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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 17 June 2004

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Housing

Ms Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list (a) the number of council housing stock option appraisals signed off by the Government to date and (b) the number of these which have involved (i) retention of the stock, (ii) transfer of the stock to a registered social landlord, (iii) delegation to an arm's length management organisation and (iv) mixed solutions, (c) the number of local authorities that have submitted an options appraisal which has not yet been signed off and (d) the number of authorities that have not yet submitted an appraisal to be signed off in (A) London and (B) England. [178472]

Keith Hill: Local authorities were only required to have signed off option appraisals from April 2003. Prior to that date 157 local authorities had already opted for transfer or Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) of which 11 are in London.

The table as follows shows the position regarding the sign-off requirement as of 9 June 2004, as reported by Government Offices for the Regions
England (including London)London
(a) Total number. of OAs signed off272
(b)(i) Number of these that have involved retention13Nil
(b)(ii) Number of these that have involved transfer13Nil
(b)(iii) Number of these that have involved ALMO102
(b)(iv) Number of these that have involved mixed solutions2Nil
(c) Number of LAs that have submitted an options appraisal without sign off as of 9 June 0461
(d) Number of LAs that have not yet submitted an options appraisal as of 9 June 200416419

Coverage Care

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answers of 15 March 2004, Official Report, columns 59–60W and 29 April 2004, Official Report, column 1227W, on Coverage Care (Gloucestershire Ltd.), what estimate he has made of the maximum contingent liability to be borne by (a) council tax payers in Gloucestershire and (b) the general tax payer; if he will list the information which the county council has resolved should remain confidential; under what circumstances a specific consent would need to be sought by the county council; and what discussions he
 
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has held on the county council's invocation of confidentiality provisions in local government legislation in relation to this matter. [173029]

Yvette Cooper: The bulk of Government support is paid as block grant, so local authorities have considerable freedom to determine their spending priorities and decide how to apportion their revenue budget between services. The provision of local authority services is for individual authorities, bearing in mind their statutory responsibilities. The Government does not have a power to intervene in local authorities' day to day decisions.

It is for local authorities to determine the level of council tax. Local authorities should be consulting their local tax payers on issues about levels of council tax and what the money is spent on.

Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 describes the types of "exempt information" which a local authority can decide to keep confidential. Gloucestershire county council has resolved to keep confidential the types of information specified in paragraphs 5, 7 and 9. These paragraphs cover information relating to financial assistance provided by the authority, the financial or business affairs of other parties and terms proposed in the course of commercial contract negotiations. No discussions have been held between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the county council about the council's use of confidentiality provisions in local government legislation. The circumstances under which a specific consent would need to be sought by the county council are set out in sections 24 and 25 of the Local Government Act 1988.

Economic Regeneration Funding

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what financial support was given by his Department to each of the areas designated as a priority area for economic regeneration as defined by Regional Planning Guidance 9 in 2003–04. [179230]

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funds a large number of programmes either through its agencies, such as English Partnerships, or directly. In 2003–4 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's direct initiatives which assisted economic regeneration in the South-East included the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Wardens Schemes, Neighbourhood Management Pilots, New Deal for Communities, the Community Empowerment Fund, Community Chest, Community Learning Chest, Single Regeneration Budget and European Structural Fund Objective Two. The information on how much was given in 2003–4 in each of the priority areas for economic regeneration is not held centrally, and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Fire Service (Recruitment)

Mr. Randall: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many recruits there were to each fire authority in England and Wales in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) gender and (b) ethnicity. [178770]

Mr. Raynsford: Information in the form requested is not readily available for the years 1999–2001. Information on the number of successful applicants for
 
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each fire authority in England and Wales from 1999 to 2001 by gender and ethnicity is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Information on the number of successful applicants for each authority in England and Wales in each of the last two years by (a) gender and (b) ethnicity is available in the Library of the House.

