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Flag Flying
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department’s policy is on flying the (a) St. George’s flag and (b) EU flag from departmental buildings. [77746]
Angela E. Smith: It is the Department for Communities and Local Government’s policy to follow the guidance issued by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport for flying flags on Government buildings. This includes recommending flying the St. George’s Flag on St. George’s Day 23 April and saying the European Flag should be flown on Europe Day 9 May on buildings with two or more flag poles, provided they are flown alongside the Union Flag with the Union Flag in the superior position.
Government Relocation
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the merits of relocating a Government Department or agency to (a) the Thames Gateway growth area and (b) Kent Thameside; and if she will make a statement. [77902]
Yvette Cooper: Individual Departments are responsible for deciding on sites for relocation. However, they must take account of both their individual business needs and local economic factors, as set out in the central guidance, “Choosing Locations for Government Business”.
Great Landscape Value Designation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have land designated with area of great landscape value. [78329]
Yvette Cooper: Areas of landscape outside nationally designated areas, that are particularly highly valued locally, may be the subject of local landscape designations. The Department for Communities and Local Government does not monitor which authorities have made these local designations.
Green Belt
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to protect (a) green belt and (b) open green spaces in (i) the county of Greater Manchester, (ii) Tameside metropolitan borough and (iii) Stockport metropolitan borough. [73136]
Yvette Cooper: Planning policies to protect green belt and open space are set out at the national, regional and local levels and I will deal with each of these in turn.
National policies to protect the green belt are set out in PPG2. Polices to protect other areas of open space are set out in PPG 17. Planning authorities are required to have regard to these policies when preparing their development plans and these policies may be material to individual planning decisions.
In addition, the Residential Development on Greenfield Land Direction requires local authorities to notify the Secretary of State of applications for the provision of 150 houses or flats on greenfield land or any applications for the provision of houses or flats on five hectares or more on greenfield land. The notification requirements provide the Secretary of State with an opportunity to check general compliance with the guidance set out in national planning policies, and to consider whether an application should be called in for her own determination.
Regional policies to protect green belt and other areas of open space are set out in Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the North West of England, formerly known as RPG13. Particular emphasis is given to maintaining urban form and enhancing urban living. The continued and extensive use of green belt policy is an essential tool. The RSS says that the case for exceptional substantial change to green belt will need to be established by a strategic study and that, in turn, will inform a future review of RSS. It says that there will be no need for such a study in Greater Manchester before 2011. The RSS is currently in the process of being reviewed. The North West regional assembly published the revised Draft RSS for consultation on 20 March 2006. The responses to the consultation will be examined by a panel set up by the Secretary of State. The panel will then carry out an examination in public to debate selected topics, based on issues raised in the consultation responses, before making their recommendations to the Secretary of State. It is likely that any proposed changes to regional green belt policies will be examined carefully by the panel and subsequently by the Secretary of State.
Local policies to protect green belt and other areas of open space are set out in local authority development plan policies. The Government office for the north west scrutinises these plans on behalf of the Secretary of State to ensure that the authorities have had regard correctly to national and regional planning policies.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning applications for new housing on land designated as green belt have been approved in the county of Greater Manchester in each year since 2000. [73141]
Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of planning applications to build on brownfield sites involved building on gardens in (a) Greater Manchester, (b) Tameside metropolitan borough and (c) Stockport metropolitan borough in the last period for which figures are available. [73159]
Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally.
Gypsies/Travellers
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what grants were made in 2005 as part of the Gypsy Site Refurbishment Grant scheme. [75738]
Meg Munn: Grant awards to local authorities for the establishment of new Gypsy and Traveller sites, and for the refurbishment of existing sites, are made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 1979. In the 2005-06 round of the Gypsy Sites Grant the following payments were made:
| Authority | Site | Grant paid |
Bids for funding in the current round of the Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant are currently being considered.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what funding has been provided to Bedfordshire county council to accommodate Travellers in 2006-07; and if she will make a statement; [79047]
(2) what representations she has received on the funding of Travellers sites in Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement; [79048]
(3) what criteria are used to allocate funding for accommodation for Travellers; and if she will make a statement. [79049]
Meg Munn: We have received 5 proposals for funding by Bedfordshire county council under round 1 of the Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant (GTSG) 2006-08. GTSG is a capital grant available through the regional housing budgets for local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs), covering both the development of new sites and the refurbishment of existing sites. Bedfordshire CC is bidding for refurbishment schemes, which are funded at 75 per cent. of the total bid.
Bids are evaluated against the following criteria:
Does the scheme meet a clearly assessed need?
Does the scheme offer value for money?
Is the site sustainable?
Schemes must also demonstrate that they will be able to deliver to time and budget, and that stakeholders have been consulted. Another key criterion which will be used to determine whether a bid receives funding will be the extent to which schemes contribute to addressing emerging regional priorities in respect of Gypsy and Traveller provision, which is assessed by the Regional Housing Boards (RHBs).
An appropriate package of schemes within each region has been put together by the RHBs. These are under ministerial consideration and the successful schemes will be announced shortly.
Harlow Council v. Hall
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the implication of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Harlow council v. Hall. [72821]
Yvette Cooper: The decision in Harlow BC v. Hall was that drawing up a possession order postponed on conditions, using the wording of Form N28 introduced in 2002, had the unintended effect of invariably terminating a secure tenancy regardless of the tenant’s compliance with the conditions. As an interim measure, an amended version of the form is being used. Officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government are currently working with the DCA to come up with a permanent solution.
Home Information Packs
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information was included in the Home Information Pack’s Home Condition Report in the trial run in Bristol. [72277]
Yvette Cooper: The Home Condition Report used in the Bristol trial run, included all the questions currently proposed in the Home Condition Report’s content in the regulations but also contained a report giving a rating of the energy performance of the property using the Government approved Standard Assessment Procedure together with information about possible improvements.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether standard conditions are expected to be issued by all home inspectors saying precisely what is and what is not included in a Home Information Pack. [75420]
Yvette Cooper: Home inspectors will be responsible for the content of the Home Condition Report. The Home Condition Report is a statutory element of the pack and home inspectors will be expected to complete the document in full.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether (a) vendors and (b) purchasers will be able to take legal action against inspectors responsible for the production of inaccurate home condition reports. [76030]
Yvette Cooper: Yes. The regulations to be laid shortly will specify that sellers, buyers and mortgage lenders will have a legal right to rely on the home condition report. Certification schemes will be required to ensure that their home inspector members hold appropriate indemnity insurance.
Home Inspectors
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who will supervise the training and certification of home inspectors; what provision there is for ongoing training of home inspectors; and under what circumstances the approval of an inspector may be withdrawn. [75593]
Yvette Cooper: All home inspectors will be required to obtain a qualification before they can become members of a certifications scheme. That qualification must meet the National Occupational Standards for Home Inspection and be approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Once qualified, home inspectors can apply to become a member of a Government approved certifications scheme. Certification schemes will be required to uphold standards set by Government to ensure home inspectors are fit and proper, qualified and insured persons. Government will regularly audit the activities of certification schemes and has the power to withdraw approval if a certification scheme falls short of their statutory responsibilities.
Homeless and Housing Support Directorate
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total expenditure was of the Homeless and Housing Support Directorate's conference at Hampton Court Palace in May 2006; and how many (a) civil servants and (b) others attended the conference. [78263]
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