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1 Mar 2004 : Column 772W—continued

New Deal

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what budgets have been allocated for (a) each New Deal for Communities partnership and (b) the New Deal for Communities in total for each financial year from 2003–04 to 2005–06, broken down by English region. [156473]

Yvette Cooper: The New Deal for Communities Programme has 39 NDC Partnerships and £2 billion has been committed to them over the 10 years of the NDC Programme. The 17 Round 1 Partnerships entered their delivery phase in 2000–01 and the 22 Round 2 Partnerships entered their delivery phase in 2001–02. Figures for 2003–04 to 2005–06 are tabled as follows. These figures are the budgets allocated to each NDC during the re-profiling exercise, which took place in early 2002.

The NDC budget is ring fenced and has end year flexibility, so the figures for 2004–05 onwards are estimates at this stage, and may be subject to change.

	Budget
NDC Partnership	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
West Ham and Plaistow	10,195,000	7,600,000	6,500,000
Shoreditch	3,970,000	3,900,000	3,900,000
Aylesbury	5,500,000	7,800,000	8,500,000
Ocean	5,000,000	7,900,000	8,500,000
South Kilburn	3,438,900	5,000,000	6,000,000
North Fulham	6,500,000	6,200,000	6,200,000
EC1	4,901,000	6,300,000	7,400,000
Clapham Park	3,500,000	6,700,000	7,800,000
New Cross Gate	5,000,000	5,400,000	6,300,000
Seven Sisters	3,300,000	5,500,000	7,000,000
London total	51,304,900	62,300,000	68,100,000
EB4U, Brighton	8,000,000	6,600,000	6,600,000
Thornhill, Southampton	4,000,000	5,800,000	6,800,000
South East total	12,000,000	12,400,000	13,400,000
Devonport, Plymouth	4,700,000	5,800,000	6,800,000
Community at Heart, Bristol	6,396,486	7,000,000	7,000,000
South West total	11,096,486	12,800,000	13,800,000
Marsh Farm, Luton	4,698,000	5,240,000	5,680,000
North Earlham and Marlpit, Norwich	5,800,000	5,280,000	4,928,000
Eastern Region total	10,498,000	10,520,000	10,608,000
Braunstone, Leicester	13,949,113	9,000,000	6,000,000
Radford and Hyson Green, Nottingham	7,500,000	8,500,000	7,800,000
Derwent, Derby	3,043,139	5,040,000	5,880,000
East Midlands total	24,492,252	22,540,000	19,680,000
Greets Green, Sandwell	4,639,632	7,800,000	7,800,000
Blakenall, Bloxwich East and Leamore, Walsall	6,000,000	6,200,000	7,200,000
Coventry	7,500,000	7,600,000	7,600,000
All Saints and Blakenhall, Wolverhampton	2,000,000	5,300,000	7,000,000
Kings Norton, Birmingham	5,000,000	7,000,000	7,500,000
Aston, Birmingham	5,300,000	6,000,000	7,000,000
West Midlands total	30,439,632	39,900,000	44,100,000
Doncaster Central	5,000,000	6,200,000	7,300,000
Burngreave, Sheffield	4,000,000	6,200,000	7,800,000
Bradford Trident	8,500,000	7,000,000	6,000,000
Preston Road, Hull	7,800,000	7,700,000	6,500,000
Yorkshire and Humberside total	25,300,000	27,100,000	27,600,000
North Huyton, Knowsley	7,645,000	7,800,000	7,800,000
Kensington, Liverpool	6,132,000	8,000,000	8,500,000
East Manchester	21,245,108	4,600,000	2,000,000
Hattershaw and Fitton Hill, Oldham	5,580,000	7,500,000	7,500,000
Charlestown and Lower Kersal, Salford	6,249,000	7,420,000	7,420,000
Heywood, Rochdale	5,692,600	6,200,000	7,280,000
North West total	52,543,708	41,520,000	40,500,000
West Central Hartlepool	5,500,000	6,500,000	7,500,000
Newcastle Westgate	5,500,000	7,600,000	8,200,000
West Middlesbrough	7,000,000	7,200,000	7,200,000
Back on the Map, Sunderland	5,500,000	6,466,000	7,500,000
North East total	23,500,000	27,766,000	30,400,000
Overall total	241,174,978	256,846,000	268,188,000

