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Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer the letter of 20 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. and Mrs. V. Brown, transferred to him by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. [77588]
Mr. Hutton: I replied to the right hon. Member's letter on 26 June 2006.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost to his Department was of replying to a letter written (a) by an hon. Member and (b) by a member of the public in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (i) officials’ time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs. [80493]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performanceof Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006, Official Report, columns 76-78WS.
The information requested is not recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Crisis Loans
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State forWork and Pensions how many crisis loans have been (a) applied for and (b) granted in each local authority area in Scotland in each of the last five years. [80851]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. The table gives information for Scotland as a whole.
| Crisis loans in Scotland | ||
| Number | ||
| Applications | Initial awards | |
| Notes: 1.
Data is not available by local authority, but only by Jobcentre Plus
district (or, before Jobcentre Plus districts were used for the
administration of the social fund, by social fund
district). 2. Very substantial district boundary changes took
place in Scotland over the period November 2002 to April 2003 and again
from November 2004 to January 2005, with one further change in January
2006. It is therefore not possible to compare data over five years for
any area smaller than Scotland, except for the area now covered by the
Jobcentre Plus district of Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders. 3.
Figures have been rounded to the nearest
1,000. Source: DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget
and Management Information System. | ||
Departmental Bills
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list those Government Bills sponsored by his Department that are still to be introduced during the 2005-06 Session. [78857]
Mrs. McGuire: The Government will bring forward in this Session the welfare reform legislation set out in the Queen's Speech on 17 May 2005 to reform support for housing costs and establish benefits which will facilitate a return to employment, while offering long-term support for those unable to work.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list those Government Bills sponsored by his Department that he has bid for in the next session of Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [78858]
Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given by the Leader of the House on16 June 2006, Official Report, Column 1431W.
Disabled Staff
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on adaptations and equipment for disabled members of staff in each year since 2003. [79933]
Mrs. McGuire: Any DWP employee requiring equipment and adaptations receives the support they need to undertake their duties. Information on the amount spent by the Department on equipment and adaptations for disabled staff is not collected. Currently, costs are attributed to individual local budgets relevant to the individual employee and are included in the overall costs of furniture/equipment within that business unit.
Flags
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many days since May 1997 theSt. George's flag has been flown from his Department's buildings. [77733]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 15 June 2006]: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issue the guidance for flying flags on Government buildings, which includes the list of dates, to Government Departments every year, usually the end of December. This includes flying the St. George's Flag onSt. George's day, 23 April and the European Flag on Europe Day, 9 May. They also inform Government Departments as and when there are any additional flag flying days. The Department for Work and Pensions will adhere to this guidance.
The guidance can be found on the Departmentfor Culture, Media and Sport website at www.culture.gov.uk/flagflying.
The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 therefore the St. George's flag has been flown five times from Department's buildings.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department’s policy is on flying the (a) St. George’s flag and (b) EU flag from departmental buildings. [77734]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 15 June 2006]: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issue the guidance for flying flags on Government buildings, which includes the list of dates, to Government Departments every year, usually the end of December. This includes flying the St. George’s flag onSt. George’s day, the 23 April and European flag on Europe day, the 9 May. They also inform Government Departments as and when there are any additional flag flying days. The Department for Work and Pensions will adhere to this guidance.
The guidance can be found on the Departmentfor Culture, Media and Sport website at www.culture.gov.uk/flagflying
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure the Union flag is flown from his Department's buildings on every day the offices are open. [77735]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 15 June 2006]: The Department for Work and Pensions follows the rules and guidance on flag flying issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. These rules are approved by the Queen on advice from the Department. There are no plans at present to change the number of days flags can be flown from Government buildings.
Guidance can be found on the Departmentfor Culture, Media and Sport website at www.culture.gov.uk/flagflying.
Pensions
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on (a) improving protection for employees' pension schemes and (b) increasing the amount held in the Pension Protection Fund. [76019]
James Purnell: Both the Secretary of State and I have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues in Treasury to discuss a range of pension issues. Recent discussions led to our being able to announce a significant extension to the financial assistance scheme, increasing the total funding to £2.3 billion.
Winter Fuel Payments
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people had their 60th birthday after the qualifying week for winter fuel payments and therefore did not receive a winter fuel payment for that year in (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 1997. [81660]
James Purnell: Figures are not provided for the first three years of the winter fuel payment scheme as payment was linked to receipt of a qualifying benefit rather than to a qualifying age. The following table shows the number of people turning 60 after the end of the qualifying week but before the end of the calendar year for each winter from 2000-01.
| England | Wales | |
| Note: Figures
are rounded to the nearest 10,000. Source:
Government Actuary Department population projections
(principle-based). | ||
Communities and Local Government
Allotments/Open Space
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to planning (a) guidance, (b) circulars and (c) regulations relating to (i) allotments and(ii) building on land classified as open space since 1997. [78331]
Yvette Cooper: Current planning policy guidance on allotments and open space is set out in PPG17: Open Space, Sport and Recreation, published in 2002. This provides enhanced protection from development for all types of open space. In particular, PPG17 indicates that open space should not be built on unless an assessment has been undertaken that has clearly shown that the open space is surplus to requirements. It also includes specific policies to protect playing fields from development. These policies are supported by the Town and Country Planning (Playing Fields) (England) Direction 1998 which gives the Secretary of State for Communities and local government the power to call in planning applications affecting playing fields where local authorities have not resolved Sport England's objections.
Allotments are included in the typology of open spaces to which the policies in PPG17 to protect open space apply. In addition, statutory allotments are protected via section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 which requires that local authorities seek the Secretary of State's consent for disposal or appropriation to another use. Consent cannot be given unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that certain criteria are met. Clarified criteria were issued to local authorities in February 2001.