Housing Stock Transfer

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what receipts there were from stock transfer of council housing, broken down by local authority and
 
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giving the number of homes involved, the unit transfer price, and the total capacity receipt in each case, in each year since 1997. [178905]

Keith Hill: To reflect the intended continued use of the properties for social housing and the need for capital investment, the price paid to each local authority per council dwelling and reflected in the following table, accords with a Tenanted Market Value (TMV) rather than an open market value. Where there is a negative value a grant equal to this amount was paid by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as part of the Estates Renewal Challenge Fund (ERCF) programme. The table shows the receipts from stock transfer, broken down by local authority, showing the number of dwellings, price per dwelling and the gross transfer price in each year since 1997.
Local authorityDate of transferNumber of dwellingsPrice per
dwelling (£)
Gross transfer price (£ million)ERCF grant paid for negative valuation X
Cotswold DC28 February 19974,28212,81853.45
South Staffs C7 March 19975,2737,99842.67
Lichfield DC19 March 19974,9218,41640.88
South Oxfordshire DC7 July 19975,01813,61868.33
Eden C22 September 19971,51011,25316.99
LB Lambeth * Moorlands5 January 1998515-24,660-12.80X
LB Bexley9 February 19984,11811,99649.40
LB Bexley9 February 19984,0978,54034.99
Congleton BC2 March 19984,0617,93932.24
Oldham BC* Limehurst9 March 1998642-8,941-5.74X
Liverpool CC * Windermere19 March 1998493-13,164-6.49X
LB Merton* Pollards Hill23 March 19981,018-13,635-13.88X
LB Tower Hamlets* Poplar 123 March 19981,852-19,006-35.20X
Kerrier DC23 March 19983,7328,57932.02
LB Hackney * Kingsmead30 March 1998951-11,199-10.65X
LB Brent * Fortunegate/Church End30 March 19981,481-16,874-25.00X
Basildon DC* Vange30 March 1998708-9,562-6.77X
West Somerset DC30 March 19981,86913,75025.70
Stoke-on-Trent CC * Bentilee31 March 1998917-11,221-10.29X
Tewkesbury BC27 April 19983,0667,98524.48
Rother DC1 May 19983,05810,07230.80
LB Lambeth * Lansdowne Green20 July 1998681-12,555-8.54X
LB Tower Hamlets* Poplar II7 December 19982,431-7,805-18.97X
Wirral* Leasowe25 January 19991,082-4,799-5.19X
Tameside * West Ashton1 February 1999901-10,655-9.57X
West Devon BC22 February 19991,4469,20013.52
South Somerset DC1 March 19998,8837,79569.25
East Lindsey DC1 March 19995,1028,82045.00
Liverpool CC * Pinehurst5 March 1999646-9,505-6.14X
Manchester CC Darnhill8 March 19991,030820.85
LB Hackney * Morningside15 March 19991,084-9,339-10.12X
South Hams District Council22 March 19993,09613,24341.00
LB Hammersmith and Fulham * Old Oak17 March 1999668-14,027-9.37X
LB Hackney * Upper Clapton22 March 19991,000-19,975-19.98X
Telford and Wrekin C25 March 199913,0819113.37
LB Enfield29 March 19991,194n/a0.00
Worthing BC29 March 19992,52514,09535.59
Bath and North East Somerset C29 March 19999,8878,04079.49
Manchester CC* East Wythenshawe29 March 19996,667-3,165-20.81X
LB Greenwich * Charlton Triangle29 March 19991,280-14,077-18.02X
LB Hackney * Haggerston29 March 1999661-20,030-13.24X
Allerdale BC31 March 19993,7048,26130.60
Allerdale BC * Salterbeck31 March 1999727-5,451-3.96X
Preston BC * Avenham14 June 19991,121-8,576-9.61X
LB Lambeth* Central Stockwell5 July 19992,358-6,667-17.53X
Birmingham CC* Central Areas21 June 19992,813-17,401-50.55X
LB Islington* Barnsbury26 September 1999647-6,646-4.29X
LB Islington* Ten Estates26 September 1999739-24,898-18.41X
Liverpool CC* Speke Garston4 October 19994,382-9,990-43.78X
West Lindsey DC18 October 19993,9297,81430.70
LB Lambeth* St. Martins25 October 19991,033-6,805-7.03X
Boston BC29 November 19994,8718,90743.40
