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25 Mar 2004 : Column 1040W—continued
Taiwan
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from the People's Republic of China concerning Her Majesty's Government's policy towards Taiwan; and if he will make a statement. [163204]
Mr. Rammell: The People's Republic of China raises Her Majesty's Government's Taiwan policy regularly at official and ministerial level. During his visit on 1–11 March Chinese vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui discussed Taiwan with my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.
The UK's position on Taiwan status remains unchanged. We believe the question of Taiwan is a matter for the people on both sides of the Taiwan straits to settle peacefully among themselves.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) the weapons of mass destruction held by Israel and (b) that nation's (i) entry into and (ii) adherence to international agreements on such weapons. [162306]
Mr. Rammell: The Government continue to urge Israel to resolve international speculation about its possession of weapons of mass destruction by acceding to the relevant international Treaties.
The Government support the creation of a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction and urges all states, both in the region and elsewhere, to accede to, and adhere to, all the International Treaties and Conventions covering such weapons.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Department-Funded Programmes
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding has been allocated in (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) in total to (i) the Community Empowerment Fund, (ii) the Single Regeneration Budget and (iii) urban regeneration companies. [163655]
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Yvette Cooper: Community Empowerment Fund Budget allocations for the Community Empowerment Fund are tabled as follows, broken down by English region:
| Region | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | 228,033 | 228,033 | 456,066 |
| East Midlands | 905,245 | 905,245 | 1,810,490 |
| London | 2,654,485 | 2,654,485 | 5,308,970 |
| North East | 1,824,502 | 1,824,502 | 3,649,004 |
| North West | 2,967,301 | 2,967,301 | 5,934,602 |
| South East | 436,573 | 436,573 | 873,146 |
| South West | 465,082 | 465,082 | 930,164 |
| West Midlands | 1,132,771 | 1,132,771 | 2,265,542 |
| Yorks and Humber | 1,386,008 | 1,386,008 | 2,772,016 |
| All regions total | 12,000,000 | 12,000,000 | 24,000,000 |
In 2001, the Single Regeneration Budget was subsumed into the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) Single Programme ('Single Pot') from which RDAs will continue to fund existing SRB commitments. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's planned contribution to the RDA's Single Pot is £1,456 million for 2004–05 and £1,513 million for 2005–06, totalling £2,959 million over the two year period.
Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs)
Funding allocations for capital projects in each URC are not held centrally and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not fund urban regeneration companies directly. Each URC has its own set of funding partners, which finance the company. Budget allocations from the regional development agencies and English Partnerships, for the 2004–05 running costs of each URC, are set out in my written answer of 4 March 2004, Official Report, column 1108W. Allocations for 2005–06 will be of a similar order.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will list the (a) address and (b) latest valuation of his Department's London-based building assets; and if he will make a statement; [156597]
- (2) what his latest estimate is of the value of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London; and if he will make a statement. [156598]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has two building assets in London, Burlington House, Piccadilly and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference centre. Although the latter is operated by an Agency of the Office, the building is held as an asset centrally.
The central block of Burlington House is owned freehold by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and is let on a long lease to the Royal Academy. It has a balance sheet value of nil.
The Quadrangle Buildings at Burlington House are also owned freehold, and are occupied by Learned Societies. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister envisages the continued presence of those Societies at
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Burlington House and discussions are continuing with them with a view to finalising the arrangement. The balance sheet value of the buildings is £1.35 million.
The current book value of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre building is £24 million. This was derived through annual indexation changes to a full independent valuation of £20 million as at 1 April 1999. The building is due to be re-valued as at 1 April 2004.
Government Publicity
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of whether the leaflets (a) A new opportunity for Yorkshire and the Humber, (b) A new opportunity for the North West and (c) A new opportunity for the North East meet the criteria of the guidance on Government publicity and advertising; and if he will make a statement. [163657]
Mr. Raynsford: The information campaign to inform the public of the Government's intention to hold referendums in the three regions is being conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Guidance on the Work of the Government Information Service. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is satisfied that both the text and the design of all three leaflets meet the criteria of this guidance.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department sought the opinion of the Electoral Commission before publishing the leaflets (a) A new opportunity for the North, (b) A new opportunity for the North West and (c) A new opportunity for Yorkshire and the Humber. [163658]
Mr. Raynsford: No. We are however in regular contact with the Electoral Commission on all matters relating to referendums on elected regional assemblies that are within their remit.
Housing Bill Consultation
Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those respondents to the consultation on the Draft Housing Bill who were (a) in favour of and (b) against the requirements for local authorities to seek ministerial consent before introducing (i) additional licensing of houses in multiple occupation and (ii) designating an area for selective licensing. [163682]
Keith Hill: The following consultees were:
(a) in favour of the requirements to seek Ministerial consent before introducing additional licensing of houses in multiple occupation: Universities UK; British Property Federation;
(b) against such requirements: Nottingham city council;
(c) in favour of the requirement to seek Ministerial consent before designating an area for selective licensing: North East Housing Forum; Brian Butler Esq.; Universities UK; British Property Federation;
(d) against such requirements: Gateshead Metropolitan borough council; Greenwich London borough council; Reading borough council.
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Housing Management/Maintenance Allowance
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will assess the difference between the level of housing management and maintenance allowance for Brent council in 2003–04 calculated using national crime statistics and the level using more local crime statistics; [163362]
- (2) for what reason crime levels used in the calculation of housing management and maintenance allowances are county-wide figures; and if he will use more local figures in such calculations; [163365]
(3) what assessment has been made of the impact of the new arrangements for housing management and maintenance allowances on the Government's child poverty strategy; [163370]
(4) if he will reflect the costs of administering a housing service to areas with high ethnic minority populations in the formula used to calculate management and maintenance allowances; [163371]
(5) if he will amend the management and maintenance allowance for housing revenue accounts to take account of overcrowding. [163372]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister made proposals to revise the calculation of management and maintenance allowances within Housing Revenue Account subsidy in a consultation paper published in July 2003. Following consultation the new methodology was adopted for 2004–05 and onwards.
The research underlying the proposals found that crime levels were a significant driver of an authority's relative need to spend. Although the original proposal was to use county-wide crime figures, respondents to the consultation suggested that appropriate figures were available at individual local authority level. In the calculation of the allowances for 2004–05, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister therefore calculated a relative crime rate for each individual local authority by comparing the recorded crime figures at the local and national level. County level figures were not used. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister plans to continue to use local authority level relative crime rates in future years.
The management and maintenance allowances for 2003–04 did not use the new methodology and therefore did not include any crime figures. As both the national and local figure feeds into the calculation for 2004–05, it is not possible to compare the difference between allowances using either one of these figures. Using the methodology as outlined, the combined allowance for Brent for 2004–05 after transitional protection is £1,892.85 per dwelling.
With data currently available, it is not possible to assess the direct impact of the new arrangements on the Government's Child Poverty Strategy. However, the new methodology is widely recognised as achieving a better allocation of resources across all authorities, and the overall increase in resources for local authority management and maintenance has been welcomed as recognising the important role that housing management plays in meeting a number of the Government's priorities.
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In discussions with the local authority associations, the extra costs associated with administering a housing service in areas with high ethnic minority populations were cited as costs of dealing with the consequences of racial harassment and also translation and interpretation costs. The use of the local recorded crime rate is intended to cover issues around the former. It was not possible to include the latter as there is a lack of robust data both on the numbers of languages spoken in each authority and on the actual size of the additional costs incurred.
There are no plans to review the allowances to take account of overcrowding.
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