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Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research he has evaluated on whether regional (a) economic and (b) social differences have changed since 1997. [31855]
Yvette Cooper: To support the 2004 PSA target to make sustainable improvements in the economic performance of the English regions, independent research to summarise the economic base was commissioned in 2004. The report of this work Regional Growth Report" was published in September 2004 and is available from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l139483.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what training is given to (a) policy officials and (b) lawyers in his Department responsible for drafting statutory instruments; and if he will make a statement. [34314]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Statutory instruments are drafted by departmental lawyers based on instructions from policy divisions. Where SIs amend primary legislation, parliamentary counsel are consulted.
As members of the Government Legal Service (GLS), departmental lawyers receive extensive training on the preparation and drafting of statutory instruments. This consists of a combination of lectures and practical exercises run by experienced practitioners in the GLS, coupled with training given by legal advisers who advise the parliamentary scrutiny committees. In addition, senior managers in the GLS take a close interest in the quality of SIs and provide frequent feedback and on the job training to those with lead responsibility for drafting. This is an on-going process and part of the continuing education of government legal advisers.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the annual tax revenue from applying business rates to the land holdings of development and property companies. [36032]
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 820W, on Thames Gateway, if he will place in the Library copies of the strategic flood risk assessments held by (a) his Department and (b) the relevant Government office for the regions. [22296]
Yvette Cooper:
Copies of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessments for the Thames Gateway will be publicly available on the internet. The document requested is an external publication produced by the Thames Gateway London Partnership. At the present time, Strategic Flood Risk Assessments have been completed for the London area of the Thames Gateway. This is available on the Thames Gateway London Partnership website at http://www.thames-gateway.org.uk/social-inc-content.
12 Dec 2005 : Column 1729W
asp?id:=16. Copies of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessments for North Kent and South Essex will be publicly available when the final reports are produced.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of town and parish councillors gained office as a result of a contested election. [35381]
Mr. Woolas: Information about the proportion of town and parish councillors that have gained office as a result of a contested election is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many town and parish councils in England have achieved Quality Parish Council status. [35382]
Mr. Woolas: There are currently 230 town and parish councils in England which have achieved Quality Parish status.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many town and parish councils there are in England, broken down by district or unitary level local authority area; and how many levy their own precept in each case. [35383]
Mr. Woolas: There are about 8,700 parish and town councils in England. Volume 2 of the latest edition of the Municipal Year Book lists parishes under the relevant county and district council area. Information about how many parish and town councils levy their own precept is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many town and parish councillors there are in England. [35384]
Mr. Woolas: There are approximately 70,000 town and parish councillors in England.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the main local services funded through the levy of town and parish council precepts are. [35388]
Mr. Woolas: Town and parish councils have powers to provide various services which are funded by precept. A list of their main statutory functions is as tabled. Principal authorities have powers to delegate services to town and parish councils. Central Government do not hold centrally a breakdown of spending by town and parish councils.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the average total combined cost of clerking, insurance and audit fees for town and parish councils in England in the last year for which figures are available. [35389]
Mr. Woolas: Information about the cost of employing parish council clerks and the cost of insuring town and parish councils in England is not collected centrally, andcould be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information provided by the Audit Commission shows that parish and town councils and parish meetings collectively paid approximately £1.9 million in audit fees for the year 200304.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average precept at band D levied by town and parish councils in England was in each of the last 10 years. [35390]
Mr. Woolas: Reliable figures for the average band D council taxes set by parish and town councils in each of the last 10 years are not available. This is becausealthough the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister collects information on the total amounts of council tax precepted by parish and town councilsinformation on the taxbases (numbers of band D-equivalent dwellings) to which the precepts relate, which is needed to calculate average figures, is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
As stated in Table A2b of Local Government Financial Statistics England No. 16 2005", the average band D council tax set by parish and town councils for 200506 has been estimated to be £42. But this is dependent upon an estimate of the taxbase for the area to which the precepts relate which is not robust enough to give a reliable set of figures over time.
The total amount of council tax precepted by parish and town councils in England in each of the last 10 years are tabled as follows. While this gives a broad indication of the trend in average precepts, it also reflects an increase in the number of parish and town councils, with about 150 new ones having been created since 1997.
Financial year | Total amount precepted by parish and town councils |
---|---|
199697 | 133 |
199798 | 144 |
199899 | 154 |
19992000 | 165 |
200001 | 181 |
200102 | 193 |
200203 | 210 |
200304 | 226 |
200405 | 242 |
200506 | 260 |
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