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Green Belt (West Midlands)

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures are in place to retain the green belt areas in the West Midlands. [86792]

Mr. McNulty: Government policy on the Green Belt throughout England remains, as set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note (PPG) 2, which states that protecting the countryside from encroachment is one of the main purposes of including land in the Green Belt.

PPG 2 continues to require that local authority development plans include a strict presumption against inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

Green Belt designations can only be established or altered through development plans. Once approved Green Belts should only be altered in exceptional circumstances. If such an alteration were proposed, the Secretary of State would then wish to be satisfied that the authority has considered opportunities for development within urban areas before allowing it to take place.

Home Ownership

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 3 December 2002, Official Report, column 711W, what assessment he has made of the ability of each group to access home ownership. [87941]

Mr. McNulty: Many teachers, health workers and police are experiencing difficulties in accessing home ownership in London, the south-east and other housing hot spots. Starter Home Initiative scheme managers assess each applicant's circumstances and provide assistance only to those key workers who would not otherwise be able to buy their own home within a reasonable travelling distance of their work place. Over 1,500 teachers, health workers and police have been assisted through the Starter Home Initiative to date.

Homelessness

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of lettings were made available to homeless households in priority need by (a) local

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authorities and (b) registered social landlords, broken down by (i) region and (ii) local authority area in 2000–01. [87988]

Mr. McNulty: Information reported by local authorities in England on their Housing Investment Programme returns in respect of lettings of their stock, and nominations to that of registered social landlords, made during 2000–01 has been placed in the Library.

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was given to Cambridge City Council towards relieving homelessness in each of the last five years. [87985]

Mrs. Roche: Funding to local authorities for the provision of homeless services is allocated through Revenue Support Grant (RSG) as part of the annual local government finance settlement. RSG is unhypothecated to particular services and up to the current financial year was calculated on the basis of standard spending assessments for individual local authorities. It is for each local authority to decide how much RSG it receives, and its other resources, should be directed towards any particular service. Voluntary Agencies working with Cambridge City Council received almost #900,000 to tackle rough sleeping from 1999–2000.

Housing (Black and Minority Ethnic People)

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research he has commissioned into the use of rent assessment panels by BME tenants in the private rented sector, following the recommendation in the DTLR (Housing Directorate) Action Plan, XAddressing the Needs of BME People"; and what steps he will take to address the problems that have been identified. [88264]

Mr. McNulty: To date, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not commissioned any research into the use of Rent Assessment Panels (RAPs) by BME groups. The Action Plan, Xaddressing the housing needs of BME people", made it clear that an examination of the use of RAP's would be subject to resources and other priorities.

Priority is currently being given to the implementation of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, including measures affecting the leasehold valuation tribunals, which are made up of the RAPs by BME groups will be undertaken after the anticipated completion of the implementation of the Act on spring 2003.

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of (a) African, (b) Afro-Caribbean, (c) Chinese and Vietnamese, (d) Bangladeshi, (e) Indian and (f) Pakistani households are in overcrowded accommodation. [88265]

Mr. McNulty: If overcrowding is measured by the 'bedroom standard' from Survey of English Housing data, averaged over the last three years (1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02), the estimated percentages of households in overcrowded accommodation (i.e. one or more bedrooms below the standard) are: (a) African 15 per cent., (b) Afro-Caribbean 6 per cent.,

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(c) Chinese 7 per cent., (d) Bangladeshi 30 per cent., (e) Indian 7 per cent. and (f) Pakistani 22 per cent. The corresponding percentages for other ethnic groups are : white 2 per cent., 'other black groups' 9 per cent., and 'mixed and other ethnic groups', including Vietnamese, 9 per cent.

Housing Associations

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to help local authorities (a) promote stock transfer and (b) improve council tenants' knowledge of housing associations. [87939]

Mr. McNulty: Local authorities should involve tenants fully in any decisions about the future ownership and management of their homes. This includes both appraisal of the options available to achieve the decent home standard, and development of the chosen investment option.

