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19 Dec 2002 : Column 961W—continued

Social Inclusion

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to encourage use of public procurement contracts to achieve greater social inclusion; and if he will make a statement. [88141]

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Mr. Leslie: Contracts let by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are based on value for money, defined as the optimum combination of whole-life cost and quality (or fitness for purpose) to meet the user's requirement.

Local authorities are independent and autonomous and responsible within law for making their own decision on procurement matters. It is for them to decide how far their procurement contracts should be used to achieve greater social inclusion. It remains the responsibility of individual local authorities to make their own judgement about the use of social considerations in procurement, consistent with domestic law, including the duty to achieve best value, and the EC legal framework.

The European Commission has recently provided clarification on the possibilities that Community law offers public purchasers who wish to take account of relevant social considerations into public procurement procedures. This clarification takes the form of an Interpretative Communication that explains how social concerns may be taken into account at each separate stage of the contract award procedure.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working with the Local Government Association through the Local Government Procurement Forum to prepare guidance for local authorities on the EC Procurement Directives and how social considerations may be included in procurement exercises.

Starter Home Initiative

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 3 December 2002, Official Report, column 711W, how many key workers there are in each of the groups; and how many key worker shortages there are in each group used in informing his Department of the numbers to give assistance to. [87940]

Mr. McNulty: When the first Starter Home Initiative allocations were made in 2001, the broad numbers of staff in London and the south-east in each of the key worker groups were:

c250,000 health staff, excluding senior medical staff and management;

c120,000 teachers; and

c40,000 police officers and 18,000 police civilian staff.

The Department of Health, Department for Education and Skills and the Home Office advised the now Office of the Deputy Prime Minister where the Starter Home Initiative funds might best be spent to address shortages. This helped to inform allocations to organisations that submitted bids for funding.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Margaret Moran: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to consult on making the Tenancy Deposit Scheme compulsory. [88310]

Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recently launched a consultation on options for the protection of tenancy moneys, including tenancy deposits. The prospects for legislation will be considered in the light of responses received to the consultation.

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Visually Impaired Children

Mr. Wray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures are in place to ensure that families with visually impaired children have the same priority as other disabled children when allocating housing; what housing improvement schemes are available for poor parents with visually impaired children; and what proposals he has to widen the availability of these schemes. [87363]

Mr. McNulty: In England, housing authorities must ensure that their allocation scheme is framed so as to give reasonable preference to certain categories of persons. The categories are set out in s167 (2) of the Housing Act 1996 and include households consisting of or including someone with a particular need for settled accommodation on medical or welfare grounds, and families with dependent children. Medical grounds will include a visual impairment where it is serious enough to constitute a disability and where a settled home is required to ensure that the particular needs of the visually impaired person are met. A young person with a visual impairment is also more likely to continue to be considered as a Xdependent child" for a longer period.

In England, a family with a visually impaired child has a mandatory right to apply for a disabled facilities grant (DFG) which is intended to help with any necessary adaptations to the home. The grant system is administered through local housing authorities who are required to consult with social services to assess the particular needs of the disabled child. The mandatory grant is subject to a maximum limit of #25,000 per application and subject to a means test.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002, local authorities have been given additional wide ranging powers which can be used to provide additional assistance with housing adaptations outside the statutory limits of the mandatory DFG system. These new powers can be used at the discretion of the local authority, which would need to allocate resources from its own budgets for this purpose.

Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) enable vulnerable people to maintain their independence in their own home by helping people through the process of arranging home repairs, improvements or adaptations. Also included is the direct provision of repair and maintenance services, preventative initiatives and providing advice on accessing appropriate finance.

In recognition of the important role HIAs play in supporting independent living, Government recently announced additional funding to assist HIAs to deliver housing and health objectives. In addition to the #8.5 million currently invested, ODPM are investing an extra #5.2 million in the sector, and the Department of Health is making #9.5 million available through local authorities over the next three years.

Issues in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Executive.

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Wandsworth Development Plan

Martin Linton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the timetable is for Wandsworth borough council to deposit a new draft revised (second stage deposit) unitary development plan incorporating the recommendations of the Planning Inspectorate issued to the council on 6 March. [87113]

Mr. McNulty: It is expected that a report will be considered by the relevant Wandsworth borough council committee early in the new year, with a view to the deposit of modifications in spring 2003.

West Midlands Regional Assembly

Mr. Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which organisations he is consulting in Worcestershire as part of his soundings exercise on the possibility of holding a referendum on a West Midlands regional assembly. [88416]

Mr. Leslie: The soundings exercise that was launched by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 2 December 2002 invites views, information and evidence from people on the level of interest in each English region (outside London) in holding a referendum about establishing an elected regional assembly. Views are welcome from any person or organisation on this issue. The paper giving details about this exercise and inviting responses, along with a pro forma for responding, is available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website. Paper copies are also available.

With regards to Worcestershire (as for all English regions outside London), the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has written to its principal local authorities, MPs and MEPs inviting views, information and evidence. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has written similarly to the following regional bodies in the West Midlands: the West Midlands Regional Assembly (regional chamber); the West Midlands local government association; TUC Midlands region; Institute of Directors West Midland Region; Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry; CBI West Midlands; West Midlands Constitutional Convention; and Sustainability West Midlands. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has, of course, written to the equivalent bodies in the other English regions outside London.

I have placed a list of all organisations in England contacted about this soundings exercise in the Library.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Annual Reports (Production Costs)

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of production was of the (a) Community Fund's Annual Report, (b) Sport England Annual Report, (c) Heritage Lottery Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund Annual Report and Accounts and (d) NESTA Annual Report, in each of the past three years; how many copies of each report were produced; and if she will make a statement. [86377]

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Dr. Howells: The information requested for each organisation is set out as follows:

	#	Number of copies
1999–2000
Community Fund	39,144	7,300
Sport England	36,251	2,000
Heritage Fund	66,486	5,000
NESTA	41,436	3,000
2000–01
Community Fund	86,686	7,000
Sport England	35,732	2,000
Heritage Fund	71,924	5,000
NESTA	43,896	4,500
2001–02
Community Fund	71,362	5,300
Sport England	25,671	2,000
Heritage Fund	58,782	5,000
NESTA	48,885	5,000

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