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8 Nov 2004 : Column 451W—continued
Casinos
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the responses to the consultation on a separate use class order for casinos from each of the planning authorities in Tyne and Wear. [196362]
Keith Hill: After the second report of the Joint Scrutiny Committee, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister undertook to review the possibility of a change to the classification of casinos and invited comments by the end of October. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister did not receive any comments from planning authorities in Tyne and Wear.
Civil Servants
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average length of continuous service for civil servants within the Department is. [194397]
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Phil Hope: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Ruth Kelly) on 3 November 2004, Official Report, column 268W. The only part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which are not MANDATE reliant are the Fire Service College where the average length of service is 6.5 years and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre where it is 5.38 years.
Decent Homes Standard
Mr. Purchase: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to review the funding under the decent homes standard for local authorities whose tenants choose to remain owned and managed by the local authority. [195705]
Keith Hill: The Government is not looking at any other options for delivering additional resources beyond the existing three options. The existing options of Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMO), Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) and transfer are proving highly successful and there is no need to create alternative options. There is not and will not be a 'fourth option' for additional funds, and the Deputy Prime Minister has recently written to all leaders of councils of stock owning local authorities to make this clear.
However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is always looking at ways of improving how housing finance works, for example, this year has seen greater freedoms introduced by prudential borrowing and increased Management and Maintenance allowances above inflation.
Departmental IT
Brian White: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of the Department's (a) implemented and (b) planned computer systems use open source software; and what plans are in place to raise this level. [195667]
Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not have statistics on the use of open source software, but to date it is very limited. We follow established Government policy, which is to consider open source software options alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements on a level playing field basis, and award contracts on a value for money, case-by-case basis. The policy can be viewed at www.govtalk.gov.uk.
Fire Control Centre (South-West)
Ms Atherton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what decisions he has taken in relation to a regional fire control centre for the South West. [195268]
Mr. Raynsford:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently running a competitive procurement for fire and rescue regional control centres under the EU Restricted Services Directive, (OJEU Notice 2004/S 78–066658). Submitted sites have been evaluated against criteria such as accessibility (to both people and services), demographics, vulnerability to threats such as flooding, and suitability for development. A shortlist of three bidders has been selected for the South West region and tenders invited from them. The final decisions on locations are expected early next year.
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During the procurement process we are unable to release any information on the tenderers and their proposals to anyone who is not directly involved in the process.
Government Offices for the Regions
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what pieces of primary legislation Government Offices for the regions are able to use to implement their work. [194336]
Phil Hope: The Government Offices for the Regions (GOs) carry out activities on behalf of 10 Government Departments. A list of all the primary legislation relied upon by those Departments in carrying out their functions through the GOs is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the responsibilities of the Government Offices for the Regions (a) were in 1997 and (b) are now. [194337]
Phil Hope: In 1997 the responsibilities of the Government Offices for the Regions (GOs) included work for four Government Departments: Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Education and Employment, Department of the Environment, and Department of Transport.
Since 1997, the GOs have been given more responsibilities and they now carry out work on behalf of 10 Government Departments. Their current responsibilities are set out in the Regional Co-ordination Unit and Government Office Network Corporate Plan 2004–05. A copy of this has been available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what additional regulatory powers Government Offices for the Regions have gained since 1997. [194439]
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Phil Hope: The Government Offices for the Regions (GOs) are part of the central Government Departments for whom they carry out activities but are based in the regions. A regulatory impact assessment is required for powers which impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector (and from April 2004 a public sector impact test), and on which Departments rely in carrying out their functions through the GOs. A list of those powers is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
HMOs
Jon Trickett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate the 1996 English House Condition Survey made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of houses in multiple occupation that have three or more storeys. [196986]
Keith Hill: None. A detailed analysis of the 1996 survey data could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to publish an analysis of houses in multiple occupation in the private rented sector from the information contained in the 2001 English House Condition Survey. [196990]
Keith Hill: The most robust figures that can be provided are published in Table 2.2 on page 33 of the English House Condition Survey 2001 main report, a copy of which is tabled as follows. The size of the survey sample of houses in multiple occupation precludes any detailed breakdown by tenure.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects that the majority of bedsits and shared houses will be in the private rented sector, and households with lodgers will be owner-occupied. The survey indicates that in the order of 45 per cent. of self-contained converted flats are private rented.
Planning
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what the average cost to a planning department of processing a planning application was in each of the last three years; and what the average costs were for applications processed by Birmingham city council; [196222]
(2) how many planning applications were resubmitted (a) to planning departments in England and (b) to Birmingham city council planning department in each of the last three years; [196223]
(3) what the average number of hours needed by planning officers to process a planning application was (a) in England and (b) in Birmingham city council in each of the last three years; [196224]
(4) what percentage of planning applications that were resubmitted were from (a) private individuals and (b) property developers in each of the last three years; [196226]
(5) what the average fee charged by planning departments to process a planning application was to (a) private individuals and (b) property developers in each of the last three years. [196227]
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Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average fee charged for submitting a planning application was (a) in England and (b) in Birmingham city council in each of the last three years. [196225]
Keith Hill: The information requested is tabled as follows.
| Fees(1) (£ million) | Applications(2) (thousand) | Average(3) (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | |||
| 2001–02 | 142 | 582 | 240 |
| 2002–03 | 171 | 635 | 270 |
| 2003–04 | 185 | 675 | 270 |
| Birmingham | |||
| 2001–02 | 1.8 | 6.2 | 280 |
| 2002–03 | 2.3 | 6.8 | 340 |
| 2003–04 | 2.4 | 7.9 | 310 |
(1) Reported receipts grossed for non-reporting councils; excluding fees for 'county matters' applications. Neither listed building consents nor conservation area consents attract fees.
(2) Applications for planning permission, grossed for non-reporting councils. Statistics on total applications received are only collected, so consequently include listed building consents and conservation area consents.
(3) Fees per application.
Note:
'County matters' applications and fees, covering mainly waste disposal and mineral extraction, have been excluded. These number only around 2,000 decisions annually for England as a whole.
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