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28 Jan 2003 : Column 794W—continued
Right to Buy (Reduced Discount Scheme)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister why the number of lets to new council tenants and nominations by landlords to registered social landlords less the number of homes let to homeless households is reduced by 20 per cent. for the purpose of calculating available lets under the reduced discount scheme for right to buy. [94040]
Mr. McNulty: In the initial assessment of 'available lets', a reduction of 20 per cent. was made to allow for dwellings unsuitable for the homeless (such as sheltered housing) and for other inescapable demand (such as urgent medical priority cases). This adjustment was made consistently in respect of all local authorities, so it did not affect their final ranking on the basis of the objective indicator of demand pressure.
Social Housing
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many dwellings were constructed by registered social housing landlords, excluding local authorities, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and how many are planned to be built in the next financial year. [91143]
Mr. McNulty: The numbers of new dwellings constructed by Registered Social Landlords in each of the last 10 years are shown in the following table. Information from local authority housing strategies shows, for 2003–04, a projected 31,000 total of new dwellings constructed and existing stock acquired by Registered Social Landlords.
| Year | Number of new dwellings constructed by Registered Social Landlords |
|---|---|
| 1992–93 | 23,969 |
| 1993–94 | 30,213 |
| 1994–95 | 31,375 |
| 1995–96 | 30,226 |
| 1996–97 | 24,630 |
| 1998–99 | 21,397 |
| 1999–2000 | 18,920 |
| 2000–01 | 17,363 |
| 2001–02 | 16,610 |
| 2002–03 | 14,367 |
Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his estimate is of the number of social houses (a) completed and (b) started in each reporting period in each year from 1982–83 to 2002–03, broken down by (i) English region and (ii) English local authority; and if he will make a statement. [93134]
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Mr. McNulty: The total numbers of houses started and completed by registered social landlords and local authorities in each region are shown in the table. The years shown are those which are readily available. I will write further to provide information for each local authority.
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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Computer Misuse
Mr. Webb: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases of computer misuse there were in her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by each category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action. [93043]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There have been 43 cases of computer misuse in the Department over the last five years. These cases are broken down as follows.
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| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Personal use | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Unofficial Business Use(34) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Other | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| Total | 5 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 15 |
(34) This covers receipt of unsolicited business e-mails, either directly from the business site, or forwarded from internal users
In each case disciplinary action has been taken where appropriate in line with Departmental disciplinary procedures, which accord with the central framework set out in paragraph 4.5 of the Civil Service Management Code.
Legal Services Commission
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what checks are undertaken by the Legal Services Commission on the competence of solicitors who claim to specialise in (a) divorce, (b) probate, (c) asylum, (d) family law, (e) property and (f) medical negligence. [93090]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Generally probate cases will not be publicly funded but cases in the other categories may well be.
Since 1 April 2001, all publicly funded legal service suppliers, whether solicitor firms or not for profit agencies, have had to hold a quality mark before being awarded a Legal Services Commission (LSC) contract. All solicitor suppliers for specialist legal services must hold the Specialist Quality Mark (SQM). The SQM focuses, in respect of individual competence, on supervision, training, and file review processes, and requires supervisor solicitors to be accredited to category specific qualifying panels as evidence of competence. The LSC conducts regular quality mark audits to ensure suppliers meet the required standard. The LSC also conducts cost compliance audits to check that public funds claimed by a supplier are being used appropriately.
These audits enable the LSC to take appropriate measures to deal with poor quality work, including cost reductions and, in extreme cases, removal of the contract.
Public Record Office (Documents Release)
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if her Department will arrange for an early release of documents held by the Public Record Office, originated by the then Department of the Environment and the Department of Trade and Industry, relating to the Lowermoor Water Poisoning Incident of July 1988. [90032]
Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.
A report of the incident was produced in August 1988 and put into the public domain and two reports into the health of the people in the area were published in 1989 and 1991. Copies of these last two reports are in the Library of the House. Other health studies into the incident have been published in scientific literature. The report of the sub group of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, which is considering the continuing
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health concerns expressed by those affected by the incident, will be published by the Department of Health later this year. We are looking at our files to see if they contain any further environmental information on the incident that can be released and put on the Department's website.
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