16 Sept 2004 : Column 1649W
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 16 September 2004
WALES
Departmental Staff
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff are employed in the Wales Office; how many there were in 1997; and if he will make a statement. [188997]
Mr. Hain: Staff numbers for the Wales Office, since its establishment on 1 July 1999, are shown in table 5.7 of the Wales Office Annual Report 2004 (Cm 6228), a copy of which can be obtained from the Library of the House.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Bexley Council (Asset Sales)
Derek Conway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will investigate the process by which Bexley council proposes to dispose of the North Cray school site in Sidcup to London and Quadrant. [188590]
Phil Hope: Disposal of land by local authorities is governed by section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972. Authorities have discretion to dispose of land in any manner they wish. The First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's only power is to grant or withhold consent where authorities wish to dispose of land at less than the best consideration reasonably obtainable and the proposed disposal falls outside the scope of the General Disposal Consent in ODPM Circular 06/2003. There are no statutory powers available to launch an investigation into the disposal process used in any specific case. If an individual feels the correct procedures have not been followed the best course of action would be to approach the Local Government Ombudsman.
Canvey Island (Housing)
Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many additional houses he anticipates will be built on Canvey Island over the next 10 years; and how many school-age children he estimates will live in those houses. [189304]
Keith Hill:
It will be for Castle Point borough council, as the local planning authority, to decide how many homes should be built on Canvey Island once the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England has been issued. It will also fall to the local authorities to consider how many school-age children are likely to live in any additional Canvey Island housing, having regard to local demography, types of housing to be provided and local educational standards.
16 Sept 2004 : Column 1650W
Care Homes
Sue Doughty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many local authority run care home beds there were in Surrey in each year since 1997. [188169]
Dr. Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
The table shows the number of local authority staffed care home places in Surrey, as at 31 March for the years 1997 to 2001.
| Rounded numbers | |
|---|---|
| Number of places | |
| 1997 | 1,760 |
| 1998 | 970 |
| 1999 | 860 |
| 2000 | 860 |
| 2001 | 520 |
Source:
RA.
I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, and now CSCI, but comparable details are not available.
Deprived Wards (Weston-super-Mare)
Brian Cotter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) score and (b) rank are for each of the wards in Weston-super-Mare according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 for each of (i) the seven domain indices, (ii) the sub-domains and (iii) the two supplementary indices. [188670]
Phil Hope: The Index of Multiple Deprivation (2004) is based on Super Output Areas (SOAs) rather than wards. SOAs are geographical units which are based on consistent areas of between 1,000 to 3,000 people. They are designed to measure small areas more effectively and to be consistent over time. Tables which show each of the wards in Weston-super-Mare and each of the Super Output Areas which make up these wards have been made available in the Library of the House. The scores and ranks of these SOAs are given as requested. In the ranks, 1 is most deprived. One of the Super Output Areas, in Wrington, is partially in this ward and partially in the adjacent ward. This SOA is included.
Disabled Facilities Grant Programme
Sue Doughty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to abolish the means testing of the disabled facilities grant for the parents of disabled children in England. [188185]
Phil Hope:
The Government are sympathetic to the difficult situation faced by families with disabled children, and announced a review of the operation of the DFG programme on 5 January 2004. In answer to a parliamentary question in the other place, the right hon. Lord Rooker said that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, jointly with the Department of Health will be reviewing the disabled facilities grant programme, in the context of the Spending Review 2004. A number of
16 Sept 2004 : Column 1651W
financial and policy issues affecting the programme, including the operation of the means test and the maximum grant limit will be evaluated.
Energy Efficiency
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) pensioners and (b) other people have received help to insulate their homes in York in each year since 1997. [188947]
Keith Hill: The information requested is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Housing
Llew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the cost of bringing hard to heat homes in the current housing stock up to standards described in his programme for decent homes. [188613]
Keith Hill: The Government and their partners are exploring the most effective means of improving the energy efficiency of hard-to-heat homes in different circumstances, for example where gas supplies are not available or where construction precludes the installation of traditional cost-effective insulation measures. This work is being pursued in the wider context of progress against the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new (a) social rented and (b) affordable homes have been provided in York in each year since 1997. [188948]
Keith Hill: The number of new registered social landlord dwellings for rent and low cost home ownership dwellings that have been built within York, as reported by the Housing Corporation, are tabled as follows:
| Registered social landlord dwellings for rent | Low cost home ownership dwellings(1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 101 | 14 |
| 1998–99 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 155 | 6 |
| 2000–01 | 119 | 28 |
| 2001–02 | 50 | 3 |
| 2002–03 | 29 | 1 |
| 2003–04 | 35 | 12 |
(1) May include some refurbishment of existing dwellings
Leasehold Property Sales
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to allow the purchase of leasehold property, especially under Right to Buy, by Muslims on the same or a similar basis to freehold, who want to take advantage of the Budget provisions to allow purchase of property without the payment of interest and double stamp duty. [188014]
Keith Hill:
The Government are aware of the barriers faced by social tenants who wish to use Sharia'a compliant loan finance packages to purchase their homes under the Right to Buy and Right to Acquire schemes. These barriers exist in respect of both freehold
16 Sept 2004 : Column 1652W
and leasehold sales. To address them, the Government are considering ways of facilitating the sale of social homes to such tenants on voluntary terms. It intends to issue proposals for consultation soon.
Millennium Dome
Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the schedule of maintenance and repairs for the Millennium Dome. [189319]
Keith Hill: The dome has been maintained under the terms of the contracts with MDL and Anschutz in order to hand over the dome for the construction of the arena and surrounding waterfront development. It has also been maintained sufficiently to enable it to be hired for short-term events in order to mitigate running costs.
The planned preventative maintenance regime that has been adopted covers the following categories of maintenance: fabric and supporting steelwork; air management system; water and drainage systems; services and plant; lighting; CCTV; voice alarm; fire alarm; landscaping; perimeter fence; and operational buildings required.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |