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23 Jan 2006 : Column 1807W—continued
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Adenstar (Portslade)
Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what factors he took into account in accepting the invitation to open the new offices of Adenstar in Portslade on 13 May 2002; and if he will make a statement. [44786]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Audit Commission Chairman
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria were used when making the decision to reappoint James Strachan as Chairman of the Audit Commission. [42598]
Mr. Woolas: Mr. Strachan was offered re-appointment as Chairman of the Audit Commission for a period of two years. In December 2005 he wrote to inform my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister of his decision not to take up his reappointment.
Beach Safety
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps to make beach safety provision a statutory responsibility of (a) local authorities and (b) other beach owners. [44704]
Jim Fitzpatrick: At present the provision of beach safety services is at the discretion of local authorities. The Government have no plans to replace the current discretionary power with a statutory obligation.
The Government wants to see local authorities act as effective and responsible community leaders, listening to the views of local people and providing services which meet their needs.
There are no plans to legislate to alter the responsibilities of private beach owners.
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Brighton and Hove Albion
Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he (a) informed and (b) sought advice from (i)his Permanent Secretary and (ii) other officials before deciding (A) to meet the Chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion and (B) to accept hospitality from the club on 16 December. [44789]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
The hospitality provided to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister by Brighton and Hove Albion on 16 December consisted of a steak and kidney pie and a glass of water in the crèche temporarily being used as the directors' box. This event was also attended by the directors of both clubs.
Council Tax
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money was raised by council tax in each of the last seven years. [44649]
Mr. Woolas: The council tax received in England in each of the last seven years is tabled as follows. The figures include both arrears received for previous years and prepayment of council tax for subsequent years.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 10,579 |
| 1999–2000 | 11,457 |
| 2000–01 | 12,242 |
| 2001–02 | 13,208 |
| 2003–03 | 14,510 |
| 2003–04 | 16,392 |
| 2004–05 | 17,372 |
The data are as reported on QRC4 forms submitted by all billing authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister each year.
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were billed for council tax in 2004–05. [44658]
Mr. Woolas: The number of council tax demand notices issued by local billing authorities in 2004–05 is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Details of the number of chargeable dwellings in England in 2004–05 are published in Table 2.2k of Local Government Financial Statistics England No. 16, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House and on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's
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website at: http ://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/lgfs/2005/lgfs16/h/lgfs16/xlsfiles/lgfs16–2-2k.xls.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of each response to the Department's Consultation Paper on council tax revaluation in England: publication of property information. [43006]
Mr. Woolas:
The responses to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Consultation Paper—'Council Tax Revaluation in England: Publication of Property Information' have been made available in the Library of the House. A large majority of these are supportive of the inclusion of property details in any new council tax valuation list. A new valuation list will only be compiled at such time as a council tax revaluation takes place. There are no plans to publish additional information on property details as part of the current list.
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Departmental Expenditure
Pete Wishart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) Executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06. [39984]
Mr. Woolas: Set out as follows are the contributions incurred by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) for financial years 2002–03 to 2004–05. The planned expenditure for bodies other than ODPM are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In addition, the geographical split across the regions can be obtained only at disproportionate cost:
n/a—Data not applicable
(28)Not disclosed
For 2005–06, employers' contributions are payable to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) at one of four rates in the ranges 16.2 to 24.6 per cent. of pensionable pay, based on salary bands. The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions every four years following a full scheme valuation; last carried out as at 31 March 2003. The contribution rates reflect thecost of benefits as they accrue (net of employee contributions), not the costs as they are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme.
Engagements
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether staff from his Department plan to attend (a) the Mass Appraisal Valuation Symposium in Vancouver, Canada on 6–7 February 2006, (b) the Integrating GIS and CAMA Conference in Orlando, Florida on 19–22 February 2006 and (c) the International Property Tax Institute International Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August. [42594]
Mr. Woolas: No staff within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will attend any of the events listed.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether staff from his Department attended (a) the International Property Tax Institute International Conference in Prague on 23–24 August 2005, (b) the Southern African Tax Institute Workshop on the Valuation and Rating of Public Service Infrastructure on 2–3 June 2005 in Pretoria, South Africa and (c) the Eighth International Conference of the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation in Alicante, Spain on 22–25 February 2005. [42595]
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Mr. Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no record of any of its staff attending any of the events listed.
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