| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Apr 2004 : Column 1135W—continued
Fire Services
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions his Department has held with the Ministry of Defence on ensuring that the modernisation agenda for fire services is an integral part of the solution for the Airfield Support Services Project. [167253]
Mr. Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Defence on 23 April 2004, Official Report, column 685W.
Green Belt
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the target is for each region for increasing the area of green belt; and what allowance the targets make for the sustainable communities plan areas. [168375]
Keith Hill: The Government's commitment, set out in Part 4 of "Sustainable Communities; building for the future", is to protect the countryside through a target for each region to maintain or increase the current area of land designated as greenbelt land in local plans. This commitment applies to all English regions, including those containing the four growth areas identified elsewhere in "Sustainable Communities".
Housing (Stalybridge and Hyde)
James Purnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the Starter Homes Initiative has affected the residents of Stalybridge and Hyde. [168788]
Keith Hill: Between September 2001 and 31 March 2004, the Starter Home Initiative helped key workers into home ownership in areas where the high cost of housing was undermining recruitment and retention of skilled staff in our key public services. The programme was not available to key workers in Stalybridge and Hyde.
The new Key Worker Living programme which started on 1 April 2004 superseding the Starter Home Initiative is helping key workers in London, the South East and the Eastern regions.
Housing and Planning
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the UK spent on implementing EU mandates in the housing and planning sectors of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2003–04. [166313]
Keith Hill: There has been no requirement to implement new EU mandates affecting the housing and planning sectors of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2003–04.
Housing Corporation
Martin Linton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what powers the Housing Corporation has to investigate the actions of shareholder-tenants of a housing association. [168857]
28 Apr 2004 : Column 1136W
Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation does not have any powers, which are directed specifically towards the shareholder-tenants of a housing association. Shareholding groups may, but often do not, include tenants. In the case of some associations, shareholders have specific constitutional duties, and as such they are part of the overall structure of accountability. In such cases they bear some responsibility for the overall governance and management of an association.
The Housing Corporation has a statutory duty to regulate those housing associations that are registered with it. Under paragraph 20 of schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1996, the corporation also has a specific power to direct a statutory inquiry into the affairs of a registered housing association where it appears that there may have been misconduct or mismanagement. This could be limited to certain specific matters or could extend across the whole range of activities, including the duties and actions of shareholders.
Martin Linton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Housing Corporation's duties of disclosure to hon. Members under the Housing Act 1996, Part 1, Chapter 4(33)(2). [168858]
Keith Hill: Under section 33 of the Housing Act 1996, the Housing Corporation has the power to disclose information to the bodies and persons specified. This is a discretionary power, rather than a duty.
Land Use
Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what total area in England was designated in each land use class one to seven in (a) 1974, (b) 1984, (c) 1994 and (d) 2003 (i) in total and (ii) broken down by county. [165754]
Keith Hill: At present there is no comprehensive information on land use classes in England. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, with other Government departments, is investigating the options for deriving a full land use dataset in a cost-effective way.
Local Government Finance
Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities raised the level of council tax by less than 3 per cent. when setting the rate for 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [167235]
Mr. Raynsford: The following authorities increased their Band D council tax by less than 3 per cent. between 2003–04 and 2004–05:
Camden
Southwark
Wandsworth
Birmingham
Bury
Coventry
Dudley
Kirklees
Knowsley
Manchester
Sandwell
Solihull
St. Helens
Tameside
Wakefield
Walsall
Wigan
Wirral
Wolverhampton
Alnwick
Amber Valley
Ashfield
Babergh
Basingstoke and Deane
Bassetlaw
Blyth Valley
Carlisle
Castle Morpeth
Cheltenham
Chesterfield
Chichester
Craven
Dartford
Derwentside
Easington
East Lindsey
Eastleigh
Fareham
Forest of Dean
Hart
Malvern Hills
Mansfield
Mid Devon
North Warwickshire
Preston
Redditch
Ribble Valley
Rugby
Rushmoor
Sedgemoor
South Cambridgeshire
South Oxfordshire
Stafford
Stroud
Teignbridge
Tewkesbury
Three Rivers
Tynedale
Wansbeck
Watford
Wear Valley
West Lancashire
West Somerset
Worcester
Wychavon
Wycombe
For shire counties and unitary authorities, an asterisk indicates that the percentage increase in the authority's Band D council tax is not less than 3 per cent. when expressed as an increase over its indicative Band D council tax for 2003–04.
An authority's indicative council tax for 2003–04 is the level of council tax consistent with its alternative notional amount, as published in "The Limitation of Council Tax and Precepts (Alternative Notional Amounts) Report (England) 2004/05". Alternative notional amounts have been issued to take account of the change in the financing arrangements for combined fire authorities (CFAs) between 2003–04 and 2004–05, whereby each CFAs has set its own council tax for the first time for 2004–05, instead of receiving a contribution towards its expenses from its constituent authorities.
Indicative council taxes for 2003–04 are available on the ODPM local Government finance website, from the 'Alternative Notional Amounts' menu at http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ct.htm.
Bedfordshire*
Buckinghamshire*
Cambridgeshire*
Cheshire*
Derbyshire
Devon*
Dorset*
Durham*
East Sussex*
Essex*
Hampshire*
Kent*
Lancashire*
Leicestershire*
North Yorkshire*
Nottinghamshire*
Shropshire*
Staffordshire*
Wiltshire*
Worcestershire*
Bath and North East Somerset*
Blackburn with Darwen
Bournemouth*
Brighton and Hove*
Bristol*
Darlington*
Derby*
East Riding of Yorkshire*
Halton*
Hartlepool*
Kingston-upon-Hull*
Luton*
Middlesbrough*
Milton Keynes*
North East Lincolnshire *
North Lincolnshire*
North Somerset*
Peterborough*
Plymouth*
Poole*
Portsmouth*
Reading*
Redcar and Cleveland*
Slough*
South Gloucestershire*
Southampton*
Southend-on-Sea*
Stockton-on-Tees*
Stoke-on-Trent*
Swindon*
Telford and Wrekin*
Thurrock*
Warrington*
Wokingham*
York*
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |