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Fire Service College

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Fire Service College provides services to brigades in Scotland [127208]

Mr. Raynsford: Yes. The Fire Service College at Moreton in Marsh has unique facilities that are used to provide training for fire brigades across the UK and world-wide.

Somali Community

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on local authority support for Somali community organisations; and what advice his Department gives to local authorities in respect of applications for funding. [127392]

Mr. Raynsford: Local authority support for Somali community organisations is a matter for individual local authorities. The local government finance system takes into account the costs local authorities face in educating children who need additional support in English or who come from low-achieving ethnic backgrounds. There is also a top-up to reflect the cost of translation services.

Home Improvements (VAT)

Mr. Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with (a) other Government Departments, (b) housing bodies and (c) other interested bodies on reducing VAT on home improvements for poor housing; and if he will make a statement. [126244]

Keith Hill: The Government will continue to consider the use of economic instruments to support regeneration and encourage brownfield development. Discussions with other Government Departments, housing bodies and other interested bodies touch on a wide variety of issues, including possible options for encouraging improvements to poor housing.

Homelessness

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much it cost per week on average to house temporarily a homeless family in priority need in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was of housing such families. [124694]

Yvette Cooper: Information annually reported to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by local authorities identifies expenditure incurred in respect of bed and breakfast, private sector leasing and all other forms of temporary accommodation used by homeless households. This includes associated costs, such as the provision of furniture, property maintenance/refurbishment, rent guarantees, nomination fees and administrative costs, chargeable to the general fund services revenue account, along with any specific capital charges. Latest available information is for 2001–02, when it is estimated that gross expenditure on homelessness in England amounted to some £436.0 million. Net total costs—after taking into account rents received directly from tenants, and housing benefit payments such as rent allowance—amounted to £190.75 million. In addition, net expenditure on homelessness funded from the housing

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revenue account—for example where the local authority's own vacant stock is used on a temporary basis—was estimated at £21.6 million.

The return does not seek corresponding information on average unit costs but, from estimates of household-days spent in temporary accommodation derived from quarterly statistical returns, it is estimated that the overall average gross cost per household during 2001–02, including HRA-funded expenditure, was some £156 per week. The average net cost per household, excluding housing benefit/rent allowances and rent payments met directly by tenants, was £73 per week.

Housing Stock

Mr. Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received on (a) improving poor housing stock and (b) tackling problems of empty homes through financial grants; and if he will make a statement. [126245]

Keith Hill: The Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002, which took effect on 18 July 2002, gave local authorities new and wide ranging powers to provide financial assistance, including by way of grant, for these purposes. The Government consulted a wide range of stakeholders before introducing these new powers and there was overwhelming support for these changes.

Mr. Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research he has commissioned to examine whether financial assistance would help to tackle poor housing stock and empty homes in the Pathfinder housing renewal areas; and if he will make a statement. [126246]

Keith Hill: Identification of the nine market renewal pathfinder areas and the policy approach on low demand and abandonment set out in "Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future" has been underpinned by a range of data available to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, in particular Housing Investment Programme data and other published evidence including regional and local level data published by CURS at the University of Birmingham on changing demand.

A key remit of the pathfinders is to restructure the housing markets in their areas so that they are returned to places where people want to live and stay. We are clear that this is not something that can be left to the market alone to resolve. That route offers a prospect of years of neglect that will endanger economic resurgence and cause untold suffering for the communities affected. Turning round these areas will require long-term commitment. We have already signalled the Government's commitment through the creation of a £500 million market renewal fund for investment in the pathfinder areas over the next three years. Tackling poor housing stock and empty homes will be a crucial part of the pathfinders work.

Illegal Travellers

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent meetings he has had with (a) the police and (b) ministerial colleagues on the cost to local authorities

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of dealing with illegal travellers; what plans he has to assist local authorities; and if he will make a statement. [125974]

Yvette Cooper: Ministers in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have not recently met with the police or with other ministerial colleagues to specifically discuss costs to local authorities in removing illegal Gypsy and Traveller camps.

However, in drafting the new joint guide on managing unauthorised camping, officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in conjunction with the Home Office, has met and consulted with various stakeholders including the Association of Chief Police Officers, and the Local Government Association. Costs to local authorities in removing illegal encampments were discussed among other issues.

The new joint guide will be published and made available for use by local authorities and police services by the end of the summer.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money each English local authority has spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available on (a) the results of flytipping and (b) the cost of the (i) administration involved in dealing with travellers and (ii) clearing up after they have moved on; and if he will make a statement. [125983]

Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.

These data are not collected centrally so the information is not available in the format requested.

The Environment Agency has estimated that the total cost of clearing fly tipping by all stakeholders is 100 million. ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns) also recently completed a survey, where costs were assessed on a different basis. The results of this survey suggested an average spend on clearing fly tipping for each local authority in 2002 of 54,258. No estimates are available, however, to indicate the costs associated with clearing incidents caused by particular individuals or groups of individuals.

A clause in the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill currently before Parliament will, if successful, require local authorities and the Agency to submit annual data returns to Defra on the amounts and type of illegally dumped waste they deal with. These measures are expected to come into effect in the summer of 2004 and will mean, for the first time, that national data on fly tipping levels will be available.

Climate Change

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the arrangements for regional co-ordination of the UK position in international climate change negotiations. [127861]

Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.

International climate change negotiations are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Secretary of State writes to the Devolved Administrations, ahead of each Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to set out the key issues for the negotiations. Officials from the Devolved

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Administrations have the opportunity to input to the preparations for these and other technical negotiations, and have been in the UK delegation attending them.

Islington Borough Council

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what monitoring is being undertaken by his Department's representatives of the financial performance of the Islington borough council; and what assessment he has made of the accounting procedures at the council. [127395]

Mr. Raynsford: As part of the Government's engagement policy with poorly performing authorities a Government monitoring board has been set up to advise Ministers of Islington's progress against its agreed recovery plan, including targets and milestones on financial performance.

However, the assessment of the council's performance is a matter for the auditor, not the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Although Islington received an unqualified audit opinion on the accounts for 2001–02, a number of improvement areas have been identified in the recovery plan, and the district auditor has drawn up an audit plan for 2003–04, which reflects the areas requiring improvement and the priorities in the recovery plan.

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