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19 Nov 2003 : Column 1074W—continued
Local Government Finance (Cheshire)
10. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent representations he has received about the impact on local councils in Cheshire of the formula funding arrangements. [139316]
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Mr. Raynsford: Since the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published proposals for formula grant in 2003–04, we have received 75 representations from the public, local MPs, councillors and local authorities, mostly about the impact on the education formula.
Planning Policy/Pollution
12. Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent representations he has received about local planning policies and light pollution. [139318]
Keith Hill: In the last few months the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received approximately one letter per week from hon. Members and members of the public on the subject of light pollution and nuisance lighting. None has specifically addressed local planning policies and light pollution. The Campaign to Protect Rural England has also submitted its Night Blight report.
Prefabricated Housing
13. Dr. Naysmith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is under his Department's Decent Homes guidance with regard to local authority decisions on whether to keep prefabricated housing. [139319]
Keith Hill: There are no types of building that are automatically considered to fail the decent homes standard just because of their construction. Prefabricated homes are as acceptable as other types of dwelling if they meet the requirements set out in the decent homes standard.
The guidance on implementing the standard makes it clear that investment decisions should be made in the context of the local housing market and on the future demand for the stock.
Neighbourhood Wardens
14. Rob Marris: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to ensure that achievements of Neighbourhood Warden schemes are recognised by means of awards. [139320]
Yvette Cooper: An award scheme is already in operation. I presented the 2003 achievement awards at the wardens' annual conference held in Harrogate, last Friday, which included an award for Community Safety for Wolverhampton. Details of the award winners are available in the Library of the House.
Arm's Length Management
Mr. Purchase: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 3 November 2003, Official Report, column 496W, on arm's length management, what percentage of the additional £2 billion announced in the Sustainable Communities Plan will be invested directly in local authority arm's length management organisation managed housing stock. [139141]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects at least 95 per cent. of the £2 billion funding for arms length management organisations (ALMOs) announced in the Sustainable Communities Plan in February for the years 2003–04 to 2005–06 to be invested directly in bringing local authority housing stock up to the Decent Homes standard. ALMOs may
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devote up to 5 per cent. of their allocations to environmental or other works designed to enhance the sustainability of their investment in Decent Homes.
Asbestos
Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent by his Department and its agencies on (a) asbestos surveys and (b) the management and removal of asbestos since 1 January 2001; and what budget is available to (i) commission asbestos surveys and (ii) manage and remove asbestos from buildings in (A) 2003 and (B) 2004. [130915]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister came into existence in May 2002. The spend to date within those properties now under control of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is as follows:
- a. Asbestos surveys : £53,916.88
- b. Management and Removal of Asbestos : £149,496.72
- The budget available:
- (i) For commissioning asbestos surveys in 2003 is included in the figure at (a) above. Budgets for asbestos surveys in 2004 are being developed.
- (ii) For management and removal of asbestos in 2003 is £130,000 and in 2004 is £800,000.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 15 July 2003, Official Report, column 287W, on asbestos, if he will list the buildings identified as containing asbestos. [130940]
Yvette Cooper: Asbestos surveys undertaken in accordance with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 have revealed that the following Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's buildings contain asbestos-based materials:
- Fire Service College—Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire;
Government Office for London—Riverwalk House, Westminster;
HQ Building—Ashdown House—Victoria Street, Westminster; and
Government Office for the North East—Wellbar House, Newcastle.
Borrowing Guidelines
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will make a statement on the new prudential borrowing guidelines for local government; [139700]
- (2) what the estimated cost of repayments would be per million pounds borrowed and invested in capital schemes within the framework of the new prudential borrowing scheme. [139701]
Mr. Raynsford: The new capital finance system will start on 1 April 2004. The legislative framework is in the Local Government Act 2003. This is supplemented by a code of practice on prudential borrowing, published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, to which authorities are required by the Act to have regard.
It is not possible to estimate future borrowing costs, which will reflect prevailing interest rates and the terms of loan agreements. However, authorities can currently obtain loans repayable after thirty years at a fixed annual interest rate of about 5 per cent.
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Council Reserves
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the financial value was of the reserves for (a) Shropshire County Council and (b) Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council in each year since 1997. [138884]
Mr. Raynsford: The reserves of Shropshire County Council and Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council at the beginning of each financial year since 1997–98 are tabled as follows:
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | Shropshire | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 5,969 | 8,852 |
| 1998–99 | 6,516 | 4,745 |
| 1999–2000 | 6,936 | 7,944 |
| 2000–01 | 6,367 | 8,490 |
| 2001–02 | 5,042 | 4,562 |
| 2002–03 | 5,509 | n/a |
Source:
1997–98 to 2002–03 Revenue Summary Returns.
Figures include schools' reserves, other earmarked reserves and unallocated reserves. The 2002–03 figure for Shropshire is not yet available.
Council Tax
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate the Government has made of the average level of council tax for the next financial year; and if he will make a statement. [138150]
Mr. Raynsford: Decisions on council tax levels are for local authorities to take after consulting with their local electorates and taxpayers. The Government does make projections of the council tax yield in future years for the purposes of managing the public finances. These projections are based on a number of assumptions about changes in council tax levels, the tax base, the collection rate and council tax benefit payments. The level is assumed to rise in line with past trend, and does not represent a value judgment about what local authorities may choose to do in the future. These figures are not a Government view as to what constitutes an acceptable rise in council tax, and simply represent an assumption for public expenditure planning purposes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also makes a technical assumption in relation to the assumed national council tax which is used for the purposes of the formula which we use to make the annual grant distribution to all local authorities.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the (a) band D council tax and (b) average council tax paid in (i) Plymouth, (ii) Torbay, (iii) Torridge, (iv) West Devon, (v) south Hams, (vi) Exeter, (vii) Teignbridge, (viii) mid Devon, (ix) east Devon and (x) north Devon were in financial year 2003–04, including all precepts. [139914]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is published on the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ctax/ctax034.htm. The requested figures can be found there at columns 1 and 5 of Table 2, "2003–04 council taxes (average per dwelling and Band D for two adults): individual local authorities". The information is
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also available in the Library, in Table 2 that accompanied the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister "News Release 2003/0050: 25 March 2003".
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