The options for consolidating existing allotments legislation were considered following the DETR Select Committee Report, “The Future of Allotments”, in 1998 and it was decided that the best way to clarify the legislation was by promoting best practice. A good practice guide on the management of allotments and a guide for plot holders were published in 2001.
Arm's Length Management Organisations
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of arm's length management organisations which will not achieve the decent homes standard by 2010. [71025]
Yvette Cooper: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced on7 June that we will negotiate extensions to the 2010 deadline with individual arm's length management organisations where it would be beneficial to have longer to deliver their decent homes programmes. For those starting late on the programme and for local authorities where the scale of the work is significant to deliver mixed communities or more new build, or where there are performance issues, or to ensure value for money in procurement, we will negotiate individual delivery timescales. However, the vast majority of social landlords will still be expected to ensure all homes are decent by 2010.
Competent Persons Scheme
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made in implementing the competent persons scheme; and if she will make a statement. [81031]
Angela E. Smith: The first competent person schemes were introduced in 2002 to reduce the administrative burden of the Building Regulations by allowing self-certification of compliance with the relevant Building Regulations by enterprises and individuals judged as competent, as an alternative to submitting a building notice or using an approved inspector. The aim was to enhance compliance, reduce costs for firms, promote training and competence within the industry, tackle the problem of non-compliant builders and assist local authorities with enforcement of the Building Regulations.
The schemes were extended to cover electrical safety in 2005. In April 2006, in support of the new higher standards of energy efficiency required by Part L, further schemes were introduced to cover the installation of bathrooms and bathroom fittings, plumbing, heating systems and hot water service systems, ventilation and air conditioning, lighting systems, electric heating systems and associated controls, air pressure testing of buildings, carbon dioxide emission rate calculations and the installation of replacement windows and doors.
Council Housing
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the recent Court of Appeal decision in the cases of Hassan Ismael and Nimco Abdi against the London borough of Barnet. [66828]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
In the case of London borough of Barnet v. Abdi and Ismail, the applicants were both EEA nationals who were economically inactive and were not “qualified persons” for the purpose of regulation 5 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2000. The status of ‘qualified person’ under those regulations relates to whether or not a person has a right to reside in the United Kingdom under European Union law, for example as a worker. The Court of Appeal found that the applicants were subject to immigration control as they did not have a right to reside. This would have meant the applicants were eligible for homelessness assistance under the housing rules which then applied to persons subject to immigration control, in a way that was not intended.
To close this loophole, the Government have made regulations to narrow the classes of eligibility for social housing and homelessness assistance for persons subject to immigration control. The effect of this is to ensure that nationals from the European Economic Area (EEA) who are economically inactive and do not have a right to reside in the UK are not eligible for social housing and homelessness assistance in England (unless, exceptionally, they fall into one of the other classes of eligibility that relate to persons subject to immigration control). The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Amendment) Regulations 2006 came into force on 20 April.
The new regulations reinforce the measures introduced in May 2004, and will help ensure that people cannot come to the United Kingdom simply to get access to the social welfare system.
Engagements
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will visit Wellingborough to discuss future housing and infrastructure developments. [75057]
Yvette Cooper: As I explained in my answer of18 April 2006, we consider that Wellingborough plays an important part in the growth proposals for North Northamptonshire. We are kept regularly updated on development of the plans to take these forward and I chair the regular Milton Keynes and South Midlands Inter Regional Board. In addition, officials are closely involved with the borough council and other partners in bringing forward housing, growth and other agendas. There have already been a number of ministerial visits to North Northamptonshire and more are planned. DCLG Ministers are more than happy to discuss housing development and infrastructure provision in Wellingborough during future visits to Northamptonshire.
Green Spaces
Dr. Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government are taking to protect green spaces in urban areas. [72553]
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government are taking to improve inner-city green spaces. [75572]
Yvette Cooper: This Government’s programmes for improving urban parks and green spaces are set out in our reports “Living Places—Cleaner, Safer, Greener” (ODPM 2002), and “Sustainable communities: building for the future” (ODPM 2003).
Available evidence shows that the programmes are working. For example, public satisfaction in parks and green spaces rose by 8 per cent. from 63 per cent. to71 per cent. between 2001 and 2004 (ODPM, 2004). The National Audit Office’s recent report on the performance of our programmes also found that:
“84% of urban local authorities believe the quality of their park is stable or improving. This compares to less than 44% in 2000. In 2000 more than 55% of urban local authorities considered their historic green spaces were declining in quality. This had fallen to 16% in 2005”.
“Initiatives led by the Office of Deputy Prime Minister have helped to reverse the decline in the quality of urban green space in many of England’s urban neighbourhoods”.
Home Improvements
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many houses in Morley and Rothwell have had improvements under the decent homes standard scheme; and what the cost of such improvements has been. [80584]
Yvette Cooper: Information is collected at local authority level only. Leeds metropolitan borough (including Morley and Rothwell) reports that in 2004-05 (the latest year for which information is available), 34,388 local authority-owned homes were included in their capital programme for that year at a cost of £77 million. The work carried out includes incremental improvement of non-decent stock (only a proportion of which will become decent as a result of elemental works); prevention of homes becoming non-decent; and wider housing and environmental improvements to estates. The total expenditure on this type of works in Leeds over the period 2001-02 to 2004-05 was £199 million(1.) However it is not possible to state how many homes have been improved as a result of this total expenditure since 2001-02 as the majority of dwellings will have had work undertaken on them under more than one programme.
( 1) Source:
Business Plan Annual Monitoring returns.
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