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30 Mar 2006 : Column 1209W—continued
Civil Contingencies
Mr. Syms: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities fulfil their duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004; and what guidance he has issued on such duties. [59978]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have been asked to reply.
Part 1 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004—most of which came fully into force on 14 November 2005—establishes a statutory framework for civil protection arrangements at the local level. The Act sets out clear roles and responsibilities for local responders (including local authorities) establishing a basis for effective performance assessment. The Act's accompanying regulations (Contingency Planning 2005") set out the detail of the new legislative framework providing a clear set of standards for responders to meet. The supporting statutory guidance Emergency Preparedness" describes in more detail how these standards can be met. It sets out the requirements of the Act and provides advice on good practice.
The performance of responders against the requirements set out in the Act is assessed by their existing performance assessment frameworks. English local authorities' performance is assessed by the Audit Commission through the comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) process. The performance of local authorities in Wales is assessed by the Wales Audit Office.
The Scottish Executive is responsible for making regulations and issuing guidance, under the Act, to local authorities in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, local authorities are subject to the non-statutory Northern Ireland civil contingencies framework.
Mr. Syms: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost of the additional duties placed on local authorities by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004; and what proportion of these costs have been met from central funds. [60021]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have been asked to reply.
As a part of Spending Review 2004, Government officials worked closely with the Local Government Association to build up a detailed assessment of the costs facing local authorities in fulfilling their civil protection activities, including the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act.
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As a result of the Spending Review, the Government more than doubled its contribution to the cost of local authorities' civil protection work, providing £40.7 million for local authorities in England and Wales in each of the years covered by the review—2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08. This uplift in funding was welcomed by the Local Government Association.
Civil Servants
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many senior civil servants are employed in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies. [59059]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of staff in the senior civil service (SCS) in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister HQ and its agencies at 31 December 2005 is shown in the following table. The figures include staff on paid and unpaid maternity leave and staff on outward loan and secondment.
| Organisation | Number of staff in SCS |
|---|---|
| ODPM (C) | 145 |
| Government Offices | 49 |
| Planning Inspectorate | 5 |
| QEII Conference Centre | 1 |
| Fire Service College | 2 |
| Total | 202 |
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the meetings that civil servants from his Department have had with local authority (a) staff and (b) representatives in the last 12 months; and which councils attended each meeting. [56182]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Civil servants in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister hold meetings with local authority staff and representatives on a wide range of subjects. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Councillors' Interests
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what definition he uses of a (a) prejudicial interest and (b) personal interest of an elected councillor. [55441]
Mr. Woolas: The model code of conduct for local authority members, issued as a statutory instrument in 2001, sets out the circumstances in which a member must regard himself or herself as having a personal and a prejudicial interest in a matter. Interpretation of these provisions is ultimately a matter for the courts.
The Standards Board for England has published guidance for councillors relating to the code, including the provisions relating to personal and prejudicial interests.
Empty Dwelling Management Orders
Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the merits of including commercial properties within the scope of Empty Dwelling Management Orders; and if he will make a statement. [60225]
Yvette Cooper:
Converting unoccupied commercial property to housing entails a change of use which would require the consent of the freeholder or leaseholder of
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the property. While the Government is keen to encourage conversion of redundant commercial property for which residential use may be practical, we recognise that the economic drivers that determine conversion projects differ from the reuse of vacant residential property. We have not assessed the implications of applying the same approach to commercial properties.
Any extension to the powers in the Housing Act 2004 would require new primary legislation.
Environmental Sustainability
Vera Baird: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what environmentally sustainable features he requires to be installed in new public buildings. [57877]
Yvette Cooper: On 15 March 2006, the improvements to the energy efficiency standards set out in part L of the Building Regulations was laid in Parliament. The part L changes come into effect in April 2006 and will make a major contribution to the UK's commitment to combat climate change delivering increased energy standards of up to 27 per cent. for new buildings.
We have just completed the consultation on the proposed Code for Sustainable Homes, which is a voluntary scheme being developed with industry and will set environmental performance standards for energy and water efficiency that are higher than those stipulated by regulation.
From April 2006 we will require all new homes built by the resident social landlords with Housing Corporation funding to comply with level 3 of the code. This will also apply to homes developed by the English Partnership and all others receiving Government funding.
Greater Manchester
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to introduce an (a) elected and (b) appointed structure of county-wide governance for Greater Manchester; and if he will make a statement. [62201]
Mr. Woolas: Representatives from Manchester city-region (including AGMA), are due to present their business case to David Miliband this week. This is expected to set out their vision for the city-region and outline their key proposals to promote economic and social performance, which includes options for devolved decision making. Further business case presentations are also due from other core cities during the next few months.
The office will continue to engage with cities and other Government Departments to further develop the ideas and will develop responses which draw on the business case proposals and inform our thinking ahead of the forthcoming local government White Paper.
