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Comprehensive Performance Assessment

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost was including staffing, management and support, for the Comprehensive Performance Assessment process in local government in 2003 for (a) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (b) the Audit Commission, (c) the Improvement and Development Agency, (d) local authorities and (e) other agencies. [156688]

Phil Hope: The information requested is as follows:

(a) The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) process in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in 2003 involved staff within the Office working directly on CPA, as well as a proportion of the time of staff across a wide range of other policy areas, and those at senior level, including Ministers with responsibility for local government policy. The total costs of the process will also have included a proportion of those relating to building, heating, lighting and computer equipment as well as stationery, postage and attending and arranging meetings and other events.

It is not possible to identify the overall cost of all this activity. The total cost of staff working full-time on CPA in 2003 was approximately £166,000.

(b) Details of the Audit Commission's costs in relation to the CPA process is an operational matter and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will ask the chief executive to write to the hon. Member and make a copy of that letter available in the Library of the House.

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Information in relation to the cost of the CPA process to the bodies listed at (c), (d) and (e) is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Council Tax

Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his latest estimate is of the costs of (a) council tax administration and (b) council tax benefit administration; and if he will make a statement. [156595]

Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's latest estimate based on 2003–04 Budget Estimate Returns from English local authorities is £337 million for council tax administration costs, and £235.7 million for council tax benefit administration costs. In 2003–04, council tax collection costs may include a small amount of NDR, rate (domestic and non-domestic) and community charge collection costs.

Council Tenants

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council tenants in each local authority in London have transferred to other properties owned by their local authority in each year since 1990; and how many moved into homes with fewer bedrooms. [156776]

Keith Hill: A table on the number of council tenants who have transferred to other properties owned by their local authority since 1990 by London borough has been made available in the Library of the Houses.

This table also includes information on how many have moved into homes with fewer bedrooms since 1995 by London borough. Previous to 1995 this information was not collected centrally. All information is reported by local authorities on their annual Housing Investment Programme Statistical Returns.

Elected Assemblies

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the consultation period on the powers of elected assemblies began; when it will end; who is eligible to make representations; how many representations have been received to date; and which (a) individuals and (b) organisations have made representations so far. [156999]

Mr. Raynsford: The core powers and responsibilities the Government proposes for elected regional assemblies are set out in our 2002 White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions" (Cm 5511).

As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister made clear to the House on 11 February 2004, Official Report, column 1496, we will be holding regional 'hearings' about the proposed powers of elected assemblies. The hearings will give people an opportunity to consider and discuss our proposals, and enable us to learn more about what people think about these issues.

There will be three hearings in each of the three northern regions over the next two months. The first hearings will be held on 4 March in Berwick and Blackburn. Details of the other hearings will be announced in due course and Members of Parliament will be notified of hearings in their region.

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We are also interested in views from people who are unable to attend the hearings, and information about elected assemblies' powers will be available shortly to help inform such views. Copies of this information will also be placed in the House Library.

Electoral Registration

Mark Tami: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much each local authority has spent on (a) voter registration and (b) promoting voter registration in each of the last five years. [156549]

Phil Hope: A table with data on the Net Current Expenditure on voter registration for 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02 and 2002–03 has been made available in the Library of the House. Data for 2000–01 is not available as the data was not separately identified.

Data on promoting voter registration are not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Sprinklers

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to amend the building regulations in order to require the installation of fire sprinkler systems in new public leisure facilities. [156813]

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is keen to improve fire safety by all reasonable means and sprinklers are part of a package of measures that can be used in buildings. Other measures include the installation of fire alarm and fire detection systems and the provision of compartmentation that restricts the spread of fire within buildings by means of sub-dividing it into compartments, separated from one another by walls and/or floors of fire resisting construction.

In the case of places of assembly, which would include public leisure facilities, the guidance document that supports the fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations, known as Approved Document B, already limits the size of fire compartments to a floor area no larger than 2,000 square metres in multi-storey buildings. These compartments can be increased to 4,000 square metres where sprinklers are provided.

However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recently commenced a review of the fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations and we will be considering the role that sprinklers can play in all buildings, including places of assembly, and deciding whether the current thresholds in the guidance should be amended or indeed new ones introduced.

