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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2463W—continued
Regional Government
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the referendum results were for the two questions asked in the north east regional assembly referendum in each local authority area in the north east. [13109]
Yvette Cooper: The full results of the two questions asked in the referendum on the establishment of an elected regional assembly in the north east are available on the Electoral Commission website http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/election- data/index.cfm?epage =q&frmElectionID=4.
Regional Housing Board
Joan Walley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the funding allocations for local authorities in the West Midlands from the Regional Housing Board were for 2004–05 and 2005–06. [14113]
Yvette Cooper: The allocations from regional housing pot funds made to West Midlands authorities, which were in line with recommendations from the West Midlands Housing Board, were:
The allocations to some authorities include an element intended to be spent on behalf of the authority and its neighbours.
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Regional Plans
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the time scale is for adoption of each (a) regional spatial strategy, (b) county structure plan and (c) local development plan. [14617]
Yvette Cooper: The time scale for the revision and adoption of a Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) is outlined under PPS11 as being approximately two years and six months to three years (between 30 to 35 months).
Similarly under PPS12 the approximate time scale for the development and adoption of a development plan document is up to three years.
Structure plans under the old system took on average four years to prepare from the publication of the Regional Planning Guidance to the adoption of the structure plan.
Respect
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what responsibilities his Department has for fostering respect. [11386]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister contributes to respect across the range of its functions.
Revenue Support Grant
Colin Burgon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much revenue support grant was awarded to Leeds city council in each year since 1995–96. [14418]
Mr. Woolas: The table shows the amount of formula grant that Leeds city council received in each year since 1995–96. Formula grant consists of the following grants (where appropriate):
Please note that the above data should not be used for the purpose of calculating year-on-year changes. This is because the data are not comparable year-on-year due to changes in the funding and function of services.
Rough Sleepers
Mr. Paice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate he has made of the number of rough sleepers in Cambridgeshire. [14589]
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Yvette Cooper: The most recent estimate, as at June 2004, showed there were 508 people sleeping rough in England on any single night. Street counts showed four rough sleepers in Peterborough and three in Cambridge. Other local authorities in Cambridgeshire had not conducted recent street counts. East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire estimated rough sleeper levels of between 0–10 and Fenland did not submit an estimate.
Satellite Dishes
Mr. Olner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish the response to the consultation on satellite dishes and other antennae. [13479]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been carefully considering the responses to the consultation document on satellite dishes and other antennas in the context of the Government's plans for the rollout of digital television and broadband internet services. We will be announcing the outcome of the review in the autumn.
Social Housing
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which registered social landlords (RSLs) who have taken over council housing stock have subsequently been (a) taken over by and (b) merged with other RSLs; and how many homes have been affected in each case. [13390]
Yvette Cooper: On 18 May 2005 the First Secretary of State gave his consent under section 133 of the Housing Act 1988, after consulting the Housing Corporation, to the transfer of 2,553 dwellings from Hart Housing Association Ltd. to Oakfern Housing Association Ltd., both of which are members of Sentinel Housing Group Ltd. Residents of Hart Housing Association Ltd. and Oakfern Housing Association Ltd. were consulted about the proposals prior to consent being given.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received no other request by a registered social landlord to transfer the ownership of its housing stock to another registered social landlord.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold details on those registered social landlords that merge as the First Secretary of State's consent is not required.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities in England since May have decided their stock options appraisal in favour of (a) stock transfer, (b) arm's length management organisation, (c) private finance initiative and (d) stock retention by the council; how many homes each authority has; which authorities have yet to advise his Office of their intentions; and how many homes they own in each case. [13411]
Yvette Cooper: Since 1 May 2005, 32 local authorities have had their options appraisal signed off.
Some local authorities have opted for more than one solution for their stock and they are listed separately, with the options they have chosen.
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94 local authorities have yet to have their options appraisal signed off for the whole of their stock, with 40 having been submitted and awaiting sign off.
Tables detailing this information have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Alan Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much spending has been allocated to improving heating and insulation standards in social housing in each year since 2000, by (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords; and if he will express this spending as a percentage of all social landlord expenditure on remedial work to the housing stock. [13547]
Yvette Cooper: Data are only available for local authorities and are set out in the following table. The figures show what local authorities have spent/plan to spend on improving heating and insulation.
Over the period shown in the table, this represents 16 per cent. of all expenditure on remedial works.
| Financial year | £000 |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 246,725 |
| 2000–01 | 283,033 |
| 2001–02 | 318,559 |
| 2002–03 | 333,034 |
| 2003–04 | 385,548 |
| 2004–05 | 405,352 |
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost for each member of the social housing task force was in the last year for which figures are available; what contribution (a) councils considering transfer and (b) the private sector makes to its costs; and what assessment he has made of the effects on the private sector of the task force. [14750]
Yvette Cooper: Salaries for members of the Community Housing Task Force are in the range of £39, 728 to £51,646 per annum.
Neither councils considering transfer nor any other organisation make contributions to the costs of the Community Housing Task Force.
There has been no assessment of the effects on the private sector of the work of the Community Housing Task Force.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how he proposes to allow tenants of housing associations to buy a share in the property; and whether this right will be extended to tenants of private landlords. [11165]
Yvette Cooper: The Government's proposals for a new Social HomeBuy scheme for social tenants were set out in the consultation document HomeBuy—Expanding the Opportunity to Own". Copies of the document are available from the Library of the House. The consultation period closed on 24 June 2005 and we are currently considering the responses.
The Government have no plans to institute a similar scheme for tenants in the private rented sector.
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Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding has been made available to registered social landlords since performance requirements for gap funding were removed. [14747]
Yvette Cooper: None. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister consulted on the arrangements for gap funding prior to their introduction. On introduction there were no qualifying performance requirements for registered social landlords to receive gap funding.
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