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7 Jun 2004 : Column 263W—continued
Inspections and Reviews
Andrew George:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment his Department has made of the cost to (a) each of the local authorities in Cornwall and (b) the Council of the Isles of Scilly of meeting its obligation of monitoring, inspection, review and assessment by, for (i) the Audit Plan, (ii) the Audit Commission, (iii) the
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Social Services Inspectorate, (iv) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools, (v) Ofsted, (vi) the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate, (vii) Best Value, (viii) comprehensive performance assessments, (ix) the preparation of statutory plans/strategies and (x) other inspections and reviews. [176730]
Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not currently hold information on the cost to individual local authorities of meeting inspection and monitoring requirements. We are however committed to driving performance improvement and recognise the need to ensure that inspection and monitoring are co-ordinated, proportionate and responsive to improvement priorities of each council. We have already introduced a range of freedoms for councils linked to Comprehensive Performance Assessment. As a result 'excellent' councils have seen significant reductions in inspection activity and the removal of all service plan requirements beyond the Best Value Performance Plans and Community Strategy. All other categories of council will have seen a 75 per cent. reduction in the number of plans overall and around a 20 per cent. reduction in the number of days inspectors spent in councils compared to 2002–03. We are working with the Office for Public Sector Reform to build on this work and to develop an approach to assessing cost effectiveness and the benefits of inspection within local government.
Key Worker Definition
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he intends to extend the key worker definition to private sector employees. [177486]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's 'Key Worker Living' (KWL) programme is aimed at helping to alleviate recruitment and retention—where these are linked to the high cost of housing—in frontline public services such as education, health and community safety. Only key workers directly employed by the public sector are eligible to apply for assistance through KWL. We have no plans to extend the programme to private sector employees.
Local Authorities
Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what instructions have been given to local authorities to ensure that (a) children, (b) elderly people, (c) people with mental illness and (d) people with learning difficulties for whom the local authority has responsibility are not exposed to (i) racist opinion expressed by and (ii) policy decisions taken by elected representatives. [176828]
Mr. Raynsford:
Regulations under the Local Government Act 2000 provide that under each local authority's code of conduct members must promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and must treat others with respect. In addition, the amended Race Relations Act puts a statutory duty on all local authorities to promote race equality, and prepare and publish a Race Equality Scheme that must
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include provisions for assessing whether functions or policies are relevant to race equality, and for monitoring policies to see how they affect race' equality.
Local Elections
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the local authorities for which elections are being held in 2005, indicating in each case whether elections are being held in (a) all seats and (b) a third of seats. [177405]
Mr. Raynsford: There are no elections involving a third of seats. Whole council elections are being held in the following local authorities in 2005:
Bedfordshire County Council
Buckinghamshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cheshire County Council
Cornwall County Council
Cumbria County Council
Derbyshire County Council
Devon County Council
Dorset County Council
Durham County Council
East Sussex County Council
Essex County Council
Gloucestershire County Council
Hampshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Isle of Wight Council
Kent County Council
Lancashire County Council
Leicestershire County Council
Lincolnshire County Council
Norfolk County Council
North Yorkshire County Council
Northamptonshire County Council
Northumberland County Council
Nottinghamshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council
Shropshire County Council
Somerset County Council
Staffordshire County Council
Suffolk County Council
Surrey County Council
Warwickshire County Council
West Sussex County Council
Wiltshire County Council
Worcestershire County Council
Local Government Finance (Cambridgeshire)
Mr. Moss: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) formula spending share for and (b) grant paid under the floors and ceilings policy to (i) Cambridgeshire County Council and (ii) each district council in Cambridgeshire were for (A) 2003–04 and (B) 2004–05. [176278]
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Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is tabled as follows:
| Local authority | 2003–04 formula spending shares | 2003–04 formula grant after floors and ceilings | Adjusted 2003–04 formula spending shares | Adjusted 2003–04 formula grant after floors and ceilings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire | 448.965 | 288.141 | 432.888 | 279.796 |
| Cambridge | 15.936 | 11.218 | 15.131 | 10.413 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 10.282 | 5.253 | 9.574 | 4.545 |
| Fenland | 12.364 | 6.900 | 11.815 | 6.351 |
| Huntingdonshire | 20.789 | 9.504 | 19.462 | 8.177 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 15.960 | 6.296 | 15.400 | 5.736 |
| Local authority | 2004–05 formula spending shares | 2004–05 formula grant after floors and ceilings | Percentage change in formula spending shares | Percentage change in formula grant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire | 462.402 | 302.047 | 6.8 | 8.0 |
| Cambridge | 15.615 | 10.725 | 3.2 | 3.0 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 9.938 | 4.820 | 3.8 | 6.1 |
| Fenland | 12.111 | 6.658 | 2.5 | 4.8 |
| Huntingdonshire | 19.931 | 8.731 | 2.4 | 6.8 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 15.833 | 5.938 | 2.8 | 3.5 |
Due to changes in the funding and functions of local authorities between 2003–04 and 2004–05 it is inappropriate to compare these directly. The 2003–04 Formula Spending Share (FSS) and Formula Grant have therefore been adjusted to enable comparisons on a like-for-like basis. The percentage changes in both FSS and Formula Grant have been supplied for convenience.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister from which (a) businesses, (b) charity organisations and (c) individuals he has received representations asking for Fenland District Council to have its council tax increase for 2004–05 capped. [176299]
Mr. Raynsford: Over the last few months the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received a large volume of correspondence about council tax, some covering specific local authorities and others concerning the council tax system in general. An analysis of this information by type of respondent, subject matter and by local authority is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Ministerial Travel
David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case. [175736]
Yvette Cooper:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. Since then Ministers have made three helicopter journeys, each to view the Thames Gateway. The information requested for predecessor Departments is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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