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25 Feb 2003 : Column 452W—continued
Greater London Assembly (Financial Assistance)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial assistance her Department gave to the Greater London Assembly in 2002; and for what projects. [95853]
25 Feb 2003 : Column 453W
Alun Michael: No financial assistance was given directly to the London Assembly by central Government Departments in 2002–03.
The London Assembly is part of the Greater London Authority (GLA). It is responsible for scrutinising and reviewing the Mayor's exercise of his statutory functions. It has particular power to investigate, and prepare reports on actions and decisions taken by the Mayor or any member of the Greater London Authority. The London Assembly's specific costs are part of the overall GLA budget which is proposed each year by the Mayor is subject to the Assembly's agreement.
The GLA grants from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2002–03 as reported on the RA02 form are as follows:
| GLA Grants | |
|---|---|
| Revenue Support Grant | 659.641 |
| Redistributed Non-Domestic Rate | 267.654 |
| General GLA Grant | 27.950 |
IT Contracts
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list IT
25 Feb 2003 : Column 454W
contracts in her Department and its predecessors above £50 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been. [99008]
Alun Michael: Defra has not let any new IT contracts with a whole-life cost above £50 million since it was established as a new Department in June 2001.
Information covering earlier periods, or for Defra's Executive Agencies and NDPBs, is not readily available and could be constructed retrospectively only at disproportionate cost.
Live Sheep Exports
Mr. Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live sheep were exported from Dover to continental Europe on 1 February 2003; when and where health certification was carried out in respect of the sheep; how many of the sheep were rejected as unfit for the intended journey, (a) during inspection for health certification purposes and (b) at Dover docks, and to where those sheep were taken, and what the address was of the final destination given on the route plan for each of the consignments. [98520]
Mr. Morley: The information requested is as follows:
| Sailing date | Total animals certified | Where consignments were certified | Animals rejected at certification | Animals rejected at Dover docks | Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 February | 1,260 | England | 0 | 0 | Germany |
The sheep on the above sailing were certified within 48 hours of export and were sent to approved slaughterhouses.
These figures relate to the numbers of sheep certified for export and are subject to revision and change.
Over 30 Months Scheme
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of the requirement to remove vertebral column from Over 30 Month cattle upon farmers rearing cattle in the West Country under the Beef Assurance Scheme; and if she will make a statement. [98357]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 24 February 2003]: The requirement that vertebral column be removed in licensed cutting plants has created difficulties for members of the Beef Assurance Scheme. I understand that two cutting plants in Devon and Cornwall which may be able to accommodate cattle reared under the scheme have now been licensed by the Food Standards Agency.
Rural Payments Agency
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 11 February 2003, Official Report, column 647W, if she will list the main items of property that the Rural Payments Agency lost through theft in 2001–02, together with the value of those items. [98129]
Margaret Beckett [holding answer 24 February 2003]: The Rural Payments Agency only came into existence on 16 October 2001. Losses through theft from then until end December 2002 are as follows:
16 October 2001—31 December 2002: Loss of five laptops at £2,000 each and six mobile phones at £50 each, making a total of £10,500.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Laptop Computers
Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many laptop computers were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; what their cost was; and if he will make a statement. [98702]
Mr. Leslie: The information requested on the use of laptop computers in each year since 1995 is not available centrally or in the form requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Since the establishment of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 29 May 2002 there have been four reported cases of stolen laptop computers, at a total cost of £6,038.
25 Feb 2003 : Column 455W
Cash Incentive Schemes
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a summary of the responses to the consultation on the removal of the requirement for local authorities to obtain consent to run a cash incentive scheme. [98530]
Mr. McNulty: A total of 26 responses, which were generally strongly supportive of the proposal, were received. A summary of the responses will be placed in the library of the House.
Deprivation
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what response his Office has made to the Greater London Enterprise Report on Developing New Approaches to the Measurement of Deprivation. [94522]
Mrs. Roche: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received parts of the Greater London Enterprise Report on Developing New Approaches to the Measurement of Deprivation as part of the consultation exercise on updating the Indices of Deprivation 2000. This report is currently being considered as part of the updating process.
Empty Homes
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many empty homes his Department had five years ago, by region; if he will establish an empty homes strategy within his Department; and if he will set a target for reduction in empty homes. [92922]
Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002. Therefore, we do not have information on empty homes from five years ago. The Fire Service College, an executive agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, currently has one vacant residential property, at the college site in Moreton-in-Marsh, which it envisages will be let shortly. The College's strategy is to ensure that residential property that is not required for staff use is held out for letting on short term tenancies. Its target is to ensure that it has no residential stock vacant for more than three months.
Housing
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what has been the ratio of population to (a) housing units and (b) bedspaces in each county of England in each year since 1997. [97407]
Mr. McNulty: This information is not available annually. Estimates of population per housing unit for 2001 will be possible later this year when figures on numbers of dwellings are published from the Census.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of new homes to be built in the UK will be transferred to the private renting sector; and what proportion will be built on brownfield sites. [98462]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested on the numbers of new homes available for private renting is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
25 Feb 2003 : Column 456W
In England, the target for the proportion of new housing on previously-developed land including through conversions of existing buildings is 60 per cent. by 2008. Latest available figures show that the percentage in 2000 was 60 per cent. and in 2001, 61 per cent.
