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8 Jun 2005 : Column 559W—continued
Council Tax
13. David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will abandon plans for council tax rebanding in England. [1975]
Mr. Woolas: The terms of reference for the independent inquiry into local government funding by Sir Michael Lyons require him to make recommendations on how best to reform council tax. His 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 report will inform the Government's decisions on council tax bands.
Martin Salter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to reform the council tax system. [1971]
Mr. David Miliband: We look forward to the report of the independent inquiry by Sir Michael Lyons which is due to be submitted to my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the end of the year. In the meantime, we continue to receive many representations on a variety of local government finance issues.
Green Belt
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what green belt designations (a) are being and (b) have been reviewed by the Regional Chambers, since their establishment. [1096]
Yvette Cooper: Regional Planning Bodies take the lead in reviewing the need for, and broad extent of, green belt designations. Site specific boundary changes are a matter for Development Plan Documents within the context set by the Regional Spatial Strategy. The information in the following tables show those green belts, and particular areas of green belt, that have been, or are being, subject to a specific review as part of a review of the Regional Spatial Strategy.
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Local Authority Housing Stock
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many registered social landlords have taken over council housing; if he will list those which (a) have been put under supervision by the Housing Corporation, (b) have been the subject of mergers or takeovers and (c) have broken (i) rent guarantees and (ii) Housing Corporation rent guidelines. [1752]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 6 June 2005]: Since 1988 204 registered social landlords have received housing from local authorities as part of the-large scale voluntary transfer programme. 183 of these were established solely for the purpose of receiving housing from a local authority.
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(b) The following RSLs have been the subject of mergers or takeovers.
Once associations have been registered with the Corporation they may set up group structures, join existing groups, transfer their engagements or be subsumed into other RSLs. Of those associations listed, the following have undertaken some group/merger activity:
(c) Which RSLs have broken (i) rent guarantees and (ii) Housing Corporation rent guidelines.
No RSL that has been established solely for the purpose of receiving housing from a local authority has broken rent commitments given to tenants at ballot. 12 have been granted exemptions from compliance with the Government rent restructuring guidelines which were introduced in April 2002. In all cases these are transfer organisations whose business plans assumed higher rates of increase after transfer than is now permitted under the Government guidelines. As tenants voted for transfer proposals that were based on the higher rents exemptions were agreed to ensure tenants received the works and services for which a commitment had been given.
Local authority housing that has transferred to RSLs since the introduction of rent restructuring has been on the basis of business plans and valuations that comply with the current rent guidelines.
Local Strategic Partnerships
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what studies the Department has commissioned of the workings of local strategic partnerships. [1441]
Mr. Woolas: In 2002 the Department commissioned a comprehensive Local Strategic Partnerships (LSP) evaluation and action learning programme, which will complete by the end of this year. Key components include: in-depth case study research, surveys of all LSPs every two years, and research based guidance on a range of topics highlighting good practice and advice.
This research was jointly commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Transport. Findings indicate that LSPs have made good progress since their recent establishment; however, there are areas for improvement to which the research has produced pragmatic support. Evidence from the research also directly informs evolving policy on community leadership.
The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit has additionally commissioned a small number of neighbourhood-renewal specific studies to complement the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister-wide evaluation. One study summarised and analysed the Local Neighbourhood Renewal Strategies produced by the 88 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) areas. Another study summarised overall progress with LSPs in the 88 NRF areas, drawing mainly on existing evidence.
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