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Housing

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions his Department has had with the private sector in Coventry, South to increase housing development. [18318]

Yvette Cooper: There have been no specific discussions between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the private sector in relation to increasing housing development in Coventry, South.

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities have held ballots on stock transfer; and which have opted for (a) transfer to housing associations, (b) transfer to arm's length management organisations and (c) to remain with the council. [18047]

Yvette Cooper: A list of local authorities that have held ballots on stock transfer and the outcome of those ballots; and lists of authorities that have had their stock options appraisal signed off by the relevant Government Office for transfer, ALMO, retention, and a mixed model, have been placed in the Library of the House.

Local Authority Pensions

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of local authority pensions per year. [17162]

Mr. Woolas: The most recent actuarial valuation of the Local Government Pension Scheme funds was carried out on 31 March 2004. Analysis of this data indicates that local authorities in England and Wales are committing about £3 billion during 2005–06 to ensure the on-going solvency of the scheme.

Lyons Inquiry

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Lyons Inquiry is a public authority under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [17357]

Mr. Woolas: The Lyons Inquiry is not a public authority under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.

Minerals Planning Guidance

Mr. Betts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will issue further guidance to all planning authorities on the interpretation of Minerals Planning Guidance 3. [16606]

 
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Yvette Cooper: The policy advice contained in Minerals Planning Guidance Note 3 is clear. We have no plans to review or revise this guidance.

Mr. Betts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that minerals and planning authorities are applying minerals planning guidance 3 consistently to decisions on applications for surface mining. [16608]

Yvette Cooper: The First Secretary of State does not examine each decision in terms of national policy. It is the responsibility of the Minerals Planning Authorities to consider and determine each application on its merits, within the context provided by national, regional and local planning policies, including guidance contained in MPG3. If, following a refusal of planning permission, an applicant feels that policies have not been complied with, without good reason, an appeal may be lodged and will be considered by an independent planning inspector.

Mr. Betts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to satisfy himself whether policy 45 on opencast coal as contained in the draft submission of the North East regional spatial strategy conforms to the alternative tests of environmental acceptability or community benefits as contained in minerals planning guidance 3. [16607]

Yvette Cooper: On 5 October the Government made representations to the Secretary of the Panel which will hold an examination into the draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the North East of England. It indicated that since policy 45 on opencast coal applied a double test of environmental acceptability and a requirement to yield local community benefits, it conflicted with Minerals Planning Guidance note 3. The representation indicated the Government's view that a case has not been made for this departure from national policy and a regionally specific policy was therefore not justified in the RSS. The examination in public into the draft RSS, which is due to be held in spring next year, will provide an opportunity for the discussion and testing of matters selected by the panel following their consideration of all the representations made.

Population Statistics

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the population of Milton Keynes has been in each of the last seven years. [17728]

 
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John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Mark Lancaster, dated 18 October 2005:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the population in Milton Keynes over the last seven years. (17728)

Below is a table showing the estimated population for Milton Keynes from 1998 to 2004.

Total population, Milton Keynes, mid-1998 to mid-2004

	Number
1998	202,900
1999	206,700
2000	209,800
2001	212,700
2002	214,100
2003	215,700
2004	216,700

Source:
Office for National Statistics

Second Homes

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of English residents who have a second home within the United Kingdom. [16948]

Yvette Cooper: Estimates from the Survey of English Housing show that for the period 2003–04 to 2004–05 there were about 293,000 English households with second homes in Great Britain.

Note that this will under-state the actual number of second homes in Great Britain because some households will have more than one additional home.

Data from the Survey of English Housing does not separately identify second homes in Northern Ireland. Consequently an estimate for the United Kingdom is not available.

Small Business Rate Relief

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he expects an increased take-up rate of small business rate relief to result in revenue reduction for (a) local councils and (b) central Government. [17231]

Mr. Woolas: No. The allocation of money to local authorities for 2005–06 was announced through the local government finance settlement in February and will not be affected by increased take-up of small business rate relief. On the basis of research conducted before the relief scheme came into effect, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects that the amount of relief paid by local authorities on a national basis will be balanced by an amount raised from those businesses not eligible for the relief. However, if the actual total differs from these estimates, the Secretary of State has the power to adjust the small business non-domestic rating multiplier to address any imbalance.
 
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CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants are on fixed-term contracts. [19316]

Mr. Hutton: The number of civil servants on fixed-term or casual contracts as at 30 June 2005 (Quarter 2 2005) was 17,280 (full-time equivalents). This figure is an unpublished best estimate, by the Office for National Statistics, and relates to staff not on a permanent civil service contract.

Detailed analyses of the civil service are published annually in 'Civil Service Statistics', copies of which are available in the Library. The latest version was published on 7 February 2005, based on information as at April 2004.

Gas Storage (Preesall, Lancs)

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the policy of the Duchy of Lancaster is towards the proposed use of Duchy land by Canatxx Gas Storage Ltd. and Canatxx Energy Ventures Ltd. for a new gas storage facility at Preesall, Lancashire; and if he will make a statement. [18708]

Mr. Hutton: The Duchy of Lancaster recognises the importance of diversifying all energy sources within the United Kingdom to ensure a continuity of supply. However, the Duchy has informed Canatxx that it will not open any discussions in relation to the proposal for a new gas storage facility at Preesall, Lancashire until such time as Canatxx has completed the local planning process and obtained a planning consent for its scheme.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the occasions on which (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have communicated with Canatxx Gas Storage Ltd., Canatxx Energy Ventures Ltd. or a company associated with Canatxx with regard to their proposals for a new gas storage facility at Preesall, Lancashire (i) by letter, (ii) by e-mail, (iii) by telephone and (iv) in person; and what the content was in each case. [18709]

Mr. Hutton: The Duchy office has had a wide variety of communications with Canatxx which has primarily been of an informative nature. It would not be appropriate to publish the content of these communications as this would be of a commercially confidential nature.

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