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10 Nov 2003 : Column 163W—continued
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental Special Advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [126660]
Yvette Cooper: Between 29 May 2002 and 31 March 2003, Special Advisers in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have travelled abroad on four occasions, at an average cost of £3,770 per trip, visiting Brazil, South Africa, India and Denmark on official business. All travel by Special Advisers is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
Mr. Caton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of private landlords in England and their agents have participated in the voluntary tenancy deposit scheme. [137107]
10 Nov 2003 : Column 164W
Keith Hill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South on 22 October 2002, Official Report, column 564W.
Mr. Caton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions members of his Department have held with representatives of the Welsh Assembly Government on extending the voluntary tenancy deposit scheme to Wales. [137108]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not discussed with the Welsh Assembly extending the pilot Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Since it has been a voluntary scheme, it is for the Assembly to decide if it should wish to implement a similar scheme in Wales.
Mr. Caton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the voluntary tenancy deposit scheme in England. [137109]
Keith Hill: The University of York evaluated the pilot Tenancy Deposit Scheme. This was published in December 2002 in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister report "An Evaluation of the Pilot Tenancy Deposit Scheme".
Mr. Caton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what plans he has to introduce legislation to govern deposits made to landlords by tenants; [137110]
- (2) if he will introduce a statutory tenancy deposit scheme to (a) hold deposit moneys and (b) independently resolve disputes between landlord and tenant at the end of a tenancy. [137112]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to meet the Law Commission and stakeholders later this year, to discuss the possibility of legislating for the protection of tenancy moneys in connection with the Law Commission's work on tenure reform.
Mr. Caton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the extent to which private landlords unjustifiably withhold deposits paid by tenants. [137111]
Keith Hill: The Survey of English Housing has for several years asked tenants about what happened to the deposit for the tenancy they had left most recently. The survey has consistently reported that up to 20 per cent. of tenants considered that the withholding of their deposits, either in part or in full, had to some extent been unreasonable. These figures are, of course, based on tenant perception, and on any objective test, such as independent adjudication, a lower figure of unjustified withholding might be expected.