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3 Dec 2003 : Column 93Wcontinued
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the
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additional amount that would be raised for each higher education establishment by the introduction of top-up fees as set out in the Government's Higher Education White Paper. [141140]
Alan Johnson: The White Paper proposes that universitieswhose access agreements have been approvedwill be able to decide on their own fees, up to a maximum of £3,000. We cannot pre-judge or pre-empt those decisions.
Therefore, it is not possible to estimate the additional income for each higher education institution: that will, in part, depend on (i) the number of students at that institution and (ii) the fee levels charged at that institution.
Our latest estimates on additional income for all English higher education institutions are being prepared for the Regulatory Impact Assessment and will be available following its publication.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the impact of the proposed allocation of funding for bursaries on the additional amount that would be raised for each higher education establishment by the introduction of top-up fees as set out in the Government's Higher Education White Paper. [141141]
Alan Johnson: We are considering and discussing the contents of access agreements and the duties of the Office for Fair Access, and will make a statement in due course.
David Winnick: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received on the renaming of the honours OBE, CBE and MBE; and if he will make a statement. [141958]
The Prime Minister: I regularly receive representations on a wide range of issues including about honours. The names of the various Orders of Chivalry are kept under review, as are other honours matters.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by how much on average has council tax in the United Kingdom risen since 1997. [141725]
Mr. Raynsford: Between 199798 and 200304, the average council tax per dwelling in England has increased by £344 or 61 per cent., from £564 to £908. During the same period, the average B and D council tax in England increased by £414 or 60 per cent., from £688 to £1,102.
Council tax figures for Wales and Scotland are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Parliament respectively. Council tax does not exist in Northern Ireland.
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Mrs. May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what discussions ministers or officials had with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead prior to the decision to limit their formula grant increase to their schools formula spending share increase under the proposed 200405 settlement; [140605]
(3) if he will set out the basis on which the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead was chosen as one of the 13 local authorities whose formula grant increase will be equal to their schools formula spending share increase under the proposed 200405 settlement. [140607]
Mr. Raynsford: No Minister or official from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister met the authority to discuss our proposals for 200405. Representatives of shire unitary authorities and the Local Government Association were involved in discussions on this topic with officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at Settlement Working Group meetings.
Windsor and Maidenhead stand to benefit by around £1 million from the change to the grant system to give every authority at least as large an increase in Formula Grant as its Schools Formula Spending Share (FSS) increase. Excluding the adjustment for capital, the provisional settlement gives the authority an increase in Formula Grant of 5.0 per cent. compared to the 3.5 per cent. floor increase it would otherwise have received. Any impact on social services, highways maintenance and council tax would therefore be beneficial.
The basis on which we have given every authority at least as large an increase in Formula Grant as its Schools FSS increase is to calculate the increase in Formula Grant for each authority under the previous floors and ceilings system and compare it to their increase in Schools FSS. We propose that authorities should receive the greater of the two amounts.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the capital allocation to the London borough of Islington is in (a) 200203 and (b) 200304 for the construction of houses for rent by (i) the local authority and (ii) Housing Associations through the Housing Corporation; and if he will make a statement. [141647]
Keith Hill: The London borough of Islington received an all-purposes housing Basic Credit Approval of £14.970 million in 200203 and £13.607 million in 200304. Housing Corporation capital allocations to Islington for housing associations to build new housing for rent were £20.4 million in 200203 and £25.387 million in 200304.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assistance his Department plans to provide to the London borough of Islington to meet the Decent Homes Standard by 2010; and if he will make a statement. [141648]
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Keith Hill: The assistance the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is providing to the London borough of Islington to meet the Decent Homes standard is as follows:
credits of £75 million over the 30-year life of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract signed earlier this year;
an all-purpose housing Basic Credit Approval of £13.607 million in 200304;
a Major Repairs Allowance of £25.545 million in 200304.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received concerning the conduct of the Arm's Length Management organisation ballot by the London borough of Islington; and if he will make a statement. [141649]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received a representation from the Federation of Islington Tenants Associations about the conduct of Islington's Arm's Length Management organisation (ALMO) ballot. A reply will be sent in due course.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what monitoring is being undertaken by his Department into the sale of houses and commercial properties by the London borough of Islington. [141650]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister collects and publishes quarterly statistics on sales of council houses and other council dwelling stock in all local authorities, but does not monitor local authority sales of commercial properties.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, (1) how many (a) mandatory and (b) discretionary disabilities facilities grants local authorities have made in each of the last 10 years; [141014]
(3) how many times local authorities have supplemented a mandatory disabilities facilities grant since 18 July 2002. [141016]
Keith Hill: The numbers of (a) mandatory and (b) discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) paid by local housing authorities in England to private owners and tenants over the past ten years are tabled below. The figures for 200304 and 200405 are provisional forecasts given to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by English local housing authorities. Discretionary DFG was abolished from July 2003 by the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002 and therefore the figures in the
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"discretionary' column for these two years include largely grants and loans which will be provided under the Order for housing adaptations.
Mandatory | Discretionary | |
---|---|---|
199394 | 16,702 | 341 |
199495 | 19,784 | 384 |
199596 | 20,036 | 236 |
199697 | 19,599 | 388 |
199798 | 21,120 | 871 |
199899 | 21,584 | 1,061 |
19992000 | 21,999 | 706 |
200001 | 24,299 | 432 |
200102 | 24,894 | 618 |
200203 | 29,403 | 699 |
200304 | 33,485 | 1,442 |
200405 | 33,424 | 1,372 |
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