1 Mar 2004 : Column 773W

Non-domestic Rate Pool

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the national non-domestic rate pool. [156822]

Mr. Raynsford: The non-domestic rates are a national tax on the occupation of property and the billing and collection of the rates is undertaken locally.

The rates revenue is collected on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister who pays it into the national non-domestic rates pool. The revenue from the pool is then re-distributed to all local authorities (including county councils, Police and Fire) as part of the financial settlement to local authorities.

The amount a local billing authority receives in a distribution from the pool is not necessarily the same as the amount it contributed to the pool. Distributions from the pool are calculated on the basis of domestic population in the local authority area not on the number of business ratepayers or business rates revenue.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money was collected in 2003–04 from businesses in Gloucester in non-domestic rates; and how much of this was passed on to (a) Gloucester city council and (b) Gloucestershire county council. [156823]

Mr. Raynsford: A total of £129,720,708 was collected in non-domestic rates from businesses in Gloucestershire in 2003–04 of which Gloucester city council collected £34,588,861, under the national non-domestic rates allocation system, council receipts are related to population, rather than to the amount raised in their area. In the case of Gloucestershire, £3,836,122 was passed on to Gloucester city council and Gloucestershire county council received £151,436,097.

1 Mar 2004 : Column 774W

Postal Voting

Mark Tami: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent by each local authority on (a) postal vote registration and (b) advertising postal voting in each of the last five years. [156547]

Phil Hope: Information on expenditure by local authorities on postal vote registration and advertising postal voting is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Regional Assemblies

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of each (a) advertisement, (b) regional visit, (c) publication and (d) media broadcast in connection with the information campaign on regional assemblies. [157026]

Mr. Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry) on 5 January 2004, Official Report, column 149W and 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 342W.

Social Rented Sector (London)

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of homes in the social rented sector in London which are (a) one-bedroom above the bedroom standard and (b) two or more bedrooms above the bedroom standard. [156777]

Keith Hill: Using data from the Survey of English Housing for the years 1999–2000 to 2002–03, the estimated number of households in the social rented sector in London that are one bedroom above the "bedroom standard" is 170,000 (i.e. 20 per cent. of

1 Mar 2004 : Column 775W

households). The estimated number that are two or more bedrooms above the standard is 60,000 (i.e. 7 per cent.)

Starter Home Initiative

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many key workers in (a) England and (b) London the Starter Home Initiative has helped to buy a home since the scheme was launched. [156562]

Keith Hill: By mid-February 2004, 7,500 key workers in England (including over 3,500 in London) had been helped to buy a home under the Starter Home Initiative.

Tenancy Deposits

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of tenants who did not have their deposits returned at the end of their tenancy in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [157309]

Keith Hill: The following table shows for the last three years for which information is available, the estimated figures for the number of tenancies where the deposit was withheld (in full or in part) unreasonably in the view of the ex-tenant. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not sought to obtain the view of the landlord/agent.

Tenancies where ex-tenant stated that deposit was unreasonably withheld: England

	Thousand
2000–01	112
2001–02	99
2002–03	104
Average	105

As these estimates, which were derived from the Survey of English Housing, are subject to considerable sampling error no conclusion should be drawn about the trend.

Over the three-year period these retained deposits represented 21 per cent. of all completed tenancies where a deposit was paid.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to ensure that tenants receive their deposits back at the end of their tenancy; and if he will make a statement. [157310]

Keith Hill: I refer the hon. Member to the information given during the Standing Committee E on the afternoon of 24 February 2004, Official Report, columns 704–11.

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