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Departmental Policies
Geraint Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Croydon Central, the effects of the Department's policies and actions on Croydon Central constituency since 1997. [220382]
Yvette Cooper: Along with other Government Departments, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to improving the lives of people across the whole of the UK. For example, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is determined that everyone should have the opportunity to have a decent home, and since 1997 we have reduced the number of non-decent homes nationally by 1 million.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister provides grant funding that benefits the Croydon Central constituency through a number of programmes.
For example over the period 2001–06 Croydon has been allocated £2.5 million Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) resources to help the local authority, in collaboration with the Local Strategic Partnership, improve services in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the area.
More broadly, since 1997 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been able to increase the total amount of Government grant given to local authorities by £22.6 billion. This is a 33 per cent. increase in real terms. Croydon has received an average annual increase in formula grant since 1997 of 4.4 per cent.
The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neihbourhood.statistics. gov.uk./
Jon Trickett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Hemsworth constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on Hemsworth constituency. [220858]
Yvette Cooper: Along with other Government Departments, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to improving the lives of people across the whole of the UK. For example, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is determined that everyone should have the opportunity to have a decent home, and since 1997 we have reduced the number of non-decent homes nationally by one million.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister provides grant funding that benefits the Hemsworth constituency through a number of programmes.
For example, over the period 2001–06 Wakefield has been allocated £18.9 million Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) resources to help the local authority, in collaboration with the Local Strategic Partnership, improve services in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the area.
More broadly, since 1997 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been able to increase the total amount of government grant given to local authorities by £22.6 billion. This is a 33 per cent. increase in real
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terms. Wakefield metropolitan district council has received an average annual increase in formula grant since 1997 of 5.1 per cent.
The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk/
Disabled Facilities Grants
Mr. Meale: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if his Department will bring forward proposals to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of disabled facilities grant application systems; [220709]
(2) how many applications were made for disabled facilities grants in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by region; and how many of those applications were successful, broken down by region; [220710]
(3) whether mortgage payments are taken into account when assessment is made of disabled facilities grant applications; [220711]
(4) what plans the Government has to increase the maximum level of disabled facilities grant; [220712]
(5) what the average time taken was for consideration of applications made for disabled facilities grants in each region in the last period for which figures are available; [220713]
(6) what assessment his Department has made of the abolition of the means testing of disabled facilities grant applications in Northern Ireland. [220714]
Yvette Cooper: The Government announced a review of the operation of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) programme on 5 January 2004. This review is now under way. Its terms of reference are to review the operation and outcomes of the Disabled Facilities Grant Programme and to make proposals to improve its efficiency and fairness. A number of financial and policy issues affecting the programme, including the operation of the means test and the maximum grant limit will be evaluated. Officials are due to report back to Ministers in May this year and any proposals for change will then be published for consultation.
The DFG means test takes account of an applicant's income and capital over £6,000, but not of any financial outgoings such as mortgage payments. Instead total income is compared with a range of expenditure allowances and premiums which are up-rated periodically to keep them in line with increases in the cost of living. This is standard practice for many state benefits where a means test is applied.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not collect information on how many disabled people have applied for DFG, or the number of people waiting for DFG. We have not undertaken a formal assessment of the abolition of the DFG means test for families with a disabled child in Northern Ireland, but the effects of this change will be considered as part of the DFG Review.
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Engagements
Mr. Wareing: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the official visits made to Merseyside by Ministers in his Department between 1 January 2004 and 28 February, broken down by (a) date, (b) location and (c) the Ministers concerned. [221194]
Yvette Cooper: The information is as follows:
English Partnerships
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what reports his Department has received of English Partnerships acquiring land that might otherwise have been available for schemes that include a proportion of social rented housing. [220995]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of any acquisitions of land by English Partnerships which have prevented an already identified proportion of social rented housing being built on the site in question.
A core part of English Partnerships work is to help deliver an increased level of affordable housing, and it will often work in partnership with the Housing Corporation, Registered Social Landlords, local authorities and private sector developers to increase the overall percentages of affordable housing on sites that English Partnerships has acquired under its programmes.
FOI Requests
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is in respect of the publication (a) on the departmental website and (b) by placing copies in the Library of (i) all or (ii) a selection of the information disclosed in response to Freedom of Information requests since January. [215222]
Yvette Cooper: Guidance on Publication Schemes, issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs in July 2002, recommended that where information is disclosed to an individual in response to a request under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, Departments and NDPBs should consider whether the information disclosed is of general interest and include released information in the Publication Scheme where appropriate.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aims to publish all responses to FOI requests where we judge there is a general public interest, as opposed to esoteric
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matters, or matters of interest only to the requester. Preparations are in hand to ensure that new information selected for publication will be identified in the FOI section of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website, and this will be listed by date of release.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no specific intention to publish material by placing copies in the library of the House, over and above material that we would normally publish in this way or, where appropriate, in answer to parliamentary questions.
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