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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.
(a) Green belt designations that are being reviewed

RegionGreen beltAffected area of GB
East MidlandsNottingham-DerbyNottingham-Derby
East of EnglandLondonSouth Essex
Harlow
Upper Lee Valley and
Bishop's Stortford
Stevenage
South WestBristol-BathBristol-Bath
South East DorsetBournemouth-Poole
Cheltenham-GloucesterCheltenham-Gloucester









 
8 Jun 2005 : Column 560W
 

(b) Green belt designations that have been reviewed

RegionGreen beltAffected area of GB
North EastTyne and WearNorth Sunderland
Morpeth
North WestGreater Manchester and
Merseyside
Merseyside
East of EnglandLondon CambridgeSouth Bedfordshire
Cambridge

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.
(a) Registered social landlords (RSLs) that have been established solely for the purpose of receiving housing from a local authority which have been in Housing Corporation supervision for a period of time since registration

Transfer dateRSL nameDate in supervision
13 June 1990Bedfordshire PilgrimsDecember 1994
26 March 1996Beechdale CommunityOctober 1997
31 March 1998Bentilee Community Local
Housing LHC
June 2000
6 April 1992BroomleighMarch 1999
15 November 2000Chester and District HAMay 2003
22 March 1999Clapton Community Housing
Trust
July 1999
20 February 1996Drum HAL (formerly East
Hampshire)
April 2001
22 September 1997Eden HADecember 1998
3 October 1994Evesham and PershoreMarch 2001
9 March 1994HartAugust 2000
31 January 1994HermitageOctober 2000
29 January 1992High WealdJuly 1995
23 March 1998Kerrier Home LHCDecember 1999
25 January 1999Leasowe Community Homes
LHC
March 2000
9 March 1998Limehurst Village TrustAugust 1999
27 May 1993MagnaOctober 1998
27 July 1990MedinaJanuary 2000
13 February 2001Mendip HAJanuary 2004
10 September 1990NucleusMarch 2004
31 March 1994RidgehillMarch 1999
13 February 2001RivieraDecember 2002
7 July 1997SoHA Housing Ltd. (formerly
South Oxfordshire)
March 1998
23 March 1994South ShropshireJanuary 1994
1 March 1999South Somerset HomesJune 2001
30 July 1990South WightJanuary 1997
28 March 1990SwaleMarch 1991
13 November 2003Teign HAMay 2005
21 February 1996Ten Sixty SixJuly 2000
29 March 1989West KentOctober 1993
4 April 1990WherryJune 1998
29 March 1999Willow Park Housing TrustJune 2000
28 February 1991Yorkshire Community Housing
Ltd.
November 2000
28 March 1991TwynhamJuly 2002
31 March 2003Walsall HTJuly 2003
26 February 2002Weaver ValeAugust 2004

 
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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:
RSL numberAssociation nameStatus
L3979Broomleigh HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Downland Affinity Group Ltd. (LH4087)
L4211Clapton Community Housing Trust Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Guinness Trust (LH0036)
LH4050Evesham and Pershore HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Rooftop Housing Group Ltd. (L4404)
LH4031Hart HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Sentinel Housing Group Ltd. (LH4132)
LH4030Hermitage HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of the Parchment Housing Group (LH4131)
LH3958High Weald HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Town and Country Housing Group (L4251)
L4159Limehurst Village TrustNow a subsidiary of West Pennine HA (L0252)
L3950Magna HA Ltd.Established Non Asset Holding Parent—Magna HGL (LH4227)
L4195Leasowe Community Homes Local Housing CompanyNow a subsidiary of Arena Housing Association Ltd. (L1700)
L3900Medina HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Western Challenge Housing Group (LH4175)
L4194The Nucleus HG Ltd.Now a subsidiary of London and Quadrant Housing Trust (LH0015)
LH4033Ridgehill HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of William Sutton Housing Association Ltd. (LH4406)
LH3898South Wight HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Southern Housing Group Ltd. (LH3947)
LH3888Swale HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Amicus Group Ltd. (L4216)
LH3866Wherry HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Anglia Housing Group Ltd. (LH4046)
L3886Twynham HA Ltd.Now a subsidiary of Sovereign Housing Group Ltd. L4438

(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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