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2 Mar 2005 : Column 1240W—continued

Fire Service

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the guidance contained in Fire Service Circular No3/1995 has been (a) withdrawn and (b) replaced. [219350]

Mr. Raynsford: The guidance has neither been withdrawn nor replaced.

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, columns 462–63W, on the fire service, how many applications for new fire certificates in each brigade requested between 1999 and 2004 remain outstanding; what assessment he has made of the guidance issued by the Chief Fire Officers' Association to fire and rescue authorities regarding the processing of applications for fire certificates; and whether the guidance is publicly available. [219351]

Mr. Raynsford: The numbers of valid applications for fire certificates, and the number of applications outstanding at the end of each of the years requested, is given in Table 1 for England and Wales. Data on the age of outstanding applications is not collected centrally. However, average times taken to issue of fire certificates in England and Wales for the last year for which figures are available are given in Table 2.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister reviewed the guidance promulgated to fire and rescue authorities by the Chief Fire Officers' Association (CFOA) and made the assessment that it was consistent with the legal obligations of fire and rescue authorities and others concerned.

CFOA are arranging for the guidance to be placed on a publicly available part of the CFOA website as soon as possible. Meanwhile copies of the CFOA guidance circular have been made available in the Library of the House.
Table 1

1 April to 31 MarchValid applications receivedOutstanding applications at end of year
1999–20004,9321,650
2000–014,8971,414
2001–024,9201,348
2002–034,2241,216
2003–043,3611,240

Table 2

BV 14— average time taken by fire authorities to issue fire safety certificates
Number of certificates issuedNumber of days to issue certificatesAverage time in days
2002–032002–032002–032001–022000–01
Shropshire1711971111
Cheshire34551163431
Merseyside22480225216
Staffordshire34760221918
Mid and West Wales501,211242527
Gloucestershire1293,574282118
Derby shire401,229317362
Dorset632,006324444
Warwickshire25822332763
Tyne and Wear481,609345265
West Yorkshire511,842367054
Humberside652,353363932
Lincolnshire5188383793
South Yorkshire461,890415968
Hereford and Worcester251,0864382104
Buckinghamshire472,119458286
Kent663,018466653
Cumbria281,3164710580
Essex994,75248n/a143
East Sussex221,120515151
Cleveland18957534667
Northumberland6319532558
Upper quartile boundary1
Devon412,240558466
Somerset148396016014
Norfolk251,5426230161
Bedfordshire and Luton15985666563
Suffolk9607676746
Nottinghamshire221,520699277
North Yorkshire544,0937614860
Lancashire322,4747774131
Cornwall373,143859297
North Wales191,614858455
Isle Of Wight3255853776
Cambridgeshire444,0849314874
County Durham and Darlington181,7829912387
West Midlands717,1911019892
Northamptonshire171,74810385145
Royal Berkshire525,47010597106
West Sussex586,641115165175
South Wales637,2991165590
Leicestershire121,392116181136
Hertfordshire657,735119209122
Hampshire10012,8911298653
Greater Manchester10814,57813513199
Wiltshire294,232146103n/a
Oxfordshire264,45617121077
Surrey265,434209136125
London22648,364214208152
Avon185,68731621468




n/a = not available.
(22) The upper quartile boundary is set at 53 using 2000–01 as the base date.



 
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Fire Service Emergency Response

Iain Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average response time of the fire service to 999 calls was in (a) Hartlepool and (b) England and Wales in each year since 1997. [218508]

Mr. Raynsford: The available information covers fire and rescue service response to primary fires (involving property, casualties or rescues) in England and Wales and Cleveland. Details of response times on other incidents attended by the fire and rescue service are not available centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.Response times for primary fires are collected at fire and rescue authority level, so separate information covering Hartlepool is not available centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Average fire and rescue service response times (primary fires) 1997–2003

Minutes
England and WalesCleveland
19976.14.9
19985.94.7
19996.24.9
20006.34.9
20016.34.9
2002(23)6.45.2
2003(23)(5507460024)6.65.1


(23) Excludes strike periods, November 2002 and January and February 2003.
(24) Provisional figure.
Source:
Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.





