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21 Jul 2004 : Column 323W—continued

Regional Planning Guidance (North-west)

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact of regional planning guidance on the affordability of homes in the north-west. [185283]

Keith Hill: This issue will be addressed in the forthcoming full review of regional planning guidance for the north-west.

Shared Ownership

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total amount of capital receipts from shared owners staircasing up their equity share was in each year since 1997. [185258]

Keith Hill: The following table shows the total amount of capital receipts from shared owners staircasing up their equity share in each year since 1997.
 
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Recycled capital grant fund (RCGF) shared ownership staircasing analysis

	Number of units involved	Amount (£ million)
1997–98	1,913	26.144
1998–99	2,043	28.287
1999–2000	3,321	52.223
2000–01	3,210	49.394
2001–02	3,603	58.828
2002–03	4,554	79.986
Total	18,644	294.862

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 5 July 2004, Official Report, columns 458–59W, on shared ownership housing, what the average rent and service charge was on the 50 per cent. stake held by the registered social landlord in a (a) one-bed, (b) two-bed and (c) three-bed shared ownership property in (i) Tower Hamlets, (ii) the eastern sub-region, (iii) London and (iv) England in the latest year for which figures are available. [185254]

Keith Hill: The following table shows the average rent and service charges for shared ownership properties where a 50 per cent. stake is held by the registered social landlord, broken down by the number of bedrooms, in Tower Hamlets, the east London sub-region, London and England in 2003–04.
Shared ownership sales during 2003–04 Average monthly rent and service charges for those who purchased a 50 per cent. stake

	Number of sales	Monthly rent (£)	Monthly service charge (£)
One bedroom
Tower Hamlets	7	123.90	38.11
East London	27	151.15	57.43
London	165	155.55	58.66
England	339	139.83	50.30
Two bedrooms
Tower Hamlets	5	209.84	51.36
East London	120	198.01	53.30
London	331	189.36	49.47
England	1,420	142.50	34.26
Three bedrooms
Tower Hamlets	2	164.30	0.00
East London	39	201.63	26.88
London	89	197.24	25.16
England	682	152.79	19.27

1. Because the buyer took a 50 per cent. stake, the average price paid by the buyer represents one-half of the property.
2. The figures include the following schemes:
Do-It-Yourself Shared Ownership, Shared Ownership for the Elderly, Leasehold Schemes for the Elderly, Ordinary Shared Ownership Schemes
3. East London sub-region 1 is an amalgamation of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge, Waltham Forest
Source:
Housing Corporation, CORE Sales




 
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Starter Home Initiative

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) social workers and (b) nurses were assisted by the Starter Home Initiative in 2003–04. [185520]

Keith Hill: Between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004, the Starter Home Initiative helped nearly 100 social workers and over 1,200 nurses into home ownership.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Scheme

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people in London are receiving help with fares to work under the access to work scheme. [185472]

Maria Eagle: Between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004, Access to Work helped 364 new customers in London with travel to work costs. A further 802 customers who had applied for assistance prior to 1 April 2003 continued to receive assistance during the same period.

Appointees

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of applications for appointeeship (a) involve an interview with the claimant and (b) rely on the discussion with a carer or professional alone; [182699]

(2) what monitoring takes place to ensure that appointees spend the benefit in the best interests of the claimant; [182701]

(3) how many cases there were in 2002–03 where concerns about appointeeship were brought to the attention of the Department; how many were investigated; and in how many cases the appointeeship was revoked. [182702]

Maria Eagle: Appointees are normally interviewed by a visiting officer to ensure their suitability and awareness of their roles and responsibilities; a visit will also be made to the customer, although exceptions may be made where the customer is in hospital.

While formal monitoring of appointeeships is not carried out thereafter, officers acting on behalf of the Secretary of State can revoke the authority of appointees where there are concerns that they are not acting in the interests of the person claiming benefit.

Information regarding the numbers and types of interviews carried out, and how many cases were investigated, is not available as statistics are not collected centrally.

Attendance Allowance (Over-80s)

Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in London aged (a) 80 years and over, (b) 85 years and over and (c) 90 years and over are in receipt of attendance allowance. [184876]

Maria Eagle: The numbers of attendance allowance recipients in London by age are set out in the table.
 
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	Thousand
All	123.1
Under 80	48.4
80 to 84	31.5
85 to 89	24.5
90 and over	18.7

Note:
Figures taken from a 5 per cent. sample at 29 February 2004.
Source:
AD information Centre.

Computer Systems

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of computer systems which support the delivery of pensions and income support have been replaced since 2000. [185058]

Jane Kennedy: None of the computer systems supporting the delivery of pensions and income support have been replaced. They are however subject to upgrading to reflect legislative changes and procedural improvements as required.

Departmental Annual Report

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many copies of his Department's and predecessor Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication cost and (b) sales revenue were. [183878]

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions was created in June 2001 with a specific new purpose of promoting opportunity and independence for all. The Department has published three annual reports, in spring 2002, 2003 and 2004. Information on the number of copies produced and publication costs falling to the Department are shown in the table.

Year of publication of Departmental Report	Number of copies printed	Publication costs falling to Department for Work and Pensions (£)
2002	2,000	94,940
2003	2,500	73,089
2004	1,500	40,752

Other costs associated with sales and distribution are met directly by the publisher, The Stationery Office Ltd. (TSO), and do not fall to government. Information on the number of copies sold and sales revenue are matters for the publisher.

The Department of Social Security printed 1,075 copies of its annual report in 2001 at a cost of £66,537. Information on previous years is not available. As an agency of the Department for Education and Employment, the Employment Service was included in the annual reports of that department.

Departmental Re-branding

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost was of re-branding the Department in 2001. [185534]

 
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Maria Eagle: The total cost of re-branding my Department to accommodate its name change in 2001 was £232,044, which includes the application of the logos to key items such as stationery, building signs and electronic media.

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