Tynedale DC20 December 19993,5649,533.86
Newcastle under Lyme BC31 January 20009,8875,46254.00
Restormel BC7 February 20003,5777,01825.11
Manchester CC (Colshaw Farm)14 February 20006001,5000.90
North Devon DC21 February 20003,29313,43844.25
LB Hackney* Stamford Hill6 March 20001,095-12,082-13.23X
LB Hackney* Pembury Estate6 March 20001,241-12,379-15.35X
Burnley BC8 March 20005,3304,20522.41
Manchester CC Sale Estate20 March 20001,6551,4192.35
Weymouth and Portland C20 March 20003,1059,98330.99
Huntingdon DC20 March 20006,6509,53463.40
Elmbridge BC27 March 20004,89411,62656.90
Test Valley BC27 March 20005,49514,55979.99
Wyre Forest DC27 March 20006,0566,76240.95
Manchester CC Whitefield Estate27 March 20001,0331,9421.97
LB Tower Hamlets* THCH27 March 20001,551-13,718-21.43X
Tameside27 March 20008,5326,489 127.50
MBC(1)7,9347,057
LB Richmond17 July 20007,1398,33559.50
Coventry CC22 September 200020,1252,46049.50
Fylde BC2 October 20001,9056,30012.00
Chester CC27 November 20007,0966,34145.00
Horsham DC11 December 20004,65014,46267.25
LB Tower Hamlets* Poplar 112 February 20011,859-1,894-35.22X
East Northamptonshire DC19 February 20013,4956,15021.49
Torbay BC19 February 20012,9476,48019.10
Staffordshire Moorlands DC23 February 20013,1326,29019.67
Calderdale MBC6 March 200112,7592,82536.00
Chichester DC13 March 20015,32114,75278.50
Mendip DC19 March 20014,3268,09135.00
West Wiltshire DC26 March 20013,2846,42321.00
West Oxfordshire DC26 March 20013,64313,97250.90
East Staffordshire BC26 March 20015,6373,64324.50
Manchester CC Handforth Estate26 March 20016595350.37
Sunderland CC26 March 200136,3566,045219.80
Blackburn with Darwen BC28 March 20019,8864,19535.40
Shrewsbury and Atcham BC1 October 20015,50011,52763.40
Mid-Bedfordshire DC5 November 20013,08410,15931.33
Derbyshire Dales4 March 20023,2877,61624.80
Chelmsford BC11 March 20026,90211,53079.60
East Hertfordshire18 March 20022,68711,93732.10
East Hertfordshire(1)3,23713,72544.40
Erewash BC25 March 20025,8476,46038.10
Reigate and Banstead BC25 March 20024,84613,21264.00
St. Edmundsbury24 June 20025,9477,48945.10
Vale Royal BC1 July 20026,8137,46251.07
St. Helens MBC1 July 200214,6321,97428.90
Redcar and Cleveland BC15 July 200211,6255,18060.20
Knowsley MBC15 July 200217,0901,79430.66
LB Waltham Forest30 September 20022,2428321.87
LB Hackney cc sheltered stock14 October 200295400.00
LB Harrow14 October 200251800.00
Manchester cc Langley Estate18 November 20023,36000.00
County of Herefordshire C25 November 20025,6966,94539.56
Carlisle CC9 December 20027,1981,80312.98
Rushcliffe BC20 January 20033,44512,93444.56
Liverpool CC Eastern Fringe (south)23 January 20032,8331,8005.10
Liverpool CC Eastern Fringe (central)30 January 20033,70200.00
City of Bradford24 February 200324,7642,83170.10
Amber Valley BC24 February 20035,6325,07728.57
Crewe and Nantwich BC10 March 20035,5156,18134.10
Liverpool CC Eastern fringe north10 March 20036,18300.00
Oldham MBC Limeside (Hollins/The Avenues)17 March 200363400.00
Walsall MBC (majority of stock)27 March 200322,9711,02624.00
Walsall MBC (tenant managed stock)27 March 20031,82800.00
Craven DC31 March 20031,5415,20117.60
Forest of Dean DC31 March 20033,5776,84924.50
North Hertfordshire DC31 March 20038,5703,12827.00
Manchester CC (East Manchester)8 September 20032,82300.00
Scarborough BC15 December 20034,6325,23224.25
Maidstone BC2 February 20046,8105,68535.82
Teignbridge4 February 20043,6473,65112.90
Oldham MBC Fitton Hill15 March 20041,28500.00
Cherwell29 March 20043,6567,39742.85
Bromsgrove29 March 20043,0965,21816.50
Hartlepool29 March 20047,5094273.20
Liverpool (Kensington)29 March 200428900.00
Worcester31 March 20044,7141,1285.31
South Norfolk17 May 20044,2147,49931.60
Copeland BC7 June 20043,7873171.20


(1) Two transfers to separate RSLs.



 
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