 
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Housing

Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether local authorities will be allowed to use capital receipts generated from right to buy sales after 1 April 2006 to fund investment in new social housing. [219348]

Keith Hill: Under the present regime governing the treatment of capital receipts arising from right to buy sales, all local housing authorities may use 25 per cent. of the receipt for any capital purpose they see fit, including investment in new social housing.

At present, there are no plans to change this regime.
 
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Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether local authorities will be allowed to use capital receipts generated from right to buy sales between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2006 to fund investment in new social housing through any mechanism other than transitional local authority social housing grant. [219349]

Keith Hill: Under the regime governing the treatment of capital receipts arising from right to buy sales in financial year 2003–04, with-debt authorities could use 25 per cent. of the receipt and debt-free authorities 100 per cent. of the receipt, for any capital purpose they saw fit, not necessarily housing related.

Under the present regime, introduced on 1 April 2004, governing the treatment of capital receipts arising from right to buy sales, all local housing authorities may use 25 per cent. of the receipt for any capital purpose they see fit, including investment in new social housing.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects the North West Housing Board to make a decision on affordable housing in South Lancashire. [218971]

Keith Hill: The North West Regional Housing Board will submit its proposed regional housing strategy, setting out its views on the region's housing priorities, in May 2005. Ministers will make decisions on the allocation of funds for housing investment in 2006–07 and 2007–08 in the light of these recommendations. Detailed allocations to registered social landlords, which will be subject to the usual competitive bidding process, and to local authorities will be announced around the end of the year.

Meden Valley Partnership

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what discussions have taken place between the Meden Valley partnership and (a) Nottinghamshire Mental Health Trust and (b) Mansfield primary care trust about stress-related health problems due to delays in regenerating housing in the Meden Valley; [214487]

(2) what provision English Partnerships and the East Midlands Development Agency are making for residents who refuse to move and who are not offered refurbished accommodation or low-cost home ownership on completion of the Meden Valley partnership project; [214488]

(3) whether he expects the guarantee given by his Department, the East Midlands Development Agency and English Partnerships that residents will be able to remain in the Royal Estate and Warsop Vale under the Meden Valley partnership housing regeneration programme to be maintained; [214540]

(4) what legal opinion has been sought by English Partnerships in relation to compulsory purchase of properties in the Meden Valley; [213730]

(5) how many repairs orders due to public safety have been issued through the Meden Valley Partnership; [213731]

(6) how many residents have neither requested to move nor opposed compulsory purchase of their home under the Meden Valley Partnership; and how many of these are over 80 years old; [213732]
 
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(7) how many residents of the Royal Estate and Warsop Vale have indicated a wish to remain living in their area under the Meden Valley partnership; [213733]

(8) what meetings have taken place between the Meden Valley partnership and the police about drug dealing and antisocial behaviour in the last two years; [213734]

(9) how many letters of thanks have been received by the Meden Valley partnership from local residents since its inception; [213735]

(10) when English Partnerships expects to build new houses in Warsop as part of the Meden Valley partnership; [213736]

(11) what plans English Partnerships has to meet its commitment to involve residents in the management of housing regeneration projects in Warsop; [213737]

(12) when and under what authority English Partnerships required means testing for existing tenants to buy new homes in Warsop under the Meden Valley partnership; [213738]

(13) how much public money has been spent through the Meden Valley partnership; [213739]

(14) how many homes have been refurbished under the Meden Valley partnership; [213740]

(15) when an employee of the East Midland Development Agency last entered (a) a house and (b) an area under threat of compulsory purchase from the Meden Valley partnership; [213750]

(16) when an employee of English Partnerships last entered (a) a house and (b) an area under threat of compulsory purchase from the Meden Valley partnership. [213751]

Substantive answer from Keith Hill to John Mann

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