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22 Jul 2004 : Column 562W—continued
Lost/Stolen Departmental Property
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the items that his Department has reported lost or stolen to the police from his Department's buildings and property since 2001. [185782]
Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Night Shelters
Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many night shelter beds there are in the Greater London area. [185349]
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Phil Hope: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister knows that there are around 2,750 quick access bedspaces in London hostels together with a further 13,300 bed spaces in longer stay hostels for homeless people. Some 100 people are accommodated each night in rolling shelters designed to help rough sleepers move quickly away from the streets. Other night shelters are managed predominantly by faith based organisations particularly during the Winter.
Objective 2 Funds
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Government North East had failed to spend any allocations of European support under Objective 2 as at 31 December 2003; whether any fine was imposed; and what the profile of spending was for the 2004 calendar year. [185589]
Mr. Raynsford: The Objective 2 spending targets for 2003 were met therefore no funds were lost. The ERDF element of Objective 2 is set to achieve its 2004 spend target of £153.42 million. While progress against the ESF spend target of £33.9 million has been slow, measures have been implemented to accelerate spending in the remainder of the year.
Parks and Green Spaces (Safety/Security)
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what policy measures have been introduced by his Department to protect and enhance the safety and security of the users of municipal parks and urban green spaces; [185792]
(2) what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities and other agencies responsible for the maintenance and management of municipal parks and urban green spaces regarding the promotion of the safety and security of park and green space users. [185793]
Keith Hill: The policies of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for protecting and enhancing the quality of parks and green spaces are set out in Living Places—Cleaner, Safer, Greener (2002) and Sustainable Communities—building for the future (2003). Working closely with local authorities and other agencies to creating safe and secure spaces that people will want to use is a key objective of our policies, which include, for example:
publication of 'Safer Places—the planning system and crime prevention', which shows how positive planning can contribute to crime prevention and to the creation of safer places;
creation of CABE Space to assist local authorities and promote good practice on planning, designing, management and maintenance of urban green space; and
publication of Living places—Caring for Quality, which advises managers of best practice in creating and maintaining safe spaces.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working closely with the Home Office through its Together—tackling anti-social behaviour action plan to prevent and reduce crime and disorder in public spaces.
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Private Rented Sector
Mr. Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what his Department is doing to stimulate investment in the private rented sector to boost affordable housing options; and if he will make a statement; [186108]
(2) what discussions his Department is having with the investment and regulatory housing sector in relation to delivering affordable privately rented accommodation; and if he will make a statement; [186128]
(3) if he will make a statement on his Department's work on the (a) planning and (b) production of affordable rental housing. [186129]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister set out a radical reform programme in our "Sustainable Communities Plan", which was published on 5 February 2003, to increase the provision of affordable housing, including through increased investment, improvements to the planning system and the establishment of four growth areas to provide an additional 200,000 homes. As a result of the Spending Review announced last week, the Government will more than double spending on new affordable housing since 1997 up to £2.25 billion. This funding will provide an extra 10,000 social rented homes a year by 2008—a 50 per cent. increase—to help tackle homelessness.
The private rented sector also has an important role to play in providing affordable accommodation for those who cannot afford to buy their own homes, the growingnumber of students and single person households. The sector offers a flexible form of tenure to young professionals. It contributes to greater labour market mobility, the efficient functioning of the housing market and to the success of the wider economy.
The Government believe that there is scope for the private rented sector to make a bigger contribution to meeting individuals' housing needs. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is seeking to encourage this including through consultation on the promotion of investment in commercial property and the private rented sector by removing the tax disadvantages currently faced by institutions. In addition, the Housing Bill seeks to raise quality, especially of management, in some of the worst parts of the private rented sector, where the most vulnerable members of society frequently bear the brunt of some of the poorest conditions and services.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Ministers proposed update to Planning Policy Guidance Note No. 3 (PPG3) titled "Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing", due to be published in October 2004, includes the requirement that local planning authorities should address the housing requirements of the whole community by ensuring a better match between a community's housing needs and supply. It requires that all local planning authorities must have policies on affordable housing to help deliver affordable housing where it is needed. Local authorities are increasingly looking to the private rented sector as a means of meeting housing need.
Rate Relief (Small Businesses)
Brian Cotter:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 21 June 2004, Official Report,
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column 1236W, on the rate relief scheme, if he will place in the Library a list of hon. and right hon. Members who have written to his Office regarding the Government's new rate relief scheme for small businesses. [182504]
Phil Hope: A list of those hon. and right hon. Members who, according to our records, have written to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister between 18 September 2003 and 18 June 2004 regarding the Government's rate relief scheme for small businesses, has been tabled as follows.
Note:
This list only represents those members of Parliament indicated in the ODPMs records between September 2003 and June 2004.
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