If housing transfer is the option chosen, tenants should be involved in choosing the successor housing association. Information about the housing association sector is available from the Housing Corporation and the National Housing Federation. The local authority and the tenants' independent adviser should also familiarise tenants with the work of local housing associations.

Housing Need (Somali Community)

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what information his Department has collated on the housing needs and experiences of the Somali community in the UK. [88266]

Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Finance

Mr. Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much in grants the Government is proposing to allocate to each local authority. [88336]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced details of the allocation to individual authorities of the #43.9 billion of Revenue Support Grant, Business Rates and Principal Formula Police Grant in 2003–04 on Thursday 5 December. Details were also announced on the same day of most of the grants for specific Personal Social Service's initiatives as set out in the Department of Health letter to local authority social services' departments (LASSL(2002)11). In addition local education authorities have received information on allocations for most of the Standards Fund in the circular XThe Standards Fund 2003–04", and the Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) circular XHB/CTB S8/2002" provided councils with their 2003–04 allocations for HB/CTB Administration Subsidy. Local authorities will also already have received their indicative Neighbourhood Renewal Fund allocations for 2003–04. Departments will be announcing remaining grants as soon as possible.

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Mr. Truswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what use his Department and its agencies make of postcode areas for (a) the collection and publication of data, (b) devising formulae for the distribution of grants and awards and (c) the delivery of services; and when usages were last reviewed. [87769]

Mr. Leslie : I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as the necessary information is collated.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the proposed floors and ceilings in the new funding system for local government will be removed. [88335]

Mr. Leslie: As my right hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr. Raynsford) made clear in his statement to the House on 5 December 2002, Official Report, column 1079, we expect floors and ceilings to be part of the system indefinitely.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the level of council tax rates in each authority. [88337]

Mr. Leslie: Council tax levels in each authority in England are already published. Figures for each financial year since its introduction in 1993–94 are available from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at www.local.dtlr.gov.uk/finance/ct.htm.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much each local authority has spent below its SSA in the current financial year. [88338]

Mr. Raynsford: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) on 18 December 2002, Official Report.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact which the new local government funding system will have on each authority's council tax levels. [88339]

Mr. Leslie: Decisions on council tax are for local authorities to take, after consulting with their local electorate and taxpayers.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by how much each local authority will be over and under funded if his Department's new proposed funding changes for local government are introduced. [88340]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister no longer takes the view that a grant distribution formula can represent Government's view on what councils need to spend. The proposed new formula grant distribution system aims to reflect the relative cost of service provision. This year, for the first time, The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will also ensure that all authorities receive a grant increase of more than inflation. Since both formula spending shares and floors and ceilings are simply parts of the system which distributes a fixed pot of grant, all authorities will receive their correct share.

Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) in the local government finance proposed settlement for 2003–04, for what reason Worcestershire is combined with Herefordshire in the assessment of area cost adjustment; [88445]

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(2) under the proposed local government finance settlement for 2003–04 on what basis he calculated that Dudley receive area cost adjustment. [88446]

Mr. Leslie: The area cost adjustment has been calculated on pre-1995 county boundaries and pre-1986 metropolitan county boundaries (though counties bordering London are divided into fringe and non-fringe areas). This means that all unitary authorities (including Herefordshire) and all metropolitan districts (including Dudley) receive the same area cost adjustment as the county or metropolitan county of which they were formerly a part. Not only does this help to reduce complexity, but it ensures that the area cost adjustment calculations are robust and stable from year to year. This is because New Earnings Survey sample sizes for individual unitary and metropolitan district authorities are relatively small.

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to include an element of resource equalisation in local government settlements from 2004–05 onwards. [88790]

Mr. Leslie: Resource equalisation has been an element of the local government grant distribution system since the mid-1970's. It will remain so for the foreseeable future.

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