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DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Community Housing Task Force
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) large scale voluntary transfers and (b) arm's length management organisation transfers the community housing task force has worked on. [207030]
Keith Hill: To date the community housing task force has worked on 127 large scale voluntary transfer schemes and 51 arms length management organisation schemes.
Compensation Claims
Tom Brake:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many claims for compensation due to injury from slips, trips or falls on council property or property maintained by the local authority have been lodged against each
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London local authority in each of the past two years; and how much money each London local authority paid out in compensation relating to injury from slips, trips or falls on council property or property maintained by the local authority in each of those years. [207057]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Conferences
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many conferences were (a) attended by officials from his Office, (b) cancelled by and (c) facilitated by his Office in each year since 1997; and what the (i) cost to his Office and (ii) location was in each case. [205758]
Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Council House Sales
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total income in capital receipts was from the sale of council housing under the right to buy in 2003–04, broken down by Government Office region. [204928]
Mr. Raynsford: Figures for the estimated right-to-buy receipts (based on the selling price less discount) for 2003–04 by Government Office region are tabled as follows.
Council Tax
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what the level of council tax receipts collected in each local authority was in each year since 1997, broken down by billing authority; and what the forecast receipts are for the next year; [205256]
(2) what the projected level of council tax receipts in England is for 2004–05; and whether this includes the adjustment for council tax benefit. [205255]
Mr. Raynsford: The figures requested for the financial years 1996–97 to 2003–04 are available in the Library of the House. They exclude amounts funded by council tax benefit.
Comparable figures for the amounts of council tax collected in 2004–05 will not be collected from local authorities until after the end of the financial year.
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Although the budgeted council tax requirement for 2004–05 (after capping) excluding budgeted expenditure on council tax benefit is known to be £17.552 billion, the amounts that will have been received during 2004–05 will also depend upon changes in the tax base during the year, the in-year collection rates achieved, and the amounts collected in respect of earlier years.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the percentage change in council tax imposed by Cambridge city council has been in each year since its inception. [206980]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is tabled as follows. The table also includes the council tax figures used in calculating each year's percentage increase.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many pensioners' households he estimates will be affected by council tax reappraisal; and if he will make a statement; [207146]
(2) how many households identified as living below the official poverty line he estimates will be affected by council tax reappraisal; and if he will make a statement; [207147]
(3) when his Department will announce band levels for council tax revaluations; and if he will make a statement; [207149]
(4) what his Department's estimate is of the number of households in each council tax band that will move up in band grading following revaluation; [207150]
(5) what his Department's estimate is of the number of pensioners whose council tax band rating will move up following revaluation; what discussions he has held with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding subsidies for such households; and if he will make a statement; [207166]
(6) if he will make a statement on the criteria for selecting which households will fall within which band under council tax revaluation. [207170]
(7) what his Department's estimate is of the number of Band A households which will be rebanded under the revaluation procedures for council tax. [207278]
Mr. Raynsford:
The distribution of dwellings to bands after revaluation will depend on property values as at 1 April 2005 and on decisions yet to be taken on the number and values of council tax bands. The report of the independent inquiry into local government funding
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by Sir Michael Lyons will inform the Government's decisions on council tax bands. This report is due to be submitted by the end of this year to my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Government have already made clear that the revaluation should not lead to a change in the overall council tax yield. There will be a transitional relief scheme to help taxpayers whose properties move to a higher band. Council tax benefit will continue to be available to help those on low incomes with their council tax payments.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many households there are in each council tax band; what his Department's estimate is of how many will fall into each band after revaluation; and if he will make a statement. [207148]
Mr. Raynsford: The latest information on the estimated number of households in each council tax band in England is as follows:
Source:
ODPM Survey of English Housing
The distribution of dwellings to bands after revaluation will depend on property values as at 1 April 2005 and on decisions yet to be taken on the number and values of council tax bands. The report of the independent inquiry into local government funding by Sir Michael Lyons which is due by the end of this year will inform the Government's decisions on council tax bands.
Departmental Equipment
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many items of electrical equipment were used by his Department in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) cost and (b) number of each type of item. [205737]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not retain the information requested centrally, and could provide it only at disproportionate cost.
All expenditure incurred by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the purchase and procurement of services and items is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting. Where possible it purchases electrical equipment through centrally negotiated contracts.
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