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8 Apr 2003 : Column 243W—continued

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds there were in each year since 1992 at Royal Shrewsbury hospital. [107203]

Mr. Lammy: The information requested is shown in the table.

	Number of beds
1992	523
1993	523
1994	523
1995	523
1996	523
1997	523
1998	523
1999	523
2000	523
2001	523
2002	529
2003	540

Source:

Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals NHS Trust

Staff Numbers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed by his Department. [106289]

Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the response given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State (Mr. Alexander), Cabinet Office on 3 April 2003, Official Report, column 780W.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were employed by his Department in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [106967]

Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the response given to him by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 4 April 2003, Official Report, columns 891–92W.

8 Apr 2003 : Column 244W

Staff Union Duties

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002. [106773]

Mr. Lammy: The Department of Health, including its agencies, has 10 accredited full-time union representatives (100 per cent. of their duties), who may receive paid leave to undertake union activities.

In addition to facility time, a reasonable amount of paid time off for accredited representatives, to enable them to carry out trade union activities, may be given within a limit of 15 days per annum. An additional 10 days may be given to those elected or appointed to national union bodies such as group and national executive committees.

As all annual leave taken by staff is recorded and checked locally by business areas within the Department, there is no centrally held information available on the cost of paid leave taken by accredited representatives for trade union activities.

The Department does not hold any details of union duties undertaken by non-departmental public bodies staff.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Archaeological Investigations

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans his Department has to replace the present system of competitive tendering in developer-funded archaeological investigations. [107842]

Mr. McNulty: Planning Policy Guidance Note 16, "Archaeology and Planning", advises that, where archaeological remains may be affected by development proposals, suitable archaeological investigations should be arranged by the prospective developer. In its policy statement on the future of the historic environment, "The Historic Environment: A Force for Our Future", the Government encourage the growth in the number of organisations competing for projects to record archaeological sites and to advise on the potential impact of development proposals. It also looks to English Heritage to ensure that the necessary high standards are maintained in the examination and recording of sites. It is for local planning authorities and prospective developers in individual cases to secure the best means for the conservation of archaeological remains likely to be affected by development proposals.

Building Regulations (Thermal Insulation)

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to clarify the advice contained in Annex C paragraphs C37/40/44/49/50 of the Planning Policy Guidance in respect of replacement of fenestration in listed buildings to take account of the self certification provisions within the April 2002 revision to Building Regulations relating to thermal insulation; and if he will make a statement. [105840]

8 Apr 2003 : Column 245W

Mr. McNulty: English Heritage has produced an interim guidance note on the considerations that should be taken into account in the implementation of the Building Regulations Approved Document Part L, "Conservation of Fuel and Power", as it affects historic buildings.

In line with the commitment in the Planning Statement, "Sustainable Communities: Delivering Through Planning", the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to review existing planning policy guidance, including that contained in Planning Policy Guidance 15, "Planning and the Historic Environment". The review will enable us to consider regulatory and other changes affecting the historic environment that have been introduced since PPG 15 was issued in September 1994 and to consider the extent to which these should be reflected in updated guidance. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aims to publish draft revised guidance later this year for public consultation and this will provide the opportunity for representations to be made.

Disabled Facilities Grants (Gloucestershire)

Diana Organ: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much of the disabled facilities grants awarded to district and city councils in Gloucestershire was spent by each in each year since 1998. [107707]

Mr. McNulty: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 13 February 2003, Official Report, column 971W.

Home Ownership (Buckingham)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the level of home ownership in the Buckingham constituency in 2002. [107781]

Mr. McNulty: The 2001 Census reports that 76 per cent. of households in Aylesbury Vale Local Authority are owner occupied. Aylesbury Vale Local Authority comprises the entire Parliamentary constituency of Buckingham, and part of Aylesbury.

Social Landlords (Eviction Orders)

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made in meeting the commitment made by his Department in April 2002 to improve the collection of data concerning the number of possession orders and evictions by social landlords; and what discussions have taken place with the Lord Chancellor's Department about this issue. [106921]

Mr. McNulty: Discussions between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Court Service are continuing and we remain committed to finding ways of achieving a better breakdown of the data currently collected on the number of possession actions and evictions by social landlords. Enhancing the data will enable us to monitor trends on possession actions and improve our understanding of the causes of homelessness.

8 Apr 2003 : Column 246W

Urban Renewal

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he is taking to promote urban renewal. [107149]

Mr. McNulty: The Government's policies for delivering an urban renaissance were set out in the Urban White Paper, "Our Towns and Our Cities: the Future", published in November 2000. This provides the framework within which Government policies and programmes affecting urban areas in England are co-ordinated.

In February 2003, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister launched "Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future"—a £22 billion action programme to improve housing and communities, including over £5 billion to regenerate deprived areas. This programme builds on the policies and actions in the Urban White Paper and the Rural White Paper, "Our Countryside: the Future".

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is investing over £4 billion through the Neighbourhood Renewal National Strategy Action Plan to tackle deprivation, and extend prosperity and opportunity to the poorest neighbourhoods in the country. This money is used to encourage the better targeting of services and mainstream public funds to the most deprived areas and to provide evidence of best practice through pathfinder programmes.

Wind Farms

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish a map showing (a) present and (b) projected wind farms in England. [106817]

Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Youth Homelessness

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to publish the research commissioned by his Department in 1999 into youth homelessness as part of the Homeless Action Partnership (a) to provide a reliable estimate of the number of young people affected by various types of homelessness and (b) to provide a tool kit for local authorities to produce accurate figures locally; and how much has been spent on each of these pieces of research. [103133]

Mrs. Roche: Two research projects were commissioned in 1999 to assist the Youth Homelessness Action Partnership. The first looked at the effectiveness of a range of initiative working with young people to prevent homelessness. Publication of a good practice guide and a research summary is planned for late spring 2003.

The second study, to investigate methods of estimating numbers of young homeless people and to provide a local authority toolkit, has proved much more problematic because of the difficulties in achieving reliable estimates. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans, therefore, to publish this work.

The costs of the work were £78,918 and £67,517 respectively.

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