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27 Feb 2003 : Column 721W—continued

New Homes (Milton Keynes)

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a map showing the area covered by the proposed building of new homes in the Milton Keynes area. [98356]

Mr. McNulty: The maps in "Sustainable communities: building for the future" and "Sustainable communities in the South East" indicate the general area covered by the study into the potential growth area around Milton Keynes/South Midlands. There is, at present, no map that shows the proposed location of any new homes in the Milton Keynes area. Further studies are required before such a map can be drawn up. Following publication of the Communities Plan we are supporting local partners in carrying out more detailed studies to inform the RPG alterations later this year. These will indicate strategic areas where development is proposed.

Public Bodies

Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) total budget and (b) departmental funding for (i) rent assessment panels, (ii) The Ordnance Survey, (iii) The Standards Board for England, (iv) The Housing Corporation, (v) Housing Action Trust, (vi) The Boundary Commission for England, (vii) The Boundary Commission for Wales, (viii) The Property

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Advisory Group, (ix) The Audit Commission, (x) English Partnerships, (xi) The Rent Service, (xii) the Advisory Panel on Standards for the Planning Inspectorate, (xiii) Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and (xiv) The Fire Service College in (A) 2000–01, (B) 2001–02, (C) 2002–03, (D) 2004–05 and (E) 2005–06. [94582]

Mr. Leslie: The figures requested for (ii) the Ordnance Survey, (iii) the Standards Board for England (which came into existence in April 2001) (iv) The Housing Corporation, (v) Housing Action Trusts, (ix) the Audit Commission, (x) English Partnerships, (xi) the Rent Service, (xiii) Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and (xiv) the Fire Service College, for 2000–01 and 2001–02 are published in their annual report and accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

For 2002–03 the figures are in the following table:

£

	(a) Total Budget	(b) Departmental Funding
(ii) the Ordnance Survey	(32)112,000,000	—
(iii) the Standards Board for England	7,900,000	7,900,000
(iv) the Housing Corporation	1,156,887,000	(34)1,158,936,000
(v) Housing Action Trusts	114,800,000	114,800,000
(ix) Audit Commission	(33)207,000,000	21,700,000
(x) English Partnerships	145,650,000	140,000,000
(xi) The Rent Service	42,500,000	42,500,000
(xiii) Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre	7,000,000	426,000
(xiv) Fire Service College	(32)19,000,000	550,000

⁽³²⁾ This includes amounts paid by Government for the provision of data and services.

⁽³³⁾ The Audit Commission's financial year is 1 November to 31 October, this figure is forecast to end October 2003.

⁽³⁴⁾ The excess in Departmental funding to total budget is due to an accrual difference.

Note:

Budgets for 2004–05 and 2005–06 are not yet available.

The (i) rent assessment panels, (vi) the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England, (vii) the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales, (viii) the Property Advisory Group, and (xii) the Advisory Panel on Standards for the Planning Inspectorate do not receive Government funding other than costs to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of sponsoring these bodies.

Publicity and Advertising

Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department

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spent on (i) publicity and (ii) advertising in each year from 1995–96 to 2000–03 (estimated); and if he will make a statement. [92231]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. Since then the estimated expenditure up until 31 March 2003 for publicity is £10.97 million of which £5.15 million is for advertising.

Figures for agencies and non-departmental bodies are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Right to Buy

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether mortgage brokers registered under the Mortgage Code Complaints Board will be permitted to give advice on the Right to Buy Scheme under the proposed changes implemented by the Deputy Prime Minister; and whether other financial institutions registered with the Financial Services Authority will be able to give similar advice. [97396]

Mr. McNulty: Yes. Mortgage lenders and Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB) registered mortgage brokers are permitted to give advice on the suitability of all mortgage loans, irrespective of whether they are for purchases under the Right to Buy scheme or otherwise. These arrangements are not affected by the changes proposed to the Right to Buy Scheme.

Sickness Absence

Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the rate of staff (a) absenteeism and (b) sickness was in his Department, its predecessors and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year from 1990–91 to 2002–03; what the target set is for his Department; and if he will make a statement. [93506]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established following machinery of Government changes in May 2002.

In respect of sickness absence, the most recent 'Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil service' was published by the Cabinet Office and announced by Ministerial Statement on 19 December 2002. This is available in House Libraries. This covered the calendar year 2001 for the Cabinet Office, the predecessor Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions and its executive agencies. Previous reports go back to 1996. Figures for 2002 will be announced in due course.

The executive non departmental public bodies are not staffed by civil servants, and the sickness absence rates for those are not collected centrally. All cases of absence are taken up and dealt with by line management. Separate information on absenteeism is not readily available. The Office will set a target for reducing sickness absence in the context of its current business planning round.

Social Housing

Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will identify those elements of the resources listed in Annex A of the paper, Sustainable Communities, that

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will provide funding for investment in (a) repairs and improvements to council housing, (b) repairs and improvements to housing owned by registered social landlords and (c) the provision of new homes for rent. [98159]

Mr. McNulty: From 2004–05 resources that were provided to local authorities for their Housing Investment Programme, and resources provided to the Housing Corporation will be put into a single regional housing pot. Final decisions on the allocation of resources will be made based on advice from the new Regional Housing Boards (RHBs).

The figures shown are those we used in building up the totals and may not be the final figures.

(a) Money for improvements to Council housing includes:

(i) The funding shown in the third line of the table for Arms Length Management Organisations (£1,994 million over the next three years);

(ii) A share of the housing investment programme (HIP) money that forms part of the totals in the first two lines of the table. In 2003–04 HIP amounts to £842 million. Only a proportion of this will be used to support improvements to Council housing. HIP is also used to fund improvements to private housing, and provision of new affordable housing. HIP resources go into the local authority single capital pot for use at the discretion of the LA. But on past trends about one third of HIP funding will be used to support council housing improvements. From 2004–05 this funding becomes part of the single regional housing pot.

(iii) In addition £685 million of new PFI credits were announced in Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. These are not included in the funds shown in Annex A.

(iv) The Major Repairs Allowance was introduced in 2001 and gives local authorities the funding required to maintain the condition of their stock. This is provided through the housing revenue account and does not appear in the figures in Annex A. It will total over £4 billion over the next three years.

(b) Funding for improvements to RSL housing

RSLs fund the vast majority of their repairs and improvements from rental income or by borrowing privately. But the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme provides for some £40 million next year to fund improvements. This funding will be included in the single regional housing pot from 2004–05.

(c) Funding for new homes to rent

The single regional housing pots shown in the first two lines of the table in Annex A include funding for the Housing Corporation for new affordable homes. In addition some of the HIP resources, and some of the funding in the transitional arrangements line, will be used for the provision of affordable homes by RSLs. In total we are providing some £5 billion over the next three years for affordable housing, though the precise figure allocated will depend on advice from the RHBs.

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Not all of this funding will support homes to rent—some will support low cost home ownership. Again the precise split will be subject to advice from the RHBs, but the majority will be invested in homes to rent.

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many days on average people were on the waiting list for social housing in (a) England and (b) each local authority defined as rural by region, who were (i) defined as in priority need and (ii) others, in each year since 1978. [98494]

Mr. McNulty: Information on length of time spent on waiting list for social housing is available from the Survey of English Housing for 2000–01 and 2001–02, but not for earlier years. (Information is not collected that identifies households that were classified as in priority need). In the table data for the two survey years has been combined in order to provide a larger sample size.

Average time waited to be allocated social housing accommodation: England 2001–01 and 2001–02

Type of local authority	Average length of time waited—days
Rural	426
Urban	370
All (England)	379

Source:

Survey of English Housing

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