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14 Oct 2003 : Column 176W—continued
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Approved Development Programme Funding
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 17 September (129309), if he
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will give his reasons as to why Approved Development Programme funding is not available for local authorities. [131617]
Keith Hill: The Approved Development Programme is the main source of public subsidy supporting the development of social and keyworker housing by registered social landlords (RSLs). Resources for the Programme are limited and not all RSLs are successful in obtaining a share.
Local authorities have an enhanced strategic housing role and they have access to revenue and capital resources separate from the Approved Development Programme to address local housing needs.
Consultation Documents
John Barrett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the consultation documents issued by his Department in each of the last four years; what the cost was of producing each of these; how many documents were issued in each consultation; and how many responses were received in each consultation. [124578]
Yvette Cooper: The Government recommend that policy development should be done in close consultation with stakeholders. Formal consultation documents are one part of this process, which can also include:
- Stakeholder meetings
Listening events/public meetings
Web forums
Public surveys
Focus groups
Regional events
Free-phone and freepost surveys and events
Targeted leaflet campaigns
Road shows and exhibitions.
Criminal Records Bureau (Fees)
Mr. Bailey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the financial impact of recent Criminal Records Bureau fee increases on education and social care budgets in local government. [131818]
Mr. Raynsford: Responsibility for paying the fee for a criminal record Disclosure rests with the individual applicant, although it is open to the employer to reimburse the cost. A Regulatory Impact Assessment, which assesses the impact of the fee increase across all sectors, is available in the Library of the House.
It has always been the intention that the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) should be self-financed by means of the charges that it makes of those using the service, and that the cost of the service should not be a drain on the Exchequer. That remains the objective.
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However, in the short term, the costs of the CRB will continue to be met by a combination of fee receipts and contributions from the Home Office (HO), the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). In 2003–04 the HO will contribute £4 million and DH and DfES a further £7.4 million each.
Empty Housing
Mr. Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which 20 local authority areas have the highest percentage of empty housing; and if he will make a statement. [131413]
Keith Hill: Information relating to the number of empty housing is reported annually by local authorities on their Housing Investment Programme returns. The latest available data for the 20 local authority areas that have the highest percentage of empty housing are reported at 1 April 2002 and contained in the following table.
| Vacants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local authority | Region | Total dwelling stock | Total | As percentage of stock |
| South Hams | SW | 40,600 | 4,900 | 12 |
| Burnley | NW | 40,600 | 3,400 | 8 |
| Kingston upon Hull | YH | 115,200 | 8,800 | 8 |
| Hastings | SE | 40,800 | 3,400 | 8 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | NW | 58,400 | 4,000 | 7 |
| Hyndburn | NW | 35,700 | 2,500 | 7 |
| Liverpool | NW | 206,500 | 15,400 | 7 |
| Manchester | NW | 194,900 | 13,700 | 7 |
| Salford | NW | 100,800 | 6,800 | 7 |
| Richmondshire | YH | 20,700 | 1,500 | 7 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | L | 88,300 | 6,300 | 7 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | NE | 120,700 | 7,300 | 6 |
| Wear Valley | NE | 28,500 | 1,700 | 6 |
| Preston | NW | 57,200 | 3,500 | 6 |
| Calderdale | YH | 88,400 | 5,400 | 6 |
| Scarborough | YH | 52,400 | 3,300 | 6 |
| West Lindsey | EM | 35,900 | 2,200 | 6 |
| Great Yarmouth | E | 43,600 | 2,700 | 6 |
| Tendring | E | 64,200 | 3,800 | 6 |
| Shepway | SE | 52,100 | 3,400 | 6 |
Note:
Figures rounded to nearest hundred.
Source:
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister HIP Returns.
Departmental Advertising
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total expenditure on advertising by the Department was in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and what the level of planned expenditure is for (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05. [114430]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The total expenditure on advertising by the Office in (b) 2002–03 was 3,346,943. The majority of this advertising spend was on the Fire Safety Campaign. The level of planned expenditure for (i) 2003–04 is £3 million; and for (ii) 2004–05 is £3.3 million. The majority of this advertising spend will also be on the ongoing Fire Safety campaign.
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Fire Service Pensions
Mr. Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to reform fire service pensions in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [126413]
Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced in the White Paper "Our Fire and Rescue Service", published on 30 June, our plans for changes to the pension arrangements for firelighters. As a first step, on 17 July a document, for consultation, detailing our proposals to amend the existing Firefighters' Pension Scheme was published.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is also planning to introduce a new scheme more suited to the service of the future as well as pension arrangements for retained firefighters. We will consult fully on our proposals in due course.
Gross Credit Approvals
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his Department's expenditure limits for total gross credit approvals are for the 2003–04 financial year; and of those sums how much (a) has been committed, (b) is planned to be committed and (c) remains uncommitted. [126122]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's budget for credit approvals in 2003–04 is £1,227,062,000. Of this (a) £1,221,462,000 has been committed; (b) £5,600,000 is currently planned to be committed; and (c) none remains uncommitted.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportions of his Department's expenditure limits for total gross credit approvals for financial year 2002–03 were unused in that year. [126123]
Yvette Cooper: Six per cent. of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's budget for gross credit approvals in 2002–03 remained unused at the end of the financial year although end year flexibility arrangements allow unspent budgets to be carried forward from one year to the next.
Homeless People
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless families there are in the UK. [129451]
Yvette Cooper: Information on local authorities' activities under homelessness provisions in England is published in a quarterly Statistical Release, "Statutory Homelessness: England". Table 3 of the Statistical Release presents a summary of those households accepted as unintentionally homeless and in priority need under the homelessness provisions of the 1996 Housing Act. Tables 6 and 7 summarise the number of homeless households in accommodation arranged by local authorities on the last day of the quarter.
Copies of the Statistical Release are available in the Library of the House and the latest edition, published on 10 September, presents statistics up to and including the second quarter of 2003. In the period April to June 2003, local authorities accepted 36,230 households as homelessness, and as at 30 June 2003 there were 93,480
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households in accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelessness provisions of Housing Acts.
For information about other parts of the United Kingdom, I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The March 2002 report, 'More than a roof', set out the Government's approach to tackling and preventing homelessness. Specific measures included investment of £125 million in 2002–03 to support local authorities and voluntary agencies working with them to support new approaches to tackling and preventing homelessness. The Homelessness Directorate within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has a revenue budget of £70 million and a £23.5 million capital budget for 2003–04. These resources will help to support the Government's commitment that by March 2004 no homeless family with children should be placed in a bed and breakfast hotel other than in an emergency, and even then for no more than six weeks.
Funding will also support new approaches that help people tackle the problems that are making and keeping them homeless and help to sustain the Prime Minister's target to reduce rough sleeping by two thirds of 1998 levels.
While the latest quarterly statistics show increases in homelessness acceptances and the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation, there has been a significant reduction in the number of homeless families with children placed in bed and breakfast accommodation. The number of such families has fallen by 22 per cent. over the last quarter and 44 per cent. compared with a year ago. In addition, the latest rough sleeping figures for England, also published on 10 September, estimate that 504 people were sleeping rough on any one night—the lowest ever recorded level.
The rising trend in homelessness is the result of numerous complex factors, many of which are outlined in "More than a roof". In addition, the Priority Needs Order has extended the criteria by which people are assessed to have a priority need if they are homeless.
The Homelessness Act 2002 placed a duty on local authorities to have a strategy in place by the end of July 2003 to tackle and prevent homelessness, based on a review of homelessness in their district. While the number of homelessness acceptances is likely to continue to increase in the short term, improved housing supply and increased investment in prevention should lead to reductions in the longer term.
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