| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
25 May 2006 : Column 2042W—continued
Warrington
ALMO round 4-announced on 5 May 2004
Bassetlaw
Brent (partial)
Bury
Ealing
Eastbourne
Hammersmith and Fulham
Manchester (partial)
Newark and Sherwood
Nottingham
Rotherham
Sandwell
Sheffield (partial)
Slough
Wolverhampton
ALMO round 5-announced on 23 June 2005
Doncaster
Gloucester
Hackney
Lambeth (partial)
Newham
Sheffield (partial)
South Tyneside
Southend
Stockport
Wear Valley
Cabinet Committees
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many Cabinet committees he will be chairing in his new role; and how frequently he expects them to meet. [69880]
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many Cabinet committees he is scheduled to chair in the week commencing (a) 15 May, (b) 22 May and (c) 29 May; [69857]
(2) which Cabinet committees he chairs; and how frequently each such committee has met in the past month. [69860]
Mrs. May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the Cabinet committees he chairs; and which he chaired at 10 April 2006. [71070]
Hilary Armstrong [holding answer 11 May 2006]: I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has asked my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister to chair nine Cabinet Committees and to act as his deputy on a further seven Committees. An updated list of all Cabinet Committees, and of who chairs them, was placed in the Library by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 May 2006. Previous lists contain information on the number of Committees chaired by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister prior to that date. Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Cambridge Local Plan
David Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the ruling by the inspector on the Cambridge Local Plan that the proportion of affordable housing to be required on qualifying sites should be reduced. [66333]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
The inspector who conducted the inquiry into the Cambridge Local Plan submitted his report to Cambridge city council at the beginning of April. It is for the city council to consider the report before adopting its local plan. It would not be appropriate at present for the First Secretary of State to comment on the report in view of the Secretary of State’s powers under the planning legislation.
Departmental Bills (Amendments)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the occasions when an amendment has been moved by (a) a Labour Back Bencher, (b) an Opposition Back Bencher and (c) an Opposition Front Bench spokesman to a Bill sponsored by her Department and its predecessors that has been accepted by her Department during the 2005-06 session; and if she will make a statement. [72126]
Angela E. Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government is sponsoring The Housing Corporation (Delegations) Etc. Bill during the current session.
Information on amendments moved and accepted during the Committee and Report stage on this Bill is published in the Official Report.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list responsibilities which her Department and its predecessors have lost since 1997; what the (a) date and (b) destination Department was in each case; what responsibilities the Department and its predecessors have taken on since 1997; and what the (i) date and (ii) source Department was in each case. [71137]
Angela E. Smith [holding answer 15 May 2006]: Ministerial responsibilities are set out in the “List of Ministerial Responsibilities”, which is updated regularly. A revised version will be published shortly. Copies of previous versions are available in the Library.
Electromagnetic Fields
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with electricity supply companies on the routing of high voltage power lines underground in areas of high density housing. [71622]
Yvette Cooper: Ministers for the Department for Communities and Local Government have not had any discussions with electricity supply companies on the matter of routing high voltage power lines underground in areas of high density housing.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) guidance she issues and (b) restrictions she places on electricity companies on the siting of electricity sub-stations in areas of high population density. [71650]
Yvette Cooper: New substations or major extensions to existing substations may require planning permission from local planning authorities. However, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 does allow certain development to take place within existing substations and on operational land without the need to apply for planning permission.
The Secretary of State has not issued any guidelines to electricity companies on the siting of electricity substations.
Flood Plains
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he plans to take against those councils ignoring advice from the Environment Agency not to build on flood plains. [52253]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
Local authorities are responsible for the planning decisions they take. They must take all relevant factors into account to strike an appropriate balance between the needs of the local community and flood risk, and can be challenged in the courts on whether they have exercised their judgment in a lawful manner. The Environment Agency has succeeded in a judicial review, where it considered an authority had not given sufficient weight to its views of flood risk in a planning decision. To support authorities in making these decisions the Government recently consulted on a package of measures to strengthen the application of planning policy for development and flood risk. Responding to figures in the Environment Agency's High Level Target 5 report for 2004-05, published in February, on permissions for major development permitted against its sustained objection on flood risk grounds, my officials have contacted the authorities on whose cases the Agency still had concerns about, and we are currently seeking the Agency's views on the authorities” detailed responses.
Home Information Packs
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the (a) police and (b) security services will have access to the Register of Home Condition Reports. [70647]
Yvette Cooper: The regulations to be made under part V of the Housing Act 2004 setting out who has access to the register, will not specify automatic access for the police and security services. As with other public and private databases, if the police or security services believe access to information on the register is needed these bodies would be able to gain a warrant from the courts to view certain information, for example, where a criminal offence had taken place. The regulations setting out access to the register are expected to be made later in the year, following the summer parliamentary recess.
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the introduction of home information packs on the number of homes on which surveys will be conducted. [71036]
Yvette Cooper: Currently, around 30 per cent. of home sales involve a mid-range survey, such as the Homebuyer’s Survey. A further 45 per cent. involve surveys done by mortgage valuers, which involve a limited inspection to determine the security of the loan.
Once Home Information Packs become mandatory, it is estimated that 90 per cent. of sales will require a Home Condition Report to be prepared. New homes with an approved warranty will not require a Home Condition Report. The Home Condition Report will include energy efficiency information on each house, which is not provided in current surveys.
Home Ownership
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of people in each electoral ward in (a) Cleethorpes, (b) Great Grimsby, (c) Scunthorpe and (d) Brigg and Goole constituencies own their own homes. [67054]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
The following data are derived from the 2001 Census, and show the percentage of households that own their own home in each ward.
| (a) Cleethorpes | |
| Ward | Percentage |
| (b) Great Grimsby | |
| Ward | Percentage |
| (c) Scunthorpe | |
| Ward | Percentage |
| (d) Brigg and Goole | |
| Ward | Percentage |
Homelessness
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action the Government are taking to reduce homelessness, with particular reference to Greater London. [67010]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
Our strategy “Sustainable Communities: settled homes; changing lives” sets out our aims to reduce homelessness and halve the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2010.
We are working with London boroughs the Government office for London, the Greater London Authority, Association of Local Government and other organisations in London to deliver the strategy and further reduce levels of rough sleeping in the capital.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless people there were in London in each of the last eight years. [67108]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |