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19 Dec 2002 : Column 948W—continued
Business Improvement Districts
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what systems he has assessed for voting in relation to business improvement districts; and how the Government proposes to ensure that the system is simple. [87971]
Mr. Leslie: Clause 52 of the Local Government Bill, which was introduced into Parliament on 25 November, sets out the rules governing the BID ballot. A successful ballot will have to meet two tests. Firstly a simple majority of those voting in the BID ballot must vote in
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favour. Secondly, those voting in favour must represent a majority by rateable value of the hereditaments (rateable properties) of those voting. This Xdual-key" mechanism means that a scheme cannot be forced through by large firms against the wishes of small firms, or vice versa.
Secondly, Clause 57 of the Local Government Bill gives my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister the power to make regulations on the timing of BID ballots, the non-domestic ratepayers entitled to vote in the ballot, the question to be asked in the ballot, the form the ballot will take, the persons who are to hold ballots, and how the ballots are to be conducted. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is holding discussions with representatives of local authorities, rating professionals and members of the business community to ensure that the rules on voting are as simple as possible, while safeguarding the interests of those who will be liable to pay the BID levy.
Christmas Expenses
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many departmental Christmas cards he and his Ministers intend to send in 2002; how much these cards will cost (a) to buy, (b) to post and (c) in staff time to sign, address and place in envelopes; and if he will place in the Library a sample copy of the official Christmas card he has sent this year. [88118]
Mr. Leslie: In accordance with the conventions followed by all administrations the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister shall be sending out up to 1,820 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Christmas cards, purchased for a total cost of #1,364.40 plus VAT. It is Office of the Deputy Prime Minister policy to send mail by second class post where ever possible. Ministers will sign the cards and they will be placed in envelopes and sent out by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister staff as part of their normal duties. Sample copies of the cards have been placed in the Library of the House, All expenditure incurred in the purchase and despatch of official Christmas cards is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in XGovernment Accounting".
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much will be spent on (a) entertaining, (b) Christmas decorations and (c) other festive activities this Christmas season by his Department and government agencies answerable to his Department; and of this sum how much will be spent in ministers' (i) private offices and (ii) official residences. [88121]
Mr. Leslie: Any expenditure incurred on decorations, entertainment and any other festive activities is strictly for official purposes only, and is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in XGovernment Accounting".
The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Deprivation
Mr. Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will indicate the level of deprivation which exists in each local council area. [88341]
Mrs. Roche: A table showing how local authority districts in England are ranked, relative to each other, on the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 (IMD 2000) has been placed in the Library of the House. All 354 local authority districts (as at April 1998) are ranked with the most deprived authority being given a rank of 1.
Patterns of deprivation are complex—in some areas the entire district may be generally deprived but with no severe areas, while elsewhere deprivation may be concentrated in very severe pockets, which coexist alongside generally affluent areas. The IMD 2000 has reflected these different patterns through six different measures that are all equally valid. The six measures are:
- The concentration measure tells us how severe deprivation is in each authority's 'hot spots' of deprivation;
The extent measure is the percentage of each district's population that live in one of the 10 per cent. most deprived wards in England;
The 'average scores' and 'average ranks' are the average level of deprivation across the entire district;
The income scale and employment scale measure how many people suffer from income and employment deprivation respectively.
Empty Homes
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his Department's performance in the disposal of empty homes in the last year for which figures are available. [87942]
Mr. McNulty: The Fire Service College, an Executive Agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, owns 39 residential properties, which are kept to house staff on secondment to the College. Currently, a small number of properties are not required for staff use and are let on short-term tenancies. One property is currently empty and due to be let by the end of January.
Fire Services
Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries as a result of fire there were in each of the last five years; and what proportion occurred (i) between 11pm and 6 am and (ii) during the hours of darkness. [88484]
Mr. Raynsford: The number of deaths and/or injuries by the time of the fire is tabled below. Data are shown for 1997 to 2001 (the last five years of data available).
Data relating to the severity of injury resulting from fire are not held centrally and could be obtained only at
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disproportionate cost. Information is collected on the type of injury but not the severity of those injuries.
19 Dec 2002 : Column 952W
It is not possible to identify separate data relating to the hours of darkness.
| Proportion occurring between 11pm and 6am | Rate per 1,000 fires between 11pm and 6am | Proportion occurring between 6am and 11pm | Rate per 1,000 fires between 6am and 11pm | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths | Injuries | Deaths (%) | Injuries (%) | Deaths | Injuries | Deaths (%) | Injuries (%) | Deaths | Injuries | |
| 1997 | 723 | 18,583 | 35 | 31 | 5 | 124 | 65 | 69 | 3 | 83 |
| 1998 | 656 | 18,198 | 33 | 30 | 5 | 117 | 67 | 70 | 3 | 83 |
| 1999 | 623 | 18,198 | 29 | 30 | 3 | 103 | 71 | 70 | 3 | 77 |
| 2000 | 623 | 17,640 | 34 | 31 | 4 | 100 | 66 | 69 | 2 | 74 |
| 2000(8) | (595) | |||||||||
| 2001 | 627 | 17,288 | 32 | 30 | 3 | 89 | 68 | 70 | 3 | 71 |
| 2001(8) | (606) | |||||||||
(7) The time of day is denoted as the time the emergency call was received by the local authority fire brigade.
(8) The 2000 and 2001 data for fatalities are estimated to account for the revisions as later information is received. Calculations are based on the provisional total of deaths.
Firefighters' Dispute
John Barrett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the average response time to emergency fire calls during (a) the recent firefighters' strike and (b) full firefighter cover. [88485]
Mr. Raynsford: During the Fire Brigade Union strike between 22 and 30 November 2002, 10,793 fire-related incidents were dealt with by the armed forces and 1,367 by firefighters working for local authority fire brigades. The armed forces' remit was to ensure that all incidents were dealt with where there was a confirmed threat to life (Category A) or a possible threat to life (Category B). In the event, all non-life threatening (Category C) incidents were also attended. An analysis of serious fire-related incidents (mostly Category A) in the north-west of England showed an average response time by the armed forces of 7.2 minutes. The figure for serious incidents in London was 13.8 minutes, largely reflecting traffic problems; and in the south-west, which is a largely rural area, the average response time for serious incidents was 14.2 minutes. These figures are not directly comparable with Fire Service data as fire brigades' target response times are based on four risk categories, ranging from five minutes for main shopping and business centres to 20 minutes for rural areas. Nevertheless, they do demonstrate the highly professional job performed by the armed forces.
John Barrett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many emergency fire calls were not answered during the recent firefighters' strike. [88486]
Mr. Raynsford: During the Fire Brigades Union strike from 22 to 30 November 2002, 30,278 fire-related 999 calls were received by the Joint Operational Control Centres. All such telephone calls were answered. Because of multiple calls per incident, this gave rise to 20,237 incidents. Around five per cent. of calls were filtered out immediately as not being emergencies, and advance police attendance turned back firefighter response in around 40 per cent. of cases. The armed forces therefore attended 10,793 incidents, and firefighters working for local authority fire brigades attended 1,367 incidents. All fire related incidents which required a firefighter response were attended.
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