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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1560W—continued
Firelink Radio System
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons the contract award announcement in respect of the Firelink Radio System was not made in November; and when he expects it to be made. [206219]
Mr. Raynsford: The Firelink contract award announcement was postponed following a detailed assessment of the technical and commercial matters to be resolved before the conclusion of negotiations. The contract award date the project is working to is May 2005.
Government Office Regions
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport concerning the savings achieved by English Heritage in abandoning a structure based on the Government office regions and instead adopting four territories, north, south, east and west; and if he will disseminate information on such savings to bodies for which his Department is responsible. [206798]
Mr. Raynsford: English Heritage is retaining its nine regional offices, based on the Government office regions, and is strengthening them by appointing four new territory directors. No discussions have been held with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister about savings resulting from English Heritage's reorganisation. Any savings would be a matter for my right.. hon. Friend the Secretary of State, for Culture, Media and Sport and for English Heritage.
Grants
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list, by council, voluntary sector grants awarded in the last three years. [202915]
Fiona Mactaggart:
I have been asked to reply
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Local authorities do not routinely report centrally on voluntary sector grants awarded.
The Home Office is currently carrying out research about local authorities' funding of voluntary and community organisations. This will provide aggregate information on funding but will not list individual local authorities.
Findings from this research will be published next autumn.
Homelessness
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of people accessing shelters for the homeless on Christmas Day in each of the last 10 years. [205062]
Phil Hope: This information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will make public the report of Sir Michael Lyons' review of local government finance. [206810]
Mr. Raynsford: The Government have appointed Sir Michael Lyons to undertake an independent inquiry that will consider the detailed case for changes to the present system of local government funding and make recommendations on any changes that are necessary and how to implement them. The inquiry's terms of reference require it to report by the end of 2005 to my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I expect the report to be published to the same timescale.
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what account he will take of the costs of providing local authority services in rural areas within the distribution of formula grant; and if he will make a statement. [206851]
Mr. Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in reply to the right hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Mr. Hogg) on 11 November 2004, Official Report, column 846W.
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to give local authorities more flexibility on how they spend grant support. [206853]
Mr. Raynsford: The Government generally seek to limit the amount of funding for local government which is centrally controlled or ring-fenced. In 2005–06 the percentage of central grant which is ring-fenced will fall again by a further 2 per cent. to 9 per cent..
Education is the Government's key national priority and we aim to give schools as much stability, freedom and flexibility in their funding as possible. In order to do so, we have already announced our proposals to provide, from 2006–07, funding for schools through a grant from the Department for Education and Skills to
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local authorities. On non-schools spending we will continue to provide as much freedom and flexibility to local authorities as possible.
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the per capita formula grant support was given by his Department in 2004–05 to (a) Lincolnshire county council, (b) Lincolnshire Police Authority, (c) Boston borough council, (d) East Lindsey district council, (e) City of Lincoln council, (f) North Kesteren district council, (g) South Holland district council, (h) South Kesteren district council and (i) West Lindsey district council. [206855]
Mr. Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in reply to the right hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Mr. Hogg) on 11 November 2004, Official Report, column 848W.
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average per capita formula grant support was for all local authority services in 2004–05 in (a) England, (b) inner London, (c) outer London and (d) Lincolnshire. [206856]
Mr. Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in reply to the right hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Mr. Hogg) on 11 November 2004, Official Report, column 847W.
Local Government Pensions
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people will be affected by the decision to increase the minimum age at which benefits from the local government pension scheme can be paid from 50 to 55 years; and if he will phase in this change. [205902]
Phil Hope: It is not possible to calculate the number of people affected by the Scheme change referred to by my hon. Friend because any incidence of payment of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits between the ages of 50 and 55 is subject to individual employer decisions. The change is being phased in; members who are 50 or over by 31 March 2005 are unaffected, this means that the minimum benefit age for all existing members effectively increases in one year steps between 2005 and 2010.
Local Planning Authority Staff
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of working days of planning department staff employed by local planning authorities in England were lost due to sickness in the last period for which figures are available. [206079]
Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Planning
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning appeals against conversion of existing residential accommodation in Oxford to flats for multiple occupation he has determined in the last two years; and how many were allowed. [205886]
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Keith Hill: The information requested is tabled as follows:
| Number of decisions issued | Number allowed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 7 | 3 |
| 2003–04 | 11 | 6 |
| 2004–05 up to 30 November 2004 | 16 | 11 |
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the Regional Planning Guidance notes in force in England and the date of the publication of each. [205253]
Keith Hill: Regional planning guidance (RPG) was replaced by regional spatial strategies (RSS) on commencement of part one of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. At the same time, secondary regulations prescribed that the existing RPG would become the RSS for the region. The following table shows the RSS's currently in force in England along with their date of publication. The titles of these documents still refer to RPG as they were published prior to commencement of the Act. All documents listed now have RSS status.
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