Home Information Packs
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the timetable is for laying the Home Information Pack Regulations 2006 before Parliament. [60133]
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Yvette Cooper: We are planning to lay the Home Information Pack Content Regulations before Parliament in June 2006. Regulations relating to Home Information Pack forms and access to the register of Home Condition Reports will be laid later in the year following some trialling of the forms and discussions with the industry.
Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new social homes have been (a) granted planning permission, (b) started and (c) completed in each year since 1997. [58565]
Yvette Cooper: Information on the number of new social homes granted planning permission is not held centrally.
The number of registered social landlord and local authority dwellings for rent started and completed as reported by building control can be found on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website:
For the total supply of social homes including new build and acquisitions, as reported by the Housing Corporation, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 279W.
The Government have announced a £3.9 billion programme through the Housing Corporation for the next two years which includes 35,000 low cost home ownership home and 49,000 social rented homes. This is part of a programme to increase the level of new social housing by 50 per cent. by 2007–08 against 2004–05 levels.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) council owned, (b) privately owned, (c) housing association owned and (d) arm's length management organisation managed properties in each London borough do not have an indoor toilet; and if he will make a statement. [61137]
Yvette Cooper: The Department does not collect this information from local authorities and there are too few homes without indoor toilets in the housing stock as a whole to make a robust estimate from housing surveys. The English House Condition Survey estimates that around 200,000 homes in England are missing at least one of the five basic amenities (these are: kitchen sink; bath or shower in a bathroom; wash hand basin; hot and cold water supply; indoor toilet). These are mainly properties that were being renovated at the time of the survey and a few isolated rural homes.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new homes he expects to be built in (a) Lancaster and Wyre and (b) Lancashire in (i) 2006–07 and (ii) each of the following five years. [61327]
Yvette Cooper:
It is not possible to be specific about numbers of homes expected to be built each year. The Joint Lancashire Structure Plan makes provision for the
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following annual average number of dwellings each year until 2016:
| Number of dwellings | |
|---|---|
| Lancaster | 320 |
| Wyre | 205 |
| Lancashire | (31)2,380 |
(31) Of which the Lancaster and Wyre figures are a subset.
It is for local planning authorities to monitor and manage dwellings actually built and planning permissions granted.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the relevant water companies on their capacity to supply all the projected new homes in London and the South East. [61304]
Yvette Cooper: The Deputy Prime Minister has not held discussions with the water companies on these issues. However, Baroness Andrews met the water companies, the Environment Agency and Ofwat on 7 March this year at a seminar organised by ODPM at which these issues were discussed.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) reserves and (b) pre-tax financial position was of each housing association in the latest period for which figures are available. [61668]
Yvette Cooper: The figures for (a) reserves and (b) pre-tax financial position of each housing association registered with the Housing Corporation for periods ending in 2004–05 have been placed in the Library of the House. The total figures for the period 2004–05 for those RSLs with over 250 units disclosed in their accounts are (a) reserves at £11.8 billion and (b) pre-tax financial position at £443 million. The figures for those RSLs with less than 250 units are (a) reserves at £1.1 billion and (b) pre-tax financial position at £63 million. The reserves total reflects revenue reserves and revaluation reserves.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homes have been built for key workers under each of the (a) Intermediate Rent, (b) Homebuy New Build and (c) Mixed Funded for Sale programmes; how many have been sold or let under each programme; and in cases where homes have remained empty how long they have been empty, broken down by local authority. [28826]
Yvette Cooper: As at the end of February 2006, 2,817 homes have been built through the Key Worker Living Programme; 1,424 for Intermediate Rent of which 1,201 have been let; and 1,393 for low cost home ownership of which 615 have been sold. 45 per cent. of the homes that have not been let or sold were completed in the past 3 months. I will send the hon. Member a breakdown of the number of empty properties by local authority since October 2005.
Mr. Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much of the capital receipts from right-to-buy sales in debt-free local authorities will be centrally pooled in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08. [58692]
Yvette Cooper:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not estimate future right-to-buy receipts but does estimate future total housing capital receipts
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(which include right-to-buy figures). Estimates are subject to a number of volatile factors such as the state of the housing market, lending rates, amounts of disposable income and stock condition, and are kept under constant review.
ODPM's estimate is as follows:
| Debt-free authorities' housing receipts pooled (£ million) | |
|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 52 |
| 2006–07 | 72 |
| 2007–08 | 88 |
Since 1997 the Government have consistently invested more in housing than it has received in pooled receipts. In 2004–05 the amount paid to Government from all housing receipts (not just right-to-buy) was £1.7 billion. The amount invested in housing was £4.1 billion i.e. almost 2½ times the amount. The ratio of amount invested to amount of pooled receipts is expected to increase substantially in the future.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total debt on council housing was in (a) 1980, (b) 2000 and (c) 2005; and how much has been (i) paid and (ii) written off. [49736]
Yvette Cooper: The total debt attributed to council housing in 1980 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
In 2000–01 the total debt was £17.6 billion. This has now fallen to an estimated £13.3 billion, although that figure may vary between now and when the final figure for the 2005–06 financial year is known. With the exception of £1.8 billion in 'overhanging debt' payments made by government, the reduction of £4.3 billion has been due to repayments made by local authorities. ('Overhanging debt' is the debt an authority is unable to repay from the receipt it gets on the transfer of its stock to a housing association. Debt repayment is the first call on such receipts. Where the outstanding debt exceeds the receipt, the Government pays off the excess amount of debt—the overhanging debt. The Government chooses to repay such debt rather than continuing to support that debt—as had happened previously through the allowance made for debt service charges in the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system. The choice between paying off overhanging debt and continuing to support the debt through subsidy is intended to be broadly neutral in net financial terms for the authority.)
