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Value Added Tax

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the European Commission on a new reduced rate category of VAT for protective and safety equipment; and what the outcome was. [138774]

John Healey: The Directive covering reduced rates of VAT is currently under discussion by European Ministers, following a proposal from the Commission earlier this year. This proposal challenges a number of the UK's zero rates including those for children's clothing and several reliefs targeted at charities and disabled people. We have made clear in the negotiations that we will not agree to the removal of any of our zero or reduced rate VAT derogations.

The Commission's approach to this review has significantly narrowed the scope to consider the introduction of new reduced rates. However, as well as defending our zero rates, the Government continue to press for our long standing commitments for reduced

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rates for repairs to listed places of worship and the purchase of energy-saving materials for do-it-yourself installation, and also for energy-efficient products.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel in each year since 1997 by his Department's predecessors in areas relating to regional government, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [137736]

Yvette Cooper: There have been no contracts awarded to Bechtel since 1997 by the predecessor Departments of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Billboards

Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the regulations that apply to the display of billboards (a) in the open countryside and (b) on telegraph poles on public or private land without planning permission. [138682]

Keith Hill: The display of outdoor advertisements including billboards in the open countryside and on telegraph poles on public and private land is controlled by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. The express consent of the local planning authority is required before these advertisements may be lawfully displayed. The local planning authority must consider amenity and public safety issues. The consent of the owner of the land is also required. Local planning authorities have enforcement powers under sections 224 and 225 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which they may use to remove, or require the removal of, advertisements displayed in contravention of the Regulations.

Business Planning Zones

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he offers to local authorities on the establishment of (a) business planning zones and (b) business improvement districts, with particular reference to (i) Sunderland and (ii) Redcar and Cleveland. [139425]

Mr. Raynsford: The information is as follows:

Business Planning Zones

Guidance for local planning authorities will be published for public consultation next year. Broad policy will be set out in draft PPS4: Planning for Economic Development, and more detailed guidance on how local planning authorities should establish such zones will be produced in due course.

Business Improvement Districts

Draft guidance on Business Improvement Districts is available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website (www.odpm.gov.uk) Consultation on this guidance has recently completed and the final version will be published when the regulations relating to BIDs legislation are laid before the House in spring 2004.

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The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of any specific issues in Sunderland or Redcar and Cleveland which would require more specific guidance on Business Planning Zones or Business Improvement Districts.

Cash Incentive Scheme Grants

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many Cash Incentive Scheme grants were made by each local authority in London in 2002–03; and what the total value of these grants was for each local authority. [139271]

Mr. Raynsford: The number of Cash Incentive Scheme grants made by those London borough's running schemes in 2002–03 and the total value of grants made are shown in the table.

	Total number of grants	Total expenditure (£000)
Barnet	36	917
Brent	31	305
Camden	20	466
Croydon	48	980
Enfield	31	760
Haringey	21	496
Havering	9	6
Hiilingdon	19	382
Islington	9	255
Kingston-upon-Thames	17	343
Lewisham	27	521
Merton	9	205
Tower Hamlets	56	755
Waltham Forest	6	148
Wandsworth	32	638
Westminster	15	357

Central Government Funding (Havering)

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money was allocated from central Government to the London Borough of Havering in (a) 1997, (b) 1999, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002. [138465]

Mr. Raynsford: Tabled are the figures for Government grants paid to the London Borough of Havering in each financial year from 1996–97. Figures are not available for calendar years.

Government grants paid to the London Borough of Havering⁽¹⁹⁾£ million

	Revenue support grant	Redistributed non-domestic rates	Ring-fenced grants inside AEF(20)
1996–97	62.032	53.914	6.256
1997–98	64.408	50.432	5.823
1998–99	69.215	52.563	7.261
1999–2000	70.247	56.793	10.280
2000–01	68.687	63.386	16.021
2001–02	77.482	62.600	20.503
2002–03	74.583	68.394	23.828
2003–04	88.628	65.791	(21)22.686

⁽¹⁹⁾ Figures are not directly comparable between years due to changes in function.

⁽²⁰⁾ Aggregate External Finance.

⁽²¹⁾ Budgeted figure.

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Council Tax

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of operating the local government council tax system in each of the last five years for which records are available, broken down by (a) administration, (b) valuation, (c) appeals, (d) council tax benefit administration and (e) other costs. [139157]

Mr. Raynsford: Local authorities in England reported council tax collection costs and council tax benefit administration costs in the last five years are tabled below. Administration, valuation and appeals costs are not reported separately.

£ million

	Council tax collection costs	Council tax benefit administration costs
1999–2000	309.6	216.7
2000–01	301.5	194.8
2001–02	301.1	218.7
2002–03(22)	319.1	204.5
2003–04(22)	(23)337.0	235.7

⁽²²⁾ Budgeted figures.

⁽²³⁾ In 2003–04, council tax collection costs may include a small amount of NDR, rate (domestic and non-domestic) and community charge collection costs.

Source:

1999–2000 to 2001–02 Revenue Summary Returns. 2002–03 to 2003–04 Budget Estimate Returns.

Credit Unions

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role credit unions play in alleviating poverty in communities; and what role they (a) have and (b) will have in the future as part of New Deal for Communities. [136289]

Yvette Cooper: Credit unions have an important role to play in tackling financial exclusion. By bridging the gap between mainstream financial services and those of limited means, credit unions make a real difference to the individuals and communities they serve.

New Deal for Communities (NDC) Partnerships have a broad remit to tackle issues of crime, worklessness, education, health and housing in the physical environment in some of our most deprived neighbourhoods. A number of NDC Partnerships have already done work to develop credit unions or are covered by credit unions that already exist in their area—such as East Manchester NDC and Knowsley NDC—and Partnerships will continue to do this in future where it is relevant to the needs of the neighbourhood. For example, in the Brent area there are currently on-going discussions between Camden Credit Union and South Kilburn NDC on the subject of Camden Credit Union extending their common bond to the NDC area.

Disabled Facilities Grant

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average time has been between applying for a disabled facilities grant and (a) assessment of needs, (b) provision of finance and (c) the completion of buildings work, broken down by each local authority. [138162]

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Keith Hill: Local authorities are required by statute to respond to a completed application for disabled facilities grant within six months. The Government do not collect information on the average waiting times for these grants.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, jointly with the Department of Health, has issued draft guidance to local authorities setting out best practice in delivering a first class housing adaptations service for disabled people. This includes target times for the complete delivery process including needs assessment, processing of the application and the completion of building works. These target times will depend on the complexity of, and priority attached to, individual cases but the guidance suggests that the maximum target time for the entire process should in any event be no more than 260 working days and only 80 working days in high priority cases. We are currently considering responses to this consultation and hope to issue final guidance to local housing and social service authorities early next year.

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