---

9 Mar 2004 : Column 1444W—continued

Local Authorities (Members' Allowances)

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will amend the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 to allow co-opted councillors to claim allowances; and if he will make a statement. [157315]

Mr. Raynsford: Co-opted members of principal councils are already entitled to receive a co-optees allowance and a travel and subsistence allowance.

Co-opted members of parishes are not currently entitled to receive allowances. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to amend the regulations governing councillors' allowances shortly so that all parish councillors are eligible to receive an allowance for travel and subsistence.

At present, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not plan to allow un-elected parish councillors to receive a basic allowance and will reassess this position, as part of the wider review of councillors' allowances, later this year.

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received on the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) Regulations (England) 2003; what plans he has to alter the regulations in respect of non-elected councillors; and if he will make a statement. [158822]

Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received a number of letters from MPs in recent weeks on behalf of their parish councils in respect of non-elected parish councillors.

Co-opted members of parishes are not currently entitled to receive allowances. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to amend the

9 Mar 2004 : Column 1445W

regulations governing councillors' allowances shortly so that all parish councillors are eligible to receive an allowance for travel and subsistence.

At present, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not plan to allow un-elected parish councillors to receive a basic allowance and will reassess this position, as part of the wider review of councillors' allowances, later this year.

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to change the regulations whereby co-opted parish councillors are not entitled to the same pay and allowances as elected parish councillors. [158110]

Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to amend the regulations governing councillors' allowances shortly so that all parish councillors are eligible to receive an allowance for travel and subsistence.

At present, however, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not plan to allow un-elected parish councillors to receive a basic allowance. We will reassess this position, as part of the wider review of councillors' allowances, later this year.

Local Government

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what figure for the rate of inflation was used by the Minister for Local Government in his statement on 16 January that each local authority would receive at least an above inflation increase in grant for 2004–05. [159801]

Mr. Raynsford: The latest estimate of inflation available on 16 January was the Retail Price Index—all items excluding Mortgage Interest Payments (RPIX) for November 2003 at 2.5 per cent.

Every local authority in England with responsibility for education and social services received at least a 4 per cent. increase in formula grant on a like-for-like basis in 2004–05; every shire district received at least a 3 per cent. increase; every fire authority received at least a 3½ per cent. increase; and every police authority received at least a 3¼ per cent. increase.

Local Government Pension Scheme

Mr. Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made on the reform of the Local Government Pension Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [159465]

Phil Hope: A phased programme of regulatory and policy reform of the Local Government Pension Scheme was announced on 23 July 2003. This takes forward the Government's proposals on the future of occupational pension schemes set out in the White Paper "Simplicity security and choice (CMS835)" and some initial findings from the on-going Stocktake of the Scheme. Following consultation, new regulations will take effect on 1 April. These will be followed by a statutory consultation exercise on further scheme amendments, which in part deal with proposals to increase the normal retirement age. These amendments are intended to take effect from

9 Mar 2004 : Column 1446W

April 2005. For the longer term, proposals to ensure the sustainability of the Scheme will be circulated to stakeholders in England and Wales later in the year.

Planning Guidance

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which planning guidance notes are to be replaced with Planning Policy Statements; and what the timetable is. [159962]

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has gone out to public consultation on revisions to PPG1 (General Policies and Principles), PPG3 (Housing), PPG6 (Town Centres), PPG7 (Countryside), PPG 11 (Regional Planning), PPG12 (Development Plans), PPG 22 (Renewable Energy) and PPG23 (Planning and Pollution) with a view to re-issuing these during 2004 as Planning Policy Statements (PPS). It is anticipated that consultation will begin in the first half of 2004 on revisions to PPG4 (Economic Development), PPG9 (Nature Conservation/ Biodiversity) and PPG10 (Planning and Waste Management).

The timetable for the review of other PPGs is being considered in the light of the recommendation in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee's report on the Annual Report 2003 that we should withdraw our stated intention to revise the less controversial PPGs. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aims to make an announcement on this by the end of March.

Roma

Mr. Paice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what estimate he has made of the impact on Cambridgeshire of migration by the Roma Community of Eastern Europe after enlargement of the EU on 1 May; [150822]

(2) what guidance he is issuing to local authorities regarding inward migration of the Roma community of Eastern Europe after enlargement of the EU on 1 May. [150823]

Beverley Hughes [holding answers 26 January 2004]: I have been asked to reply.

It is not possible to produce a reliable estimate of numbers of people from the accession countries, whether or not they are members of the Roma community, who may travel to Cambridgeshire. There is no information available upon which such an estimate could be based. However guidance will be made available to local housing authorities regarding proposed changes to the rules on eligibility for benefits that they administer, and on eligibility for social housing and homelessness assistance, to which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary referred in his Statement to the House on EU Accession on 23 February.

Severe Weather

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidelines he has issued to local authorities on dealing with the effects of severe weather. [159237]

Mr. Alexander: I have been asked to reply.

9 Mar 2004 : Column 1447W

Cabinet Office has produced guidance—Dealing with Disaster—on the principles of emergency planning to assist local authorities in their preparation for, and response to, a range of major incidents, including those resulting from the effects of severe weather.

Within this framework, local authorities work closely with relevant Government Departments and organisations to ensure that robust and effective plans are in place. For example, local authorities, where necessary, will liaise regularly with flood defence managers at the Environment Agency to maintain flood defence plans.

The guidance is available in the Libraries of the House and at www.ukresilience.gov.uk.

Statutory Sick Pay

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people employed in his Department have claimed statutory sick pay for (a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997. [148626]

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established following Machinery of Government changes in May 2002. The first complete year for which we have data on staff sick absence rates for staff in our HQ is January-December 2003. During this period the number of people taking sick leave was as follows:

Number of days	Number taking sick leave
(a) 4–7	411
(b) 8–21	204
(c) 22–42	53
(d) 43–72	31
(e) 73–140	22
(f) 141–196	4

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to managing sick absence effectively.

---