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the proceeds from the sale of council houses are allocated. [49773]
Yvette Cooper:
A council is required to pay to the Government (i.e. pool") 75 per cent. of its receipts (less its costs and various allowances) from right to buy sales or any other scheme where the tenant intends to use the property as their principal dwelling. It may keep the remaining 25 per cent. to spend on capital purposes.
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Councils that were debt free on 31 March 2004 benefit from a transitional regime following the introduction of pooling from April 2004. In 2004–05 they were allowed to keep 75 per cent. of the amount they would otherwise have been required to pool; in 2005–06 50 per cent. and in 2006–07 25 per cent.
Since 1997 the Government have consistently invested more in housing than it has received in pooled capital receipts. In 2004–05 the amount paid to Government from all housing receipts (not just right to buy) was £1.7 billion. The amount invested in housing was £4.1 billion i.e. almost 2 ½ times the amount. The ratio of amount invested to amount set aside is expected to increase substantially in the future.
Pooled capital receipts collected from debt-free and with-debt authorities are treated differently. Pooled capital receipts from debt-free authorities, that is, local authorities that had no long term outstanding borrowing on 31 March 2004 come to the ODPM, where they are used to support sustainable communities projects such as new social housing and decent homes. Pooled capital receipts from debt-free authorities, that is, local authorities that had long term outstanding borrowing on 31 March 2004 go to the Treasury, where they are recycled as investment, for instance as capital investment in housing as described above.
If the disposal of the council house is not to somebody who intends to use it as their principal dwelling and is not through the right to buy, the local authority may use their capital allowance to extinguish up to 100 per cent. of the capital receipt for use on the provision of affordable housing or regeneration within the local authority. In 2004–2005, £23 8 million of capital receipts were extinguished in this way for retention by local authorities.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many units of shared equity housing have been made available in Merton in each year since 1980. [50053]
Yvette Cooper: The numbers of shared equity properties sold in Merton in each year since 1997–98 are listed in the following table.
| Number shared equity housing | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 16 |
| 1998–99 | 12 |
| 1999–2000 | 38 |
| 2000–01 | 33 |
| 2001–02 | 18 |
| 2002–03 | 7 |
| 2003–04 | 36 |
| 2004–05 | 58 |
Source:
Housing Corporation
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of total right to buy revenues was taken from councils in 2004–05; and how much in usable receipts was kept by them. [40349]
Yvette Cooper:
A council is required to pay to the Government (i.e. pool") 75 per cent. of its receipts from right to buy sales (less its costs and various allowances).
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It may keep the remaining 25 per cent. to spend on capital purposes.
Councils that were debt free on 31 March 2004 benefit from a transitional regime following the introduction of pooling from April 2004. In 2004–05 they were allowed to keep 75 per cent. of the amount they would otherwise have been required to pool; in 2005–06 50 per cent. and in 2006–07 25 per cent.
Since 1997 the Government have consistently invested more in housing than it has received in pooled capital receipts. In 2004–05 the amount paid to Government from all housing receipts (not just right to buy) was £1.7 billion. The amount invested in housing was £4.1 billion i.e. almost 2½ times the amount. The ratio of amount invested to amount set aside is expected to increase substantially in the future.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce an investment allowance for council housing as proposed by his Department in 2002. [40369]
Yvette Cooper: The Investment Allowance was one of a number of options for radical change consulted on in the Office's August 2002 consultation paper The Way Forward for Housing Capital Finance". The aim of the paper was to solicit views on simplifying and enhancing the capital financing regime.
Only 20 per cent. of local authorities expressed an interest in the allowance and then primarily as an avenue for securing additional funding rather than as a mechanism for delivering existing levels of funding.
Capital financing is provided through a range of different routes, including the Major Repairs Allowance, the Regional Housing Pot and Capital Receipts Initiative. The proposals for an Investment Allowance were included for discussion at that time simply to stimulate consideration of whether the delivery of existing resources could be simplified.
The Government decided, because of the low and qualified level of support to respond by introducing on 1 April 2004, new housing capital finance arrangements, the Prudential Borrowing regime, which allows local authorities to determine for themselves what they can afford to borrow above borrowing supported by central Government, supported from their own resources.
This has provided greater flexibility for local authority borrowing.
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