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30 Apr 2004 : Column 1335W—continued

Rent Arrears

Ms Keeble: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many evictions there were from local authority housing stock for rent arrears during each of the last three years. [169734]

Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ms Keeble: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the latest figures for rent arrears in council housing stock are, broken down by region; and what the figures were for (a) 2003 and (b) 2002. [169735]

Keith Hill: Estimates of total rent arrears due to local authorities as at 31 March for each of the years 2002–04, and aggregated to regional level, are tabled as follows:
£ million

Region	2002	2003	2004
North East	32.8	34.1	32.5
North West	77.5	64.3	65.2
Yorkshire and the Humber	58.8	61.1	53.0
East Midlands	37.5	37.3	36.5
West Midlands	47.8	44.7	40.7
East	32.7	30.4	28.3
London	215.6	185.4	181.7
South East	33.5	32.9	31.5
South West	20.5	21.7	23.3
England	556.8	512.0	492.8

Notes:
1.   The above estimates are based on unaudited figures supplied by local authorities in response to a regular survey called "Entitlement to Housing Subsidies and Grants" and, in particular, the First/Second Advance Claim forms.
2.   The total arrears reflect arrears due from both former tenants and current tenants.
3.   The change in cumulative rent arrears from one year to the next can be affected both by the success of a local authority in chasing up rent arrears and by the fact that local authorities can simply write-off outstanding arrears at any time.




 
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Wind Farms

Mr. Walter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the installed capacity and location of wind turbines granted planning permission was in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 1990; how many wind farms were awaiting planning permission at 31 March; and what the generating capacity is in each case. [168830]

Keith Hill: Apart from Northern Ireland, where all applications are dealt with centrally, Government do not hold records of proposals for on-shore wind farms below 50 megawatts (MW) as these fall to be determined by the local planning authority under the normal planning regime. However, proposals to construct and operate generating stations with a capacity greater than 50 MW in England and Wales require my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry's consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. This information is also collated by the devolved Administrations in Scotland. For all such applications, the information requested is in the tables.

Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989—applications approved

There have been no applications approved in England.

Country	Location	Date received	Generating capacity	Date approved
Wales	Cefn Croes Ceredigion	24 July 2000	60 MW	23 May 2002
Scotland	Caim Uish, Moray	27 September 2001	56 MW	21 January 2003
	Pauls Hill, Moray	27 September 2001	56 MW	31 March 2003
	Hadyard Hill, South Ayrshire	31 July 2002	130MW	24 December 2003
	Black Law, North and South Lanarkshire	9 August 2001	142.6 MW	13 February 2004

English and Scottish S 36 Applications submitted 2001–02

There are no outstanding applications in respect of Wales.

Date of application	Project title/type	Location, including grid ref (Easting and Northing) if available	Maximum output
14 December 2001	Windy Standard Windfarm Extension	Dumfries and Galloway E 252 500/N 604 500	90 MW
23 January 2002	Whitelee Windfarm	South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire E 256 800/N 645 435	322 MW
11 September 2002 (14 March 2002)	Farr Windfarm	Highland Council NH 731 292	112.5 MW
31 October 2002 (5 April 2002)	Braes of Doune Windfarm	Stirling Council E 269500/N 705500	100 MW
15 November 2002	Little Cheyne Court	Walland Marsh Kent	75 MW

 
30 Apr 2004 : Column 1337W
 

English and Scottish S 36 Applications submitted 2003

Date of application	Project title/type	Location, including grid ref (Easting and Northing) if available	Maximum output
21 January 2003 (N/A)	Crystal Rig Windfarm Extension	Scottish Borders Council E 372 847 N 660 603	62.5 MW
9 May 2003 (N/A)	Greenock Windfarm	Inverclyde Council	59 MW
14 May 2003 (N/A)	Paul's Hill Extension	Moray Council E 311 050 N 840 050	77 MW (additional 21 MW)
18 June 2003 (12 July 2002)	Gordonbush Windfarm	Highland Council NC 2860 9150	100 MW
4 July 2003	Scout Moor	Lancashire	Approximately 65 MW
11 July 2003 (15 August 2002)	Clashindarroch Windfarm	Aberdeenshire Council E 348 500 N 831 500	129 MW
29 September 2003	Whinash	Tebay, Cumbria	67.5 MW
24 October 2003	Keadby	North Lincolnshire	78 MW
27 October 2003 (15 August 2002)	Aultmore Windfarm	Moray Council E 345 000 N 860 000	62 MW
5 December 2003 (N/A)	Kilpatrick Hills Windfarm	West Dunbartonshire	60 MW

English and Scottish S 36 Applications submitted 2004

Date of application	Project title/type	Location, including grid ref (Easting and Northing) if available	Maximum output
5 January 2004	Tween Bridge	Thorne	Approximately 84 MW
9 January 2004 (6 August 2003)	Abercairny Windfarm	Perth and Kinross Council NN 890 270	66 MW
16 February 2004 (7 August 2003)	Calliacher Windfarm	Perth and Kinross Council E 285 000 N 750 000	93 MW
15 March 2004	Causeymire Wind Farm	Highland Council	55.2 MW
(7 March 2003)	Harestanes Windfarm	Dumfries and Galloway E 301 000 N 595 000	282 MW
(24 April 2003)	Lochelbank Windfarm	Perth and Kinross Council E 311 440 N 713 477	51 MW
(31 July 2003)	Ewehill Windfarm	Dumfries and Galloway E 265 500 N 600 500	80 MW

For Northern Ireland

All applications approved

Location	Generating capacity	Approved
Slieve Rushen	5MW	1992
Corkey	5MW	1994
Rigged Hill	5MW	1994
Eliot's Hill	5MW	1994
Bessy Bell	5MW	1994
Owenreagh	5MW	1996
Lendrum's Bridge, Fivemiletown	13.2 MW	2002
Altahullion, Londonderry	26 MW	2002
Lough Hill	12.25 MW	2003
Tappaghan, Co. Fermanagh	19.5 MW	2004
Callagheen	22.75 MW	2004

All applications submitted as at 31 March 2004

Location	Generating capacity
Dunloy	16 MW
Beltany	11.7 MW
Rosslea	17.5 MW
Clogher	30 MW
Binnawoods	9 MW

Janet Anderson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he issues on the minimum acceptable distance between sizes of proposed windfarms and the nearest dwelling. [169489]

Keith Hill: Paragraph 47 of the annex on Wind Energy in Policy Planning Guidance Note 22 (PPG22) contains guidelines about turbine separation distances from residential dwellings, specifically in relation to noise. This matter was also covered in paragraph 18 of our revision to PPG22, which was issued as a draft for consultation last November.
 
30 Apr 2004 : Column 1338W
 

Janet Anderson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to (a) amend and (b) relax the planning guidance in respect of planning permission for windfarms. [169490]

Keith Hill: The Government's proposals for amending the current planning policy guidance note 22: renewable energy (PPG22) were set out in draft Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22) published for public consultation on 5 November 2003. This document covered the handling of all types of renewable energy projects through the planning system. Copies have been made available in the Libraries of the House. The consultation period ended on 30 January. The final version of PPS22 will be published later this year following careful consideration of the consultation responses received.

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