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Fire Control Rooms

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which of the fire authorities which have responded to his Department's proposals for the provision of regional fire control rooms have signified (a) agreement and (b) disagreement. [30875]

Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 22 November 2005]: All fire and rescue Regional Management Boards, which represent the Fire and Rescue Authorities, have written to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister indicating that they accept the proposals for regional fire control centres.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister under what legal authority his Department proposes to (a) establish regional fire control rooms and (b) contract with the private sector for the provision of fire control rooms. [30876]

 
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Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 22 November 2005]: There are powers in section 29 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 that provide the necessary authority. Development agreements for the construction of the new control centres were concluded using these powers. The single technology/infrastructure services procurement is being conducted under the same powers. The responsibility for operating the control centres will however remain in public sector. Each control centre will be run as a local authority company, owned by the relevant fire and rescue authorities.

Firelink Project

Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he has commissioned a risk assessment of the Firelink project. [31101]

Jim Fitzpatrick: As required by the Office of Government Commerce good practice and Prince 2 methodology the management of the Firelink project includes detailed risk assessments and mitigation procedures. The evaluation of the competing bids also took into account risk. External assurance is provided
 
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through the Office of Government Commerce Gateway reviews. The most recent review was Gateway 3 (investment decision) conducted in October 2005.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the technical requirements for the Firelink project produced by the Firelink Board. [31103]

Jim Fitzpatrick: A copy of the technical requirements for the Firelink project will be placed in the Library of the House following contract signature, which is anticipated to take place by the end of 2005.

Housing

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1037–38W, on housing, if he will break down the figures provided by housing type. [29990]

Mr. Woolas: The answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1037–38W, gave the total number of vacant dwellings in North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire. These figures, broken down by tenure type, are tabled as follows:

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
North East Lincolnshire
Total	2,890	3,001	2,628	2,689	2,727
Of which:
Local authority (LA)	479	424	292	318	0
Registered social landlord (RSL)	52	46	61	77	311
'Other' public sector	0	0	0	0	0
Private sector (non RSL)	2,359	2,531	2,275	2,294	2,416
North Lincolnshire
Total	3,361	3,020	2,522	2,143	2,035
Of which:
Local authority (LA)	432	500	367	260	200
Registered social landlord (RSL)	53	27	29	40	18
'Other' public sector	0	74	37	62	41
Private sector (non RSL)	2,876	2,419	2,089	1,781	1,776

Source:
The figures for numbers of vacant dwellings given above are based on three sources: Total from ODPM's Council Tax Base 1 return; LA and 'Other' public sector from ODPM's Housing Strategy Statistical return; RSL from Housing Corporation's Regulatory Statistical Return; and the private sector is obtained by subtracting all these three separate tenure figures from the total.

National Minimum Wage

Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many employees in his Department were affected by the rise in the national minimum wage on 1 October. [28970]

Jim Fitzpatrick: None—the pay rates of all staff employed in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are above the national minimum wage.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies (a) which the Government are required to consult prior to legislative proposals and (b) whose advice the Government are required to publish. [29748]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister currently sponsors four advisory non- departmental public bodies:

the Advisory Panel on the Beacon Scheme;

the Advisory Panel on Standards in the Planning Inspectorate;

the Building Regulations Advisory Committee; and

the National Community Forum.

For (a), the only one of these bodies that the Government are required to consult prior to the introduction of new legislation is the Building Regulations Advisory Committee for proposals on building regulations under Section 14(3) of the Building Act 1984. For (b) the Government are not required to publish advice provided by any of the bodies.

Overcrowded Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when his Department plans to monitor its performance in reducing the number of families with children living in overcrowded housing as part of public service agreement 5. [28895]

 
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Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) currently uses five key indicators for monitoring performance on PSA5 including the number of families with children in temporary accommodation. On this, the trend has been stabilised since September 2004, with significant reductions since 2002 in the number of families with children living in cramped bed and breakfast hotels.

The ODPM is currently considering the way forward on addressing overcrowding including the statutory overcrowding standards.

Property Valuation

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the maximum penalties are for (a) refusing access to a valuation officer, (b) failing to give information about a house to a valuation officer and (c) giving wrong or misleading information about a house to a valuation officer. [30705]

Mr. Woolas [holding answer 21 November 2005]: For council tax purposes under the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

(a) The maximum fine for refusing access to a valuation officer who has given notice as required of the exercise of the power of entry is level 2 on the standard scale.

(b) The maximum fine for failing to give information about a house to a valuation who has served notice as required is level 2 on the standard scale.

(c) The maximum penalty for giving wrong or misleading information to a valuation officer who has served notice as required, is imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or both.

No such fines or penalties have been invoked to date and any such fine or penalty would be imposed by the courts and not by the Valuation Office Agency.

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish the full specifications of 2004 Public Service Agreement target number 4. [29953]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The target is being finalised and will be published together with a revised draft technical note shortly.

Special Advisers

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the special advisers in post in his Office, broken down by pay band; and what the total budgeted cost to his Department of special advisers is for 2005–06. [29412]

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) on 16 November 2005, Official Report, column 1257W.

Information relating to costs for 2005–06 will be published after the end of the current financial year.
 
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