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10 Oct 2005 : Column 374W—continued
Local Government Pensions
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the surplus or deficit was of the local government pension scheme for (a) Suffolk county council and (b) each local authority area within Suffolk in each of the last eight years. [15128]
Mr. Woolas: The Local Government Pension Scheme in England is administered by 81 separate pension fund authorities. The Suffolk County Council Pension Fund is the responsibility of the county council; district councils are employer-members. Actuarial valuations of the pension fund take place every three years, as required by the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997. Contribution rates for each employer are set having regard to the employers' liabilities and the investment programme of the fund. The rates are designed to ensure that Scheme pension funds remain solvent and meet their statutory pension payment responsibilities. Individual local authorities in Suffolk, other than the county council, do not have separate pension funds. The assets and liabilities for the Suffolk county council pension fund for the last three actuarial valuation exercises are as follows:
| Assets (£ million) | Liabilities (£ million) | Solvency (Percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 517.9 | 626.3 | 81 |
| 2001 | 702.0 | 835.0 | 84 |
| 2004 | 775.8 | l,035.9 | 75 |
London Fire Emergency Control Room
Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the London fire emergency control Room at Canary Wharf meets the Government's resilience criteria; and if he will make a statement. [15648]
Jim Fitzpatrick: London is the only region of England which already has a regional fire and rescue control centre. The London regional control centre was planned before the events of 9/11 and before the current resilience criteria were drawn up. Certain improvements to security have been introduced as a result of the events of 9/11.
The FiReControl project provides for London to be part of the project towards the end of the programme. Decisions on London's control arrangements will be made in discussion with the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.
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Opinion Surveys
Mr. Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) subject matter and (b) dates were of opinion survey research undertaken by the Department and its agencies in the last 12 months; if he will place copies of the results of each survey in the Library; which companies were used in conducting the research; and how much each was paid. [14805]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Nine projects involving opinion survey research have been undertaken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or its agencies between September 2004 and September 2005.
1. A Planning Inspectorate customer satisfaction survey, conducted in March 2005 by Faber Maunsell, cost £46,000. Results are available on the web at http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/statement_purpose/surveys/customer_ satisfaction_survey_2004.htm
2. Consultancy research into public attitudes and behaviours with regard to domestic fire safety and the effects of the ODPM Smoke Alarm Maintenance campaign. The third phase of this involved pre-campaign research in August 2004 and post campaign research in November 2004, conducted by Andrew Irving Associates, cost £15,000. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library shortly.
3. Consultancy research into public attitudes, awareness and behaviours towards fire safety in the home, to inform future fire safety publicity campaigns and to allow assessment of the effectiveness of campaigns. The research, conducted by Andrew Irving Associates, began in August 2005. Cost for the period August 2005-March 2006 is £88,000. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library shortly.
4. A telephone survey of applicants for planning consent for minor householder developments plus an interview survey of neighbours of houses where such applications have been made. The survey, conducted by MORI, started in August 2005. The full cost of the survey will be in the region of £63,000. A copy of the research will be made available in the Library on completion of the project.
5. Research to identify the views of the able bodied as to whether the Part M Building Regulation requirements have enhanced or been detrimental to the functionality of the dwelling for the householder, providing an evaluation of the 1999 amendments as required by statute. Conducted by the Building Research Establishment between May and August 2005, cost £51,000. The intention is to publish the results once the project has been completed.
6. The English House Condition Survey collects information on the condition of housing stock. It also includes interviews with occupants and some questions cover attitudes to the home, property maintenance, the neighbourhood and the landlord. It runs continuously and is conducted by the Office for National Statistics. The cost of the opinion survey element is estimated at £75,000 per annum. Published reports are made available via the ODPM website at www.odpm.gov.uk/ehcs. The latest results were published in March 2005. Copies of published reports are in the Library
7. A Review of the Role of Property Owners in Business Improvement Districts included three surveys, all conducted by York Consulting with McCallum Layton:
8. ODPM commissioned research on attitudes to local public services and how they should be paid for from BMG Research in April 2005 on behalf of the Lyons Inquiry. This involved a
- face to face survey and the total cost of the research was £93,300. The inquiry intends to publish findings from this research in due course and a copy will be placed in the Library.
9. A national tracker survey of public attitudes to local government and its services, involving a postal survey of a nationally representative sample of members of the public. This runs from June to September 2005 and was conducted by BMG Research at a cost of £36,000. The findings from this research will be published and a copy placed in the Library.
Overcrowding
Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Office has made of the health effects of overcrowding in housing. [15583]
Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 July 2005, Official Report, column 1446W.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish the consultation on overcrowding standards. [16011]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is considering the options for reviewing the statutory overcrowding standards and a decision will be taken on the timing of consultation as soon as possible.
Departmental Stationery
David Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of (a) copying paper and (b) paper for printed publications used by his Department in (i)2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05 was from recycled sources; and how much post-consumer waste this paper contained in each case. [16150]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The paper used by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for (a) copying paper in 2003–04 and 2004–05 contained 100 per cent. post-consumer waste.
The paper used for (b) printed publications between 2003–04 and 2004–05 contained no less than 75 per cent. post-consumer waste.
David Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list his Department's sites which are included in the Watermark project. [16151]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister joined Watermark on its formation in May 2002, and submitted data for its central London HQ buildings Eland House and Ashdown House, as well as for the Planning Inspectorate Agency based at Temple Quay House, Bristol, six Government Offices and six Rent Service Buildings.
The Watermark Project was managed by OGCbuying.solutions between April 2000 and March 2003 and was therefore effectively drawn to a conclusion over two years ago.
David Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by what date his Department expects to implement in full the targets set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that (a) all copying paper bought by the Department is 100 percent. recycled with a minimum of 75 percent. post-consumer waste content and (b) all paper for printed publications brought by the Department is 60 percent. recycled, of which a minimum is 75 post-consumer waste. [16152]
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Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has already met the targets in full. All photocopying paper used by the Office has a 100 percent. post-consumer waste content. Paper purchased for all ODPM publications has no less that 75 percent. post-consumer waste content.
David Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the Department's main suppliers of (a) copier paper, (b) stationery, (c) envelopes and (d) paper for reports; and what (i) the name of each paper used and (ii) the (A) recycled and (B) post-consumer recycled content of each paper. [16207]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The main supplier of (a) copier paper, (b) stationery, (c) envelopes is Banner using Evolve Office comprising 100 per cent. post-consumer waste.
The paper for (d) reports is supplied by Robert Home, Premier Paper, McNoughton's and Howard Smith. All papers used contain a minimum of 75 per cent. post-consumer waste.
The papers used are as follows:
Revive un-coated—containing 80 per cent. post-consumer waste and 20 per cent. elemental chlorine free pulp.
Revive matt/silk containing 75 per cent. post-consumer waste and 25 per cent. elemental chlorine free pulp.
Greencoat velvet containing 80 per cent. post-consumer waste and 20 per cent. totally chlorine free pulp.
Evolution satin/gloss containing 75 per cent. post-consumer and 20 per cent. elemental chlorine free pulp.
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