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Local Government Finance

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2005,Official Report, column 1121W, when the information to which the answer refers will be placed in the Library. [31085]

Mr. Woolas: The information has now been deposited in the Library of the House.

Ministerial Meetings

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many meetings concerning issues for which his Department is responsible (a) he has, (b) the Minister of Communities and Local Government has and (c) both have attended since May. [28745]

Jim Fitzpatrick: Both of my right hon. Friends have a wide range of meetings in their roles as departmental Ministers and constituency MPs. The topics covered by these meetings are many and varied.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) have a statutory base, (b) publish their advice to Government, (c) publish an annual report and (d) lay an annual report before Parliament; and whether this is under a statutory requirement in each case. [29749]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Advisory Panel on the Beacon Scheme (a) does not have a statutory base and (b) does publish its advice to Government. The Advisory Panel on Standards for the Planning Inspectorate (a) does not have a statutory base and (b) does publish its advice to Government. The Building Regulations Advisory Committee (a) does have a statutory base which is Section 14 of the Building Act 1984 and (b) does not publish its advice to Government. The National Community Forum (a) does not have a statutory base and (b) does not publish its advice to Government.

All four bodies (c) publish annual reports and (d) none of the four lay those annual reports before Parliament. None of the four are under a statutory requirement to do any of the above.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) hold public meetings, (b) conduct public consultation exercises, (c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, (d) publish a register of Members' interests, (e) publish agendas for meetings and (f) publish the minutes of meetings; and whether this is under a statutory requirement in each case. [29750]

Jim Fitzpatrick: None of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's four advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) (a) hold public meetings or (b) conduct public consultation exercises.
 
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The Advisory Panel on the Beacon Scheme (c) conducts consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, (d) does not publish a register of Members' interests and (e) and (f) does not publish either agendas for or minutes of meetings. It would consider what could be made available on request.

The Advisory Panel on Standards for the Planning Inspectorate (c) consults professional organisations on the Planning Inspectorate's performance, (d) does not publish a register of Members' interests and (e) and (f) does not publish either agendas for or minutes of meetings although both would be made available on request.

The Building Regulations Advisory Committee (c) does not conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests. While it does not publish (d) a register of Members' interests and (e) and (f) agendas for and minutes of meetings, it makes all available on request.

The National Community Forum (c) does not conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests and (d) publishes a register of Members' interests. It does not publish (e) and (f) either agendas for or minutes of meetings.

None of the four bodies is under a statutory requirement to do any of the above.

Planning Applications

Mrs. Moon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning applications recommended for refusal in the last five years following a full public inquiry have subsequently been approved. [27009]

Yvette Cooper: In the last five years in England there have been 1,106 called in planning applications and recovered planning appeals decided by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister the First Secretary of State. Of these, 22 were planning applications where an Inspector had recommended a refusal of planning permission following a public inquiry, but which were subsequently approved by the First Secretary of State.

Public Service Agreements

Mike Penning: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many public service agreements have been entered into with local authorities covering Hemel Hempstead constituency in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [29569]

Mr. Woolas: The Government have signed a local public service agreement with Hertfordshire county council which runs from April, 2003 to March, 2006. Local public service agreements have now become the 'reward element' of Local Area Agreements (LAA), and the Government are currently negotiating an LAA with Hertfordshire county council and its partners to run from April, 2006 to March 2009, which will include this reward element.

South West Regional Assembly

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost to public funds was of the South West Regional Assembly in 2004–05. [30351]

 
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Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 817W to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman).

Tree Maintenance

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance his Department has given to local authorities on tree maintenance near highways. [29728]

Ms Buck: I have been asked to reply.

Guidance on the inspection, condition and maintenance of trees on or near highways is given at sections 9 and 10 of Well-maintained Highways: Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management" published by the UK Roads Liaison Group in July this year. The Department for Transport strongly recommends this code to local authorities.

Unitary Local Government

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research the Government (a) have conducted since 1997 and (b) is conducting on unitary local government in England. [26903]

Mr. Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) was created in May 2002. Since then (and indeed since 1997 as the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and then the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR)) we have undertaken one piece of research specifically on unitaries as part of its annual Local and Regional Government Research Programme. This was commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers and sought to produce a financial model for the calculation of potential costs associated with the creation of unitary authorities in those regions where referendums for elected regional assemblies were due to be held. The model considered a limited range of well-defined costs—the 'costs of being in business'—and is available on the Boundary Committee for England website at www.boundarycommittee.org.uk.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many forces have been contributed by each country contributing to the International Security Assistance Force; and if he will make a statement. [27162]

Mr. Ingram: International Security Assistance Force currently numbers about 10,000 troops from 36 NATO and non-NATO troop contributing countries. Individual contributions by each country change on a regular basis due to the rotation of troops. Information on numbers of troops currently deployed is a matter for the troop contributing nations.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how long the UK plans to continue to embed troops within the Afghan national army. [29681]

Mr. Ingram: The United States has the lead in training the Afghan National Army. Currently, the United Kingdom does not embed trainers with the Afghan
 
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National Army, but does provide support by training its Non-Commissioned Officers, a commitment we have recently agreed to extend to September 2006.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his (a) United States and (b) European Union counterparts on the deployment of additional British troops to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [29887]

Mr. Ingram: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has regular discussions with our Allies, including US and EU counterparts, on the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan. We have made no final decisions on a deployment to Southern Afghanistan next year, but we are making some timely, prudent and common sense preparations for a potential deployment. A statement will be made to the House when a decision has been made.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to extend the training period for recruits with the Afghan National Army; and what discussions he has had with UK allies on this. [29598]

Mr. Ingram: The training period for recruits within the Afghan National Army is a matter for the United States, who lead in this area. The United Kingdom currently supports training for Non-Commissioned Officers and we have recently agreed to extend this commitment to September 2006. We continue to discuss the requirement for training the Afghan National Army with the US and other partner nations.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the strength is of (a) the Afghan army and (b) the Afghan police; and what he estimates the required establishment to be in each case. [29600]

Mr. Ingram: The United States is the lead nation for developing the Afghan National Army (ANA); the current target strength for the ANA is 70,000 personnel. Germany is the lead nation for developing the Afghan National Police (ANP); the current target strength for the ANP is 62,000 personnel. The ANA is about 30,000 strong and the ANP some 50,000 strong.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are in Afghanistan, broken down by service and regiment; and what levels of deployment are expected once the UK takes on the leadership of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. [29608]

Mr. Ingram: As of 16 November 2005, there were approximately 1,060 British personnel in Afghanistan, broken down as follows:

Service	Number
Royal Navy/Royal Marines	30
Army	790
Royal Air Force	240

All personnel from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines are individual augmentees, as are some from the other Services. The principal Army unit serving in Afghanistan is the First Battalion, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, while that for the Royal Air Force is 4 Squadron.
 
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The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is the British-led High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters, one of six NATO possesses. These headquarters currently command the International Security Assistance Force in turn. Final decisions on the size of the ARRC's deployment have not been made.

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