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15 Nov 2004 : Column 1223W—continued
Post Office
Mr. Brady: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the post office branches that have benefited from grants from the Urban Deprived Fund, broken down by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area, giving the amount of grant awarded in each case. [197482]
Phil Hope: The information requested has been made available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by what criteria applications from Post Office branches for grant funding from the Urban Deprived Fund are assessed. [197483]
Phil Hope: Post offices must be located within the 10 per cent. most deprived wards as measured by the Indexes of Multiple Deprivation 2000. The application must demonstrate that:
The post office is at risk of closure (due to financial and/or security issues) within two years without the support of the grant.
The proposed work under the grant will have a significant beneficial impact upon the viability of the business within two years.
Clive Efford: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 8 November 2004, Official Report, column 455W, on sub-post offices, whether Neighbourhood Renewal areas (a) are included in his Department's definition of the most deprived urban areas and (b) meet the criteria for the Most Deprived Urban Post Office Fund. [197627]
Phil Hope: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The Indices of Deprivation 2000 (ID 2000) were used to determine eligibility for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF). The ID 2000 aggregates ward level scores up to district level, using six different ways of measuring deprivation in different types of local authority districts. This includes deprivation in both urban and rural areas. Local authorities that fell within the top 50 most deprived on any of the six measures were eligible for NRF.
(b) Urban post offices in the 10 per cent. most deprived wards are eligible to apply for the Deprived Urban Post Office Fund (DUPOF). Not all of the 10 per cent. most deprived wards fall in NRF areas.
According to the ID 2000, two of the 88 most deprived local authorities do not contain wards that are in the 10 per cent. most deprived. Although many of the 10 per cent. most deprived wards fall into the NRF areas, there are some in other local authorities.
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Red Ash
Ms Walley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent representations he has received on the use of red ash from pit waste as hardcore in house building. [197696]
Phil Hope: It is believed that no recent representations has been received by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister concerning the use of the pit waste known as red ash for use as hardcore in house building.
However, it is known that problems have been encountered when red ash material has become saturated and consequently expanded. Technical guidance is available of how to deal with this material when it is discovered. If the red ash fill remains in a dry condition then there are few difficulties with the material. Regretfully some individuals have been ill-advised and have suffered unnecessary disruption and expense when the material has been discovered in their dwellings.
Due to the high concentrations of sulphates in red ash, it is no longer recommended as a construction material under buildings.
Ms Walley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to alter guidance in respect of the use of red ash; and if he will make a statement on BRE 3613. [197697]
Phil Hope: The recently published Building Regulations Approved Document Part C—Site preparation and resistance to contamination and moisture—which comes into effect on the 1 December 2004 gives guidance where sulphates are encountered from natural sources, hardcore or other compacted fill material. Practical guidance on construction methods to avoid future problems are included in the document. It is intended to review the document at regular intervals to reflect any future research and investigations into the problem of building where high concentrations of sulphates are known.
Technical guidance material has also been published by the Building Research Establishment in various reports, namely; BR 424 Building on fill: geotechnical aspects, Digest 472 Optimising ground investigations, and particular reference should be made to Special Digest 1 Concrete in aggressive ground—parts 1 to 4.
Referendums
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the recent referendum in the North East cost in (a) expenditure by (i) national and (ii) local government, (b) civil service time and (c) local government officers' time. [197893]
Mr. Raynsford: The information is a follows:
(a) (i) The following expenditure was incurred by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister:
| £million | |
|---|---|
| Information Campaign | 1.22 |
| Costs incurred by the counting officers in running the referendum | (81)2.9 |
| Delivery of Yes and No campaign literature | 0.5 |
(81) Approximately
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In addition to this the Electoral Commission incurred some costs, in particular grants of £100,000 each to the Yes and No campaigns and the costs of their information campaign.
(a) (ii) Any expenditure by local government is a matter for local government.
(b) The Chief Counting Officer and his staff were responsible for the organisation and operation of the regional referendums. The costs incurred by counting officers are set out above.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's staff time was spent on developing policy and preparing Statutory Instruments related to the referendum, and on the Information Campaign. Detailed information about staff time could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
(c) Local government officers' time is a matter for local government.
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the proposed referendum in (a) the North West and (b) Yorkshire and Humber cost before the decision to abort them was made in (i) expenditure by (A) national and (B) local government, (ii) civil service time and (iii) local government officers' time. [197894]
Mr. Raynsford: The information is a follows:
(a)(i) The only expenditure by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the proposed referendums in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber was £2.02 million through the Information Campaign.
(b) The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's staff time was spent on developing policy and preparing Statutory Instruments related to the referendums, and on the information campaign. Detailed information about staff time could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost has been of holding the north east referendum; how much has been spent on information products; what proportion of the total was spent by (a) the Government and (b) individuals and groups on either side of the campaign. [197927]
Mr. Raynsford: The Government spent £1.22 million on the Information Campaign in the north east.
By law, the designated organisations (the Yes and No campaigns) are entitled to a referendum mailing to electors. The delivery costs of this at £0.5 million, are met by Government. The Yes and No campaigns also received a grant of £100,000 each from the Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission also ran an information campaign. The costs of this are a matter for them.
Expenditure by the campaigners must be within limits prescribed by law. This expenditure is monitored by the Electoral Commission.
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Mr. Gummer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to ask the people of the Eastern Region whether they want an (a) unelected regional assembly and (b) voluntary co-operation between elected councils. [198073]
Mr. Raynsford: The East of England Region Assembly is a voluntary body recognised by Government for certain purposes. There are no plans to alter that position.
Voluntary co-operation between elected councils using well-being powers does not require formal public support.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations the Government have received concerning the conduct of the referendum in the north-east. [198165]
Mr. Raynsford: There have been a small number of complaints about the administration of the poll, which was generally seen to have been conducted with great efficiency.
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