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30 Jun 2004 : Column 292W—continued
Farm Subsidies
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of agricultural subsidy went to (a) dairy, (b) beef, (c) sheep, (d) mixed and (e) arable farming in (i) the North-West, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) England in the last year for which figures are available. [180424]
Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency's (RPA) payment systems do not separately record the type of agricultural concern. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, the RPA is able to provide the following information relating to the number and value of claims paid to farmers in Lancashire, the North-West and England.
| Area | Number of claims | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 2,639 | 23,156,928.16 |
| North West | 10,349 | 119,273,894.47 |
| England | 89,264 | 1,344,500,373.94 |
The total value of claims paid under the various bovine, sheep and arable schemes for England is set out in the following table.
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All of the above figures relate to the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund 2003 accounting year which ran from 16 October 2002 to 15 October 2003.
Glyphosate
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the decision by the Swedish authorities to prohibit the use of liquid and spray forms of glyphosate. [180383]
Alun Michael: Glyphosate was recently assessed by all member states as part of the on-going EC Review Programme for all existing active substances used in plant protection products. The Swedish decision was based on concerns about the contamination of ground water following use on hard surfaces. This concern was reflected in the result of the review which stipulated that member states must pay particular attention to the protection of ground water in vulnerable areas, especially with respect to non-crop uses.
The UK is currently assessing applications for product approvals for glyphosate taking account of this condition.
Tenant Farmers
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of agricultural subsidy was paid to tenant farmers in the last year for which figures are available. [180105]
Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency's Integrated Administration and Control System does not separately record the status of applicants so the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Traffic Regulation Orders
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many traffic regulation orders have been taken out on bridleways and other footpaths in the last three years. [180106]
Alun Michael:
This information is not held centrally. I have asked officials to obtain information from local authorities on this issue but the information received is not easy to reduce to statistical analysis since traffic restricting orders can vary from application for very small stretches of a right of way to longer or more complex stretches.
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TRANSPORT
Rail Strike
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he will take to minimise the effects of the planned rail strike. [181128]
Mr. McNulty: Following further discussions between Network Rail and the unions, the strikes on the national rail network planned for this week have been called off.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Home Buying and Selling Advisory Group
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2004, Official Report, column 1031W, on meetings of the Home Buying and Selling Advisory Group, what the (a) remit, (b) planned work load for the next two years, (c) total budget for 2004–05, (d) cost to his Department for 2004–05, (e) staff cost for 2004–05 and (f) administration costs for 2004–05 are for (i) the Home Buying and Selling Forum and (ii) the Central Stakeholder Group; and if he will make a statement. [180286]
Keith Hill: The Home Buying and Selling Forum is primarily a discussion group, which allows the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to update a wide range of stakeholders on the progress of home information packs and gain their views on the programme of work leading up to implementation. It is envisaged that this group will meet approximately every three months for two hours.
The Central Stakeholder Group is a small group of key industry and consumer stakeholders who are tasked with advising the Programme Board and the Ministerial Task Group on the programme of work required for the successful implementation of home information packs. It is envisaged that this group will meet approximately every two months for two hours.
Meetings of both groups are hosted by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which take place in one of our buildings and the costs fall within our general administration and staff budget, there is no separate budget for these groups. We estimate that the total cost to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is approximately £1,000 per Home Buying and Selling Forum meeting and £720 per Central Stakeholder Group meeting, this includes staff and administration costs.
This reorganisation of stakeholder involvement in the home buying and selling reform programme will help ensure that everything is in place for the smooth introduction of home information packs throughout England and Wales.
Housing
Mr. Key: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the role is of the South West Regional Housing Authority in the provision of more affordable housing in Salisbury District. [180780]
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Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Sustainable Communities Plan, published in February 2003, established Regional Housing Boards (RHBs) in each of the nine English regions. The Communities Plan set out that RHBs would ensure regional housing strategies are co-ordinated with economic and planning strategies, allowing sub-regional approaches to housing problems extending beyond individual local authority boundaries. Another key task for RHBs is the preparation of regional housing strategies as the basis for advice to Ministers on the strategic housing investment priorities in the region.
Affordable housing is the South West Housing Body's number one priority. It announced on 24 March this year how £188.2 million will be invested over the next two years to deliver over 6,000 affordable homes. 20 per cent. of this programme will be used to support a range of Low Cost Home Ownership schemes, such as shared equity and Homebuy. The overall allocation for the South West of £95 million in financial year 2004–05 represents a 17 per cent. increase over 2003–04.
For Salisbury district council in particular the South West Housing Body, through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme, has allocated £2.1 million over the 2004–05 and 2005–06 financial years. This should deliver around 67 affordable homes in the district. Between 2000–01 and 2003–04 more than £4.9 million in Approved Development Programme funds have been allocated within Salisbury district delivering 170 affordable homes.
It is the responsibility of Salisbury district council to ensure that the provision of affordable housing is made on the basis of robust local assessments of needs. A demonstrable lack of affordable housing to meet local needs is a material planning consideration, which should be taken into account in formulating development plan policies and in deciding planning applications involving housing. The Government have issued guidance on how to undertake local housing needs and market assessments.
The Housing Corporation, who are also a member of each RHB and are responsible for investing public money in Housing Associations, have direct role in the provision of affordable housing and work closely with each individual local authority and their partner Housing Associations.
Martin Linton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new homes were built by or for registered social landlords in each London borough between April 2000 and April 2004. [181225]
Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation report the following new build by and for Registered Social Landlords in London local authorities for the period April 2000 to April 2004:
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This includes reported new build by the private sector under section 106 agreements.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total level of affordable housing stock was in (a) 1 January 1997 and (b) 1 January 2004. [154903]
Yvette Cooper: The following table sets out social housing stock for rent and social housing part-owned by Housing Associations under the Shared Ownership Scheme or the Leasehold Scheme for the Elderly:
| 1997 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|
| Local authority-owned social housing for rent(7) | 3,401,000 | 2,457,000 |
| Housing Association-owned social housing for rent(8) | 1,073,000 | 1,738,000 |
| Social housing part-owned by Housing Associations, part-owned by the occupiers(9) | 81,000 | 88,000 |
| Total social housing stock | 4,555,000 | 4,283,000 |
(7) Derived from the Department's annual Housing Investment Programme returns from local authorities—self-contained units plus bed spaces as at 1 April.
(8) Derived from the Housing Corporation's annual Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR)—self-contained units plus bed spaces as at 31 March. An addition has been made to the 2003 figures to reflect the late transfer (on 31 March 2003) of stock in North Hertfordshire and the Forest of Dean from local authority ownership to housing association ownership.
(9) Also derived from the Housing Corporation's RSR. The figures are the total number of units part-owned by Housing Associations under the Shared Ownership Scheme or the Leasehold Scheme for the Elderly.
In 1997 the Government inherited a £19 billion backlog of renovation and improvement work to local authority housing stock, caused by years of under-investment. Since then local authorities are estimated to have invested £14 billion in their existing stock, the majority of which has come from central Government funding. Another £9 billion has been invested in affordable housing. In total, housing capital investment has tripled since 1997, with approaching £10 billion
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being made available for all housing capital investment between 2004–06. However, there have also been significant increases in land prices and construction costs in a rising market that affect the levels of new affordable housing and refurbishment.
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