Housing

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his Answer of 22 January 2004, Official Report, column 1464W, on housing, how many units built or acquired with social housing grant by (a) the Housing Corporation, (b) local authorities and (c) registered social landlords, without public subsidy, in each year since 1990 were (i) self-contained units and (ii) bedspaces. [156875]

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Keith Hill: A breakdown of the number of self-contained dwellings and bedspaces is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his Answer of 22 January 2004, Official Report, column 1464W, on housing, how many units built or acquired with social housing grant by (a) the Housing Corporation, (b) local authorities and (c) registered social landlords, without public subsidy, in each year since 1990 were (i) social housing for rent and (ii) low cost home ownership. [156876]

Keith Hill: I will write to my hon. Friend with further details of the dwellings built or acquired with social housing grant by the Housing Corporation and local authorities for rent and low cost home ownership. A breakdown between social rent and low cost home ownership dwellings provided by registered social landlords without public subsidy is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who has been commissioned to undertake the research projects into (a) learning the lessons from the Estate Renewal Challenge Fund, (b) guidance on houses in multiple occupation amenities, (c) the effectiveness of disabled faculties grant administration and (d) key worker housing; what the terms of reference are for each project; and when work on each will be completed. [156877]

Keith Hill: The information requested is as follows:

(a) Heriot-Watt University have been commissioned to undertake the research project: Learning the Lessons from Estate Renewal Challenge Fund (ERCF). The terms of reference are to assess progress on the individual ERCF schemes and identify transferable lessons from ERCF for the wider stock transfer programme as well as other housing investment and regeneration programmes. The study should complete in May 2004.

(b) The research on guidance on houses in multiple occupation amenities has not been taken forward.

(c) The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, jointly with the Department of Health, is reviewing the Disabled Facilities Grant Programme in the context of the Spending Review 2004. The terms of reference for that review, and the scope of any research work that may need to be undertaken as part of it, are still being considered. The review will report later this year.

(d) Key worker housing. Heriot-Watt University have been commissioned to evaluate the Starter Homes Initiative (SHI). The study's main aims are to evaluate the effectiveness of the SHI, assess its impact, and give recommendations to improve future provision. The report is expected to be complete in October 2004.

NOP World were commissioned to explore recruitment and retention issues and housing preferences of key public sector workers. The study's main aim was to identify key public sector worker's future intentions (both employment and housing), the extent to which housing costs and the availability of suitable housing are affecting career choices and their preferences for different types of housing. The study was completed in December 2004.

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Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will commission an assessment of the impact in London of Good Practice on Managing Under-occupation published by his Department in April 2001. [156775]

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has only just received the data from the Survey of English Housing for the first three quarters of 2003–04 which we would like to take into assessing the impact to date of the good practice on Managing Under-occupation on social housing in London. I will write to my hon. Friend once the results of this exercise have been collated, and will make the information available in the Library of the House. In the light of this information I shall consider how best to monitor the position for the future.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister under what circumstances money from previously committed Housing Corporation grant schemes can be ringfenced for remodelled schemes. [156869]

Keith Hill: Grant from previous funded housing schemes may be recycled into new schemes, including remodelled schemes. Such schemes must meet the current Housing Corporation criteria for giving grant, which includes meeting regional and local priorities.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether, after 1 May, citizens of the EU accession states (a) without dependent children and (b) with dependent children will be entitled to council housing provision in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [154040]

Keith Hill: Housing is a devolved matter and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's remit only extends to England.

From 1 May citizens of the EU accession states who do not have a right to reside here because they are not self-sufficient (that is, they do not have sufficient resources so as to avoid being a burden on the social assistance system) will not be eligible for social housing. This will apply regardless of whether they have dependent children.

Nationals from the eight Eastern European accession countries who are employed and comply with the Home Office's worker registration scheme will have an unconditional right to reside here and will be eligible for social housing. Nationals from the other Accession countries who are workers will also be eligible for social housing.

Llew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research was undertaken on problems created by summertime overheating of lightweight buildings prior to the decision to encourage registered social landlords to use factory-built houses. [156640]

Phil Hope: No specific research into summertime overheating of lightweight buildings was commissioned. The Government and the construction industry were aware of research reports from hotter countries of problems of overheating that can occur in houses of lightweight construction, but this was not considered to be relevant to the decision to encourage the use of modern methods of construction in England and Wales. Nevertheless, the issue of overheating for all types of buildings is being addressed in the review of the Building Regulations announced in the Energy White Paper.

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Andy King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what powers he has to enforce appropriate standards in the housing departments of local authorities. [156114]

Keith Hill: The Local Government Act 1999 provides powers that can be exercised if my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is satisfied that a local authority is failing to comply with part 1 of the Act. The provisions of the Act requires that services, including housing services, are:

responsive to the needs of citizens

of a high quality and cost effective; and

air and accessible to all who need them.

My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister will exercise intervention powers under section 15 of the Local Government Act and other comparable legislation only when there is clear evidence that an authority is failing either to discharge its functions adequately or failing to meet its statutory obligations. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's powers are wide ranging, from directing the council to prepare a plan or perform a specified function through to removing specified functions from the council and appointing a nominee to exercise them.

Comprehensive Performance Assessments are in place to help identify local authorities' strengths and weaknesses, and provide a basis for improvement planning which the duty of best value confers.

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