Housing targets for other parts of the United Kingdom are a matter for the devolved Administration concerned.
Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
Mr. Battle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding Leeds city council has received from the neighbourhood renewal fund; when funds were received; what projects have been funded and by how much; and which organisations are responsible for (a) managing and (b) delivering each project. [96968]
Mrs. Roche: Details of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) allocations made to Leeds city council are in the following table.
The purpose of the NRF is to support the improvement of mainstream service delivery in deprived areas, contributing to the achievement of the Government's floor targets in the five neighbourhood renewal themes of education, health, worklessness, crime reduction, and housing and the environment. In partnership with the Local Strategic Partnership, Leeds city council has allocated NRF across these floor target areas as follows:
Allocation 2001–02: £4,197,791
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Education | 1,724,472 |
| Employment | 960,729 |
| Crime | 366,866 |
| Health | 0 |
| Housing and Environment | 383,160 |
| Other | 41,140 |
| Total | 3,476,367 |
Proposed spend 2002–03: £7,018,111 (including £721,424 carry over from 2001–02)
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Education | 2,245,690 |
| Employment | 963,440 |
| Crime | 1,511,170 |
| Health | 414,600 |
| Housing and Environment | 1,307,200 |
| Other | 701,000 |
| Total | (23)7,143,100 |
(23) Over commitment to allow for slippage
NRF is paid in fortnightly instalments with the Revenue Support Grant to local authorities. Payments commenced in June 2001.
However, local authorities account for NRF expenditure through NRF Statements of Use, which are submitted to Government Offices annually in October. Leeds city council's NRF Statement of Use for 2002–03 is available on the LSP's (the Leeds Initiative) website.
25 Feb 2003 : Column 457W
Details of NRF supported projects and activities for 2002–03, including those organisations responsible for delivery, are as follows:
| Floor Target | Project |
|---|---|
| Burglary Reduction | Anti-Social Behaviour |
| CASAC Target Hardening | |
| Leeds Watch Local CCTV Initiative | |
| Neighbourhood Wardens | |
| New Neighbourhood Schemes | |
| Youth Diversionary Initiatives | |
| Cross Cutting | Community Planning—Locality Coordinators |
| Data Mapping and Improved Information | |
| Environment Call Centre | |
| Leeds Mediation Services | |
| Neighbourhood Renewal Teams | |
| Education | City Learning Centres |
| Counselling Scheme | |
| Ethnic Minority Pupil Achievement (devolved) | |
| Ethnic Minority Pupil Achievement (retained) | |
| Getting Started—Nursery Nurses | |
| Integrated Children's Centres | |
| IT Access in Libraries | |
| Leeds Film Festival Children's Workshop | |
| Pupil Retention Grant (devolved) | |
| Pupil Retention Grant (retained) | |
| Study Support National (devolved) | |
| Study Support National (retained) | |
| Teaching Assistant Grant | |
| Teaching Assistant Grant (retained) | |
| Volunteer Reading Help | |
| Employment | Connexions Programme |
| Construction and Training Agency (LCATA) | |
| Job Guarantee Programme | |
| Leeds Development Agency | |
| Second Chance School | |
| South Leeds Family Learning Centre | |
| Health | Hamaara Healthy Living Centre |
| Increasing Exercise Opportunities—Mental Health | |
| Space for Sport and Arts | |
| Various Health Schemes | |
| Social Housing | Beeston Housing Strategy |
| Binyard Improvements | |
| Code of Standards Development Project | |
| Dog Fouling Initiatives | |
| Domestic Noise Nuisance Services (out of hours) | |
| Enhanced Street Cleansing Services | |
| Environment Task Force | |
| Extension of abandoned vehicle pilot | |
| Flyposting and anti graffiti strategy | |
| Home Maintenance Project | |
| Leeds House Condition Survey | |
| Streetscene |
25 Feb 2003 : Column 458W
- LCC—Community Safety Unit
LCC—Community Safety Unit
LCC—Community Safety Unit
LCC—Housing and Environmental Health Services
LCC—Social Services
LCC—Youth Service
LCC—Community Planning and Regeneration
Leeds Initiative
LCC—Community Planning and Regeneration
Community Mediation Services
LCC—Community Planning and Regeneration
Education Leeds
LCC—Childcare and Early Development Service
Education Leeds
Education Leeds
Education Leeds
LCC—Childcare and Early Development Service
LCC—Leisure Services
LCC—Leisure Services
Education Leeds
Education Leeds
Education Leeds
Education Leeds
Education Leeds
Education Leeds
Volunteer Reading Help
LCC—Community Planning and Regeneration
Leeds Construction and Training Agency
LCC—Dept. of Training
Leeds Development Agency
LCC—Dept. of Training
LCC—Dept. of Training
Hamaara Healthy Living Centre
LCC—Social Services
Education Leeds
East Leeds Primary Care Trust
- LCC—Contracting Services
LCC—Housing and Environmental Health Services
LCC—Leisure Services
LCC—Housing and Environmental Health Services
LCC—Highways and Transportation
LCC—Community Planning and Regeneration
LCC—Highways and Transportation
LCC—Community Planning and Regeneration
LCC—Housing and Environmental Health Services
LCC—Housing and Environmental Health Services
LCC—Contracting Services
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