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5 Dec 2005 : Column 960W—continued
Neighbourhood Wardens
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what statutory powers community and neighbourhood wardens have to deal with incidents of crime and disorder. [33164]
Mr. Woolas:
Warden schemes may use local authority powers to issue fixed penalty notices for offences such as dog fouling, littering and parking violations. These
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powers are largely derived from the Environment Protection Act 1990, the Dogs Act 1996, and other local byelaws.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme provides powers to accredited persons, such as wardens. A list of these powers is as follows:
Power to issue Penalty Notices for Disorder under Chapter 1 Part1 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act:
Using public electronic communications network in order to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety
Peabody Trust
Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effects of the change in the number of the Peabody Trust's social rented homes on (a) homelessness and (b) overcrowding in London. [33370]
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Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not carry out analysis of homelessness or overcrowding data in relation to the stock holdings of individual registered social landlords (RSLs). Local authorities have a statutory responsibility for reviewing homelessness and the resources available to tackle it in their area, in consultation with RSLs and other agencies, in order to inform their homelessness strategies.
Race Equality Impact Assessments
Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many Race Equality Impact Assessments his Office completed between (a) April 2004 and March 2005 and (b) April 2005 and November 2005; and how many assessments in each period resulted in a change of policy. [32834]
Mr. Woolas: Between April 2004 and March 2005 eight race equality impact assessments were carried out within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (not including agencies). Between April and November 2005, two full and one partial race impact assessments were completed. No changes in policy occurred as a result of the assessments. In order to assist staff in carrying out these assessments, the Equality and Diversity Unit (EDU) ran a series of 32 workshops, which were attended by several hundred staff members. Guidance on how to complete the assessments has also been placed on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's intranet.
There are currently three race equality impact assessments under way in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and the ODPM has agreed to conduct a series of 14 assessments across a wide range of the ODPM's existing policy and programme areas as part of an 18-month call-off contract. The contract's aim is both to conduct race equality impact assessments, and to build capacity in ODPM officials to carry them out subsequently.
Regeneration (Oldham)
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect on the regeneration of the local area of the sale by Legal and General of land at the Alexandra Retail Park in Oldham. [34615]
Mr. Woolas: The local authority is currently considering the options for the regeneration of the area. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working with Oldham MBC to consider the best way forward. We shall be looking at the recently published inspector's report into the revised UDP and taking forward the Under-served Markets Project for which Oldham has been shortlisted.
Standards Board for England
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the work of the Standards Board for England; and if he will make a statement. [34341]
Mr. Woolas:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) monitors the progress of the Standards Board for England as part of its on-going sponsorship role for the board, and we are also currently considering the
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recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and of the ODPM Select Committee on the board's work.
Valuation Office Agency
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the valuation of a domestic property by the Valuation Office Agency for council tax valuation or revaluation purposes would be affected by the presence of (a) television aerials, (b) showers, (c) fixtures, (d) fittings and (e) carpets. [33484]
Mr. Woolas: The statutory assumptions for valuation in respect of Council Tax are contained within Local Government and Finance Act 1992 and Local Government Act 2003.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many public conveniences were registered for business rates by the Valuation Office Agency in each government office region (a) in the most recent year for which figures are available and (b) in 1997. [33505]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is as follows.
(a) As at July 2005, there were 5,377 public conveniences included in the 2005 Rating List.
(b) 1997 figures are not available.
TRANSPORT
A21 Upgrade
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce the findings of the South East of England Regional Development Agency's consultation on the proposed A21 upgrade. [34338]
Dr. Ladyman: I am not aware of any consultation being undertaken by the South East of England Regional Development Agency specifically into the A21. However, we expect to receive by the end of January 2006 the South East region's advice on which transport schemes should be given priority for funding, as part of the regional funding allocation process. The schemes they are considering as part of this process include several improvements to the A21.
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