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Secondments

Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many civil servants have been seconded from his Department to (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, broken down by (i) grade of civil servants seconded, (ii) location and (iii) dates of secondments in each year since 1997–98. [108096]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The following table shows the information requested.

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		Start		End
Grade	Organisation	Year	Month	Year	Month
England
G7	NGO	2002	December	2005	December
G7	Other	2002	July	2003	July
G7	Other	2002	November	2004	October
SEO	Other	2002	July	2004	June
HEO	Other	2002	July	2003	May
EO	Other	2002	August	2004	August
	International
G7	Other	2002	October	2006	October
G7	Other	2002	August	2004	February
G7	Other	2002	August	2004	February
SIO	Other	2003	February	2003	August
HEO	Other	2002	September	2003	5 September
EO	Other	2002	September	2004	March

Information for Government Offices is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Shared Ownership Homes

Helen Southworth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he will take to increase the number of shared ownership homes in areas of (a) high housing demand and (b) high housing cost in the north-west. [109580]

Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recognises that shared ownership has an important role to play in areas of high housing demand and cost. As announced in "Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future" on 5 February 2003, we have increased the funds available for housing to around £1.5 billion in 2003–04 through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme (ADP), providing homes for both rent and low cost home ownership. The funding includes £300 million for the Challenge Fund to tackle issues of high demand areas within London and the wider south-east of England.

Within the north-west region, over £9 million from the ADP has been approved for shared ownership schemes in 2003–04. As with all approvals, these are based on the regional priorities set within the regional housing statements jointly produced by the Government Offices and Housing Corporation regional offices in consultation with local partners and stakeholders.

From 2004–05, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is strengthening the role of the regions to ensure that housing investment is targeted more effectively on local and regional investment priorities. Regional housing boards will advise on the best use of resources to support identified priorities in regional housing strategies.

Helen Southworth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he will take to ensure that shared ownership homes continue to provide low cost ownership options for subsequent owners. [109582]

Mr. McNulty: Some restrictions on a shared owner's ability to purchase 100 per cent. equity in their home already exist in rural areas to ensure that the property remains affordable for local people. In addition, housing associations have discretion in certain circumstances to restrict the purchase of further shares

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in shared ownership properties provided under the Housing Corporation's Challenge Fund for key workers.

Irrespective of any restrictions, the proceeds from the sale of shared ownership properties and the purchase of further shares by shared owners are recycled by housing associations to help others in priority housing need.

The Home Ownership Task Force, announced in "Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future" on 5 February 2003, and launched on 18 March 2003, is looking at the schemes currently available to potential homeowners on low or modest incomes and identifying the most effective ways of promoting sustainable homeownership. The task force's terms of reference include shared ownership. Their report is expected in the autumn.

Sickness Absence

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Department were on long term sick leave in each of the last five years. [109256]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 27 January 2003, Official Report, column 629W.

Sustainable Communities Fund

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding from the Sustainable Communities Fund will be made available to projects that owing to their nature do not have clearly defined financial returns. [108999]

Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects all of the funding allocated in the Sustainable Communities Plan to provide good value for money. In some cases the benefits that will be delivered can be valued in financial returns. In others the benefits cannot be measured in that way, but this does not mean that they are any less valuable. No distinction was made between benefits that can be valued in financial terms and other benefits in allocating funding to deliver sustainable communities.

Technical Advisory Bodies

Sue Doughty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding his Department allocated in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003 to the regional technical advisory bodies in the (i) South East, (ii) South West, (iii) North East, (iv) North West, (v) East Midlands, (vi) West Midlands, (vii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (viii) East of England Region. [110220]

Mr. McNulty: The Regional Technical Advisory Bodies on waste (RTABs) are funded by their constituent authorities. In addition, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has provided the following ad hoc funding to assist RTABs in the preparation of their regional waste strategies.

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	£
2001–02
North East	23,960
2002–03
South East	25,000
East Midlands	26,610
West Midlands	825

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also has a request for £25,000 before it from the South West RTAB.

Telecommunications/Broadband Services

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what bilateral meetings his Department has had with (a) the Valuations Office and (b) the Department of Trade and Industry with regard to the impact of rateable value taxation on telecommunication companies. [107022]

Mr. Leslie: Officials of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as a matter of course, discuss rating issues with the Valuation Office Agency and the Department of Trade and Industry, and these discussions do include representations made by various ratepayers, or groups of ratepayers including the telecommunications industry.

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the reasons why telecommunication rateable values are (a) calculated on a system of network revenue for BT and (b) based on network assets for other fixed line telecommunication companies. [107023]

Mr. Leslie: All telecommunication network rateable values are calculated in accordance with the definition of rateable value contained in schedule 6 of the local Government Finance Act 1988. The choice of valuation methodology which is not defined, depends on the circumstances of each case and can be challenged on appeal against the assessment.

The choice of valuation method depends on the evidence available and reliability of the evidence in each case but all rating valuation methods seek to determine the same standard of rateable value as defined in schedule 6.

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his forecast for the next financial year of rateable value taxation receipts from (a) BT, (b) other fixed line telecommunications operators, (c) cable TV operators, (d) cellular and wireless network operators and (e) broadcasters. [107024]

Mr. Leslie: No forecast is made centrally of the amounts of rates to be paid by individual companies. Each company will be separately billed in respect of each property it occupies which is shown on a rating list.

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his assessment of the impact of rateable value taxation on (a) alternative telecommunication companies and (b) the level of investment in new broadband infrastructure. [107025]

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Mr. Leslie: No assessment has been made. However, the Government, in their response last month to the Broadband Stakeholders Group second annual report, undertook to review the business rating system as it applies to communications infrastructure.

Telephones

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) mobile telephones and (b) car telephones were held by (i) his Department, (ii) his Department's agencies and (iii) his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997. [104178]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) mobile telephones and (b) car telephones were recorded as (i) lost or (ii) stolen by (A) his Department, (B) his Department's agencies and (C) his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997; how many were reported to the police in each case; how many resulted in an insurance claim; and what the outcome was in each case. [104185]

Mr. Leslie: Lost phones are dealt with as a local matter by the holding group and no central records are readily available to answer the question. It is the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's general policy, not to take insurance cover, in line with Government Accounting recommendations.

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