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19 Nov 2003 : Column 1081W—continued
Homelessness (Older People)
Linda Perham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to tackle homelessness among older people. [136656]
Yvette Cooper: The Government are determined to tackle all forms of homelessness including amongst older people and wants to prevent it occurring wherever possible. This was set out in the March 2002 report, "More than a roof, which focused on the problems homeless people face as much as on places where they live.
Under current legislation vulnerability due to old age is a priority need category. This ensures that vulnerable older people who become unintentionally homeless, or threatened with homelessness, must be provided with suitable accommodation by the local authority.
In addition, the Homelessness Act 2002 required each local authority in England to undertake a review of homelessness in their area and put a strategy in place by the end of July 2003 to ensure that accommodation and support is available within their districts for homeless people and those at risk of homelessness. The Homelessness Directorate within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also issued good practice guidance to assist local authorities in the development of their strategies including information on addressing the needs of older people who are homeless or vulnerable to homelessness.
Houses in Multiple Occupation
Mr Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many houses are in multiple occupation; how many of them are registered; and how many local authorities have registration schemes. [136902]
Keith Hill: According to the English House Condition Survey 2001, there are 638,000 houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in England, of which 338,140 are in the private rented sector (excluding those with resident landlords). According to the Housing Investment Programme Return 2003, 202 local authorities in England operate registration schemes and 14,902 HMOs are registered under them.
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Housing
Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent by each local authority on (a) arm's length management organisations, (b) private finance initiative and (c) stock retention in relation to ownership of housing. [138681]
Keith Hill: A table showing figures for 2002–03 the capital spend by each local authority, management and maintenance expenditure and the amount that is Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) funding is available in the Library of the House. The first ALMOs qualified to start spending in the final quarter of 2002–03, with actual expenditure for 2002–03 recorded at £55.9million.
It is not possible to provide information on spend for PFI schemes as the commercial position of schemes still in procurement must be protected. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has allocated a total of £760 million credits to 16 schemes. Two of those schemes are signed: Islington (£75million) and Manchester (£39 million). The other Pathfinders are Newham, Camden, NE Derbyshire, Sandwell, Leeds and Reading. The Round 2 schemes are Islington, Newham, Lewisham, NE Derbyshire, Manchester, Leeds, Oldham and Ashford.
11. James Purnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on investment in social housing. [139317]
Keith Hill: Under this Government, total housing investment has more than trebled, rising from £1.4 billion in 1997–98 to £4.9 billion in 2004–05. Amongst other positive developments, this investment has served to improve nearly one million social homes to the decent homes standard already, and we expect to bring another 500,000 social homes up to the standard by spring of next year. Meanwhile, we are investing £5 billion in more affordable housing over the next three years—that is double the level of investment we inherited in 1997.
15. Andrew Selous : To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is regarding owners of ex-local authority homes who wish to sell them back to the local authority. [139321]
Keith Hill: It is up to landlords to decide whether they wish to repurchase homes that they have previously sold, having regard to local housing needs. But we know that some people who have bought council homes, particularly flats, have subsequently found themselves in financial difficulties. So since April 1999 we have helped authorities to buy back such homes, by covering 35 per cent of the costs they incur if they spend £50,000 per year or more. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are ensuring that similar provisions continue to operate under the new local government capital finance system that starts on 1 April 2004.
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IT Projects
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much he spent on IT (a) licences, (b) maintenance, (c) software and (d) hardware in the last financial year. [125774]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The information held by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its agencies differs in detail due to the different vote and trading account practices and different IT service supply arrangements. Some of the information requested is subsumed in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's strategic investment in IT. To provide accurate figures for the period and with the degree of breakdown requested is not possible without incurring disproportionate cost.
Such information as is available indicates that in 2002–03 ODPM HQ, with DFT HQ, spent
- £2,100,000 on hardware
- £1,540,000 on software
- £1,018,000 on maintenance and consumables
Large Scale Voluntary Transfers
Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions the Audit Commission has raised with him issues relating to individual ballots for large scale voluntary transfer in the last three years. [140122]
Meeting Costs
Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times the (a) Urban Sounding Board, (b) Core Cities Working Group and (c) Arson Control Forum have met since they were established; how much each meeting cost; what the (i) annual budget since inception, (ii) projected budget for the next two years and (iii) current work programme of each body is; and if he will make a statement. [139783]
Keith Hill: (a) The Urban Sounding Board met 9 times between April 2001 and September 2002.
Members were invited to join the Board in a voluntary capacity and received no remuneration. The estimated average costs of refreshments and travel and subsistence claims for each meeting were £900.
(i) and (ii) There was no specific annual budget for the Urban Sounding Board. Meeting costs were paid for out of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Urban Policy Directorate's general running costs budget.
(iii) The Sounding Board is to be replaced with smaller ad hoc working groups of external advisors and officials with specific time-limited remits focusing on key issues of concern to the Department, such as obstacles to physical regeneration and skills. Membership of these groups will be voluntary and non-remunerative.
(b) The Core Cities Working Group has met 14 times since its inception in April 2002. Members of the Working Group, including officials from central government and the Regional Development Agencies and local government officers from the Core Cities, attend meetings as part of their normal duties. The
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estimated average cost of refreshments for each meeting has been around £70. No other meeting costs have been incurred.
(i) and ii) No annual budgets have been set for the Working Group as running costs are minimal. Organisations participating all bear their own costs.
(iii) The Working Group is currently contributing to the evidence base supporting the government's Public Service Agreement target for regional economic performance. It is seeking to understand how competitive cities can contribute to improvements in regional economic growth through four sub groups focusing on: skills, innovation, better connectivity between cities and regions, and Strategic leadership, with a particular focus on key issues likely to make a difference. The group's work will feed into policy measures to be agreed as part of the Spending Review 2004.
(c) Since it was set up in April 2001 the Arson Control Forum has met 5 times. The estimated average cost of the room, refreshments and travel and substance claims for each meeting was £650.
(i) and (ii) The annual Arson Control Forum budget since its formal launch is:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1.20 |
| 2002–03 | 1.36 |
| 2003–04 | 4.02 (projected) |
| 2004–05 | 4.47 (projected) |
| 2005–06 | 4.80 (projected) |
(iii) The Arson Control Forum's main activities in its current work programme are the partial funding of local arson reduction projects in England & Wales, supported by a research programme into various aspects of the arson problem (e.g. the relationship between car arson and other car crimes), and the publication of best practice guides on arson prevention.
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