole of Draft RPG. Of this total, 38 comments were on the Warrington area. Organisations that responded included the North West Development Agency, North West Regional Assembly, Warrington Borough Council, Council for the Protection of Rural England, and the Omega Joint Venture Partnership.

Second Homes

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his estimate is of the number of second homes claiming a council tax discount in each local authority area in (a) Devon, (b) Cornwall, (c) Somerset and (d) Dorset. [82969]

Mr. McNulty: The following tables set out the number of second homes (defined as furnished and no-one's main residence) entitled to the 50 per cent. council tax discount as at November 2001,as reported by local authorities.

Some authorities have been unable to report reliable information on their number of second homes. These authorities are indicated in the tables by 'no estimate'.

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(a) Devon

Local authority name	Number of second homes
East Devon	2,431
Exeter	No estimate
Mid-Devon	301
North Devon	914
South Hams	4,597
Teignbridge	1,396
Torridge	No estimate
West Devon	No estimate
Plymouth UA	No estimate
Torbay U A	1,576

(b) Cornwall

Local authority name	Number of second homes
Caradon	1,461
Carrick	No estimate
Kerrier	1,530
North Cornwall	4,095
Penwith	No estimate
Restormel	1,741
Isles of Scilly UA	248

(c) Somerset

Local authority name	Number of second homes
Mendip	365
Sedgemoor	404
South Somerset	608
Taunton Deane	362
West Somerset	1,058
Bath and North-east Somerset UA	79
Bristol UA	201
North Somerset UA	No estimate

(d) Dorset

Local authority name	Number of second homes
Christchurch	No estimate
East Dorset	280
North Dorset	No estimate
Purbeck	887
West Dorset	1,597
Weymouth and Portland	618
Bournemouth UA	1,583
Poole UA	No estimate

Source:

CTBl(S)form.

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