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Marked Electoral Registers

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) if she will ensure that her Department and its contractor Pickfords
 
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Records Management make no greater charge per page for the general election marked register than do local councils for marked registers after local elections; [6645]

(2) if she will ensure that marked registers remain in the custody of local authorities following future general elections. [6646]

Ms Harman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 22 June 2005.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what (a) administrative and (b) legislative steps would need to be taken to ensure that marked registers remain in the custody of local authorities following a general election. [6647]

Ms Harman: Transferring the duty to store marked registers from the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery to local authorities, would require amending Schedule 1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. This could be achieved only through primary legislation.

If the duty to store election documents produced, at a general election, were to be transferred to local authorities, it would then be for those authorities to take any appropriate administrative steps to ensure effective storage of all documents, and access to those documents open to inspection, including the marked registers.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Abandoned Vehicles

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment his Department has made of Operation Scrap-it; and if he will make a statement. [5273]

Yvette Cooper: Operation Scrap-it, led by the Association of London Government, and funded as part of the Together programme has shown what can be achieved by focussed action on tackling nuisance vehicles. 98 per cent. of abandoned vehicles across London are now being removed within 72 hours and free take back of end of life vehicles is provided across the capital.

The Government's national strategy for tackling nuisance vehicles, published last November, aims to learn on this success and that of other schemes, such as the car clearance initiatives funded by the Arson Control Forum, to cut the number of abandoned vehicles by 25 per cent. by 2008.

Braeburn Park, Crayford

Mr. Evennett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received from the residents of Braeburn Park, Crayford in respect of the planning applications from FM Conway Dartford; and if he will make a statement. [6640]

Mr. Woolas: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister received a petition from the residents of Braeburn Park and a number of individual letters objecting to the development. These will be fully considered before a decision is made on whether to call in the application.
 
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Mr. Evennett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to make a decision on the FM Conway Dartford planning applications. [6641]

Mr. Woolas: These applications have been formally referred to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, the First Secretary of State as departures from the development plan. We are still considering whether they should be called in for the Secretary of State's decision and we expect to take a view on this very soon. I cannot make any further comment on the applications at this time.

Disability Discrimination Act

Mr. Hands: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he has issued on the application of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to public areas of (a) local authority and (b) housing association (i) blocks, (ii) walkways, (iii) play areas and (iv) open spaces. [6774]

Mr. Woolas: It is the responsibility of local authorities and housing associations to ensure that they comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. Providing guidance on disability issues is one of the functions of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC). The DRC's part 3 code of practice deals with the duties placed by part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 on those providing goods, facilities or services to the public and those selling, letting or managing premises.

Fire Control Centre (South-east England)

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the net cost change that will ensue from the proposed Regional Fire Control Centre for South East England. [4932]

Jim Fitzpatrick: Figures for the south-east only are not currently available, as the business case for the FiReControl project currently exists at a national level. The new national network of control centres is expected to achieve, on average, a possible saving of 30 per cent. over existing arrangements from financial year 2009–10 onwards.

Housing Development (Flood Risk)

Mr. Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will review the guidance given to local authorities on development in areas at risk from flooding or on a flood plain; and if he will make a statement. [6434]

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend, the former Minister for Housing and Planning, announced that we will be revising planning policy on development and flood risk (PPG25) in his statement of 24 March 2005, Official Report, column 83WS.

Local Government

Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the bodies in Gloucestershire with whom he has discussed plans for local government reorganisation. [6777]

Mr. Woolas: None. At present the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans for local government reorganisation.
 
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Mobile Phone Masts

Anne Milton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have to allow health concerns to be taken into account during the planning process for mobile phone masts. [3371]

Yvette Cooper: The Government are carefully considering the judgment on 13 November 2003 by the Court of Appeal in the case of "First Secretary of State v. T Mobile and others" and the report entitled "Mobile Phones and Health 2004" published by the National Radiological Protection Board on 11 January which both make reference to the extent to which local planning authorities can take health concerns into account in decisions about the siting of mobile phone base stations. The NRPB supports the Government view that whilst planning is necessarily a local issue the assessment of evidence related to possible health concerns associated with exposures to RF fields from base stations is best dealt with nationally.

Recreational Spaces (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what quantity of public recreational open space there was in each London borough in each year since 1997. [5283]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Regional Assemblies

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he intends to hold a referendum on establishing an elected regional assembly in (a) the North West and (b) Yorkshire and Humber. [4293]

Yvette Cooper: No. I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's statement to the House given on 8 November 2004, Official Report, columns 587–89. The hon. Member was present during my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's statement and led the response on behalf of the opposition.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Relocation

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of her Department's posts (a) have been relocated and (b) are under consideration for relocation from London to the deprived areas of the South East. [6254]

Mr. Caborn: My Department and sponsored organisations are implementing the Lyons Review recommendations to relocate 600 posts out of London and the South East by 2010. This will not exclude consideration of relocating some of the posts to relatively deprived areas of the South East. So far, my Department has not identified any posts suitable for transfer to deprived areas of the South East.

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