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11 Nov 2003 : Column 256W—continued

Regional Assemblies

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set a minimum threshold for turnout in the proposed regional assembly referendums below which the status quo would continue. [137505]

Mr. Raynsford: No.

11 Nov 2003 : Column 257W

Mortgage Lending

Mr. Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) of 8 January 2003, Official Report, columns 271–72W, on new mortgage lending, what the figures are for the most recent available months. [137375]

Keith Hill: The information is as follows.

Variable/Fixed rate lending

The estimated percentages of remortgages or further loans taken out in each of the past 12 months with an initial interest rate that was (a) variable and (b) fixed are shown in the following table. Also included, for comparison purposes, are the equivalent figures for new mortgages.

	New mortgages for housepurchase		Remortgages or furtherloans
	Variable	Fixed	Variable	Fixed
2002
October	77.3	22.7	92.5	7.5
November	71.0	29.0	89.8	10.2
December	80.7	19.3	94.4	5.6
2003
January	64.5	35.5	87.3	12.7
February	62.8	37.2	87.2	12.8
March	57.3	42.7	82.1	17.9
April	55.4	44.6	80.1	19.9
May	51.2	48.8	74.5	25.5
June	46.2	53.8	76.0	24.0
July	41.4	58.6	69.4	30.6
August	37.9	62.1	65.0	35.0
September	42.0	58.0	65.9	34.1

Source:

ODPM, Survey of Mortgage Lenders

It should be noted that loans taken out at an initial fixed rate of interest are likely to revert to a variable rate of interest after a fixed period of time, unless of course the borrower then chooses to remortgage (again) at another fixed rate of interest.

11 Nov 2003 : Column 258W

New mortgage lending, October 2002 to September 2003

Gross mortgage lending on a not seasonally-adjusted basis over the most recent 12-month period, October 2002 to September 2003, is as follows:

£ million

	Mortgage lending for house purchase	Other newmortgage lending
2002
October	11,336	11,143
November	10,346	11,137
December	7,125	9,466
2003
January	6,372	9,763
February	7,368	10,238
March	9,382	13,093
April	10,020	13,539
May	11,000	12,811
June	13,130	13,580
July	14,650	14,877
August	14,420	14,316
September	16,294	16,269
Total	131,443	150,232

Note:

Other new mortgage lending includes remortgage lending

Source:

Bank of England

Planning Appeals

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning appeals are with the (a) Planning Inspectorate and (b) Secretary of State; and how many of each have been outstanding for (i) three months, (ii) six months, (iii) one year and (iv) more than one year. [136897]

Keith Hill: The following table shows the numbers of planning appeals: (a) with the Planning Inspectorate for decision and (b) with the First Secretary of State for decision (that is those recovered appeals and non-transferable appeals for which the Inspector's report has been received).

	Transferred appealswith PINS	Recovered appealswith PINS	The Secretary of State appeals with ODPM
Total number of appeals	11,238	182	61
Outstanding for three months	3,106	47	9
Further cases outstanding for six months	1,163	37	7
Further cases outstanding for a year or more	616	22	4

Property Prices

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average property price was in the (a) North East, (b) North West, (c) Yorkshire and Humber, (d) East Midlands, (e) West Midlands and (f) East of England Government Office Region in each financial year since 1995–96. [138148]

Keith Hill: Average property prices in each of the English regions from financial year 1996–97 to financial year 2002–03 are tabled as follows:

£

Region	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
East	72,969	80,531	87,946	98,452	113,016	128,211	155,229
East Midlands	57, 657	61,761	65,282	71,531	77,874	87,402	106,828
London	109,785	126,394	139,764	168,479	195,169	208,623	240,060
North East	52,092	54,578	57,097	60,132	62,208	67,495	78,645
North West	55,555	59,366	62,149	67,678	71,442	78,784	90,934
South East	88,486	97,817	109,007	124,797	145,265	160,243	187,791
South West	70,480	77,040	83,064	94,382	108,503	123,495	151,261
West Midlands	62,664	67,549	71,819	78,904	86,189	97,134	115,484
Yorkshire and The Humber	55,651	58,593	60,430	65,317	69,116	75,709	90,101
England	74,608	82,254	88,878	101,605	112,280	123,986	145,710

Note:

1996 is the first year for which Land Registry data are available. Consequently comparable figures for the financial year 1995–96 are not available.

Source:

Land Registry

11 Nov 2003 : Column 259W

Regional Government

Mr. Atkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total budget for the Elected Regional Assembly Information Campaign was, broken down by main budget headings. [137153]

Mr. Raynsford: The information campaign is designed to inform members of the public about elected regional assemblies and referendums. The costs of the launch are estimated at £25,000. These costs included accommodation, venue hire, refreshments and transport.

Material produced for the launch of the campaign, such as exhibition stands and leaflets will continue to be used throughout the information campaign in the three northern regions. The estimated total cost for the "information campaign" for this financial year are expected to be £500,000.

Regional Housing Policies

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what rural proofing has been undertaken of the new regional housing policies. [137565]

Keith Hill: The Countryside Agency has been involved in the production of Regional Housing Strategies in all regions outside London. The agency is producing a checklist for rural proofing Regional Housing Strategies that will be used in developing the initial strategies. The housing funding allocations based on these initial strategies will deliver the Government's rural housing target of approving schemes for 3,500 affordable homes in settlements of below 3,000 people over the years 2004–05 and 2005–06.

Section 106 Agreements

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which respondents to his Planning Green Paper supported the idea of a tariff system for section 106 agreements. [R] [137625]

Keith Hill: Of the 505 consultation responses received, 309 broadly agreed with the proposal to introduce a tariff, 150 were against the proposal and 46 expressed other views.

Sector	Broadly agreed	Broadly against
Business	54	83
Local authorities	168	20
Interest groups	72	36
Other	15	11

However, many respondents expressed views that were supportive of elements of the proposal while disagreeing with other aspects. The breakdown given in the table is therefore approximate.

11 Nov 2003 : Column 260W

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning permissions given on (a) call-in and (b) appeal to him in each of the last five years have involved a section 106 agreement. [R] [137627]

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is unable to provide this information in the time available but I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

Small Business

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the effect of Part 8 of the Local Government Act 2003 on the competitiveness of small business. [137606]

Mr. Raynsford: The effect of Part 8 of the Local Government Act 2003 on the competitiveness of small business was assessed in Regulatory Impact Assessments published during the passage of the Local Government Bill and in the final Regulatory Impact Assessment published on Royal Assent, which is available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website.

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