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31 Mar 2003 : Column 506W—continued

Small Businesses

Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of UK companies employ 15 or fewer employees; and what proportion of the UK workforce such establishments employ. [105819]

Nigel Griffiths: Data for businesses with 15 or fewer employees is not available. However, published figures do cover the size-classes 0–9 employees and 10–19 employees.

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At the start of 2001 there were about 3.5 million businesses with 0.9 employees and they employed a little over 6.5 million people. This represents nearly 95 per cent. of the UK business population and 29 per cent. of UK employment.

About 3.67 million businesses had 0–19 employees. They employed 8.1 million people. This represents nearly 98 per cent. of the UK business population and 36 per cent. of UK employment. The 10–19 size-class accounted for an extra 112,000 businesses and 1.57 million employment.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Broadband

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he is taking to maximise broadband connections to new housing developments. [105308]

Mr. McNulty: On 14 March the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published a public consultation document entitled "The Building Regulations and Electronic Communications Services (Broadband) ¹ ". The aim of this consultation is to assess whether the demand for broadband services is being restricted by the inconvenience people may experience when retrospectively installing broadband services in existing premises, and whether this should be addressed through the Building Regulations, by Government supported voluntary means or not at all. The consultation closes on 13 June 2003.

¹ Available at http://www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/consult/brecs/index.htm

Council House Rents (East Riding)

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of unpaid council house rents in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each year since 1997. [105279]

Mr. McNulty: The information requested is tabled.

East Riding Of YorkshireLocal authority housing arrears (unaudited figures)(£000s)

Date	Current tenants	Formertenants	Total
31 March 1997	920	88	1,008
31 March 1998	908	263	1,171
31 March 1999	634	305	938
31 March 2000	842	319	1,161
31 March 2001	1,198	311	1,509
31 March 2002	940	503	1,443

Source:Second housing subsidies and grants form

Development Certificates

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what legal duties Swale borough council has when issuing a lawful development certificate to (a) consult parish councils and (b) inform elected council members. [105225]

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Mr. McNulty: There is no statutory requirement on local planning authorities to consult parish councils when issuing lawful development certificates. The local planning authority may, however, seek evidence from the parish council if there is reason to believe that they possess relevant information about a specific lawful development certificate application. Lawful development certificate applications and decisions are entered in the local planning authority's planning register in accordance with section 69 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The planning register is available for inspection by the public, including members of parish councils and elected council members.

Homelessness

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless households in the constituency of Buckingham have been resident in bed and breakfast accommodation in 2002; and what percentage of these claimed social security benefits in 2002. [106022]

Mr. McNulty: Information reported by Aylesbury Vale District Council on the number of homeless households resident in bed and breakfast hotels under statutory homelessness provisions at the end of each quarter in 2002 is given as follows. This information relates to households in the local authority area. Aylesbury Vale DC comprises the entire parliamentary constituency of Buckingham, and part of Aylesbury. The number of these households claiming, or in receipt of, social security benefits is not collected centrally.

Homeless households in bed and breakfast accommodation (including shared facility annexes): Aylesbury Vale DC

2002	Number
31 March	1
30 June	4
30 September	4
31 December	0

Note:

Includes households accommodated pending completion of inquiries by the local authority.

Source:

ODPM P1(E) housing returns (quarterly).

Local Authority Housing

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council houses there are in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) district or borough council area. [106024]

Mr. McNulty: The information is as follows:

(a) The number of council houses broken down by parliamentary constituency is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

(b) Information on the number of council houses in England broken down by local authority area has been placed in the Library of the House.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures the Department has taken to publicise public meetings arising from the public consultation into referendums for regional assemblies. [105197]

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Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister invited responses by post and email from individuals and organisations to our soundings exercise on the level of interest in each English region outside London in holding a referendum about establishing an elected regional assembly. We advised representative bodies that we would attach additional weight to responses which had been framed in response to wide consultation, but left it to them to decide on how best to consult their members, constituents or the general public in their area. No public meetings were held by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many responses he has received to the consultation on a referendum for an elected regional assembly for Yorkshire and the Humber. [105289]

Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asked for responses by 3 March on its soundings exercise about the level of interest in each English region in holding a referendum about an elected regional assembly. Approximately 5,000 responses have been received so far, amongst which we have identified just over 400 from Yorkshire and the Humber.

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many responses he has received from the north-west in the recent soundings consultation on directly elected regional assemblies; and if he will make a statement. [105444]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asked for responses by 3 March 2003 on its soundings exercise about the level of interest in each English region in holding a referendum about an elected regional assembly. Approximately 5,000 responses have been received so far, among which we have identified just under 2000 from the north-west.

Decisions will be announced after the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill has received Royal Assent.

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what EU funding is spent by regional assemblies. [105524]

Mr. Raynsford: None.

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what civil service support is available to regional assemblies. [105525]

Mr. Raynsford: Meeting room space in government offices has occasionally been provided. But the voluntary regional assemblies are freestanding bodies that do not have civil service support.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the responses he has received to his proposals for referendums on regional assemblies. [106015]

Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asked for responses by 3 March 2003 on its soundings exercise about the level of regional interest in each English region in holding a referendum about an elected regional assembly. So far the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received approximately

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5,000 responses. We will announce our decisions after the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill has received Royal Assent.

South West Area Multi-Modal Study

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role the South West Regional Assembly can play in revising the report of the South West Area Multi-Modal Study. [105518]

Mr. Raynsford: As Regional Planning Body, the South West Regional Assembly has reported to the Government with its conclusions and recommendations relating to the study. The final decision rests with Government.

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