Written Answers to Questions
Monday 24 July 2006
Communities and Local Government
Arm's Length Management
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to measure the impact of arm's length management organisations on tenant satisfaction. [83373]
Yvette
Cooper: Tenant satisfaction is one of the best value
performance indicators used to measure
performance by local authorities. To date there is only data available
to cover the first two years of operation for the first eight ALMOs. As
soon as sufficient data is available we will be able to assess the
impact of ALMOs on tenant satisfaction more
generally.
City of York Council
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much in (a) rate support grants, (b) business rates and (c) special grants the Government paid to City of York council in each year since its creation as a unitary authority (i) in cash terms and (ii) at current prices; how much will be paid in each category in 2006-07; and what the purpose was of each special grant of £50,000 or more. [86526]
Mr. Woolas: The following table shows the amount of revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and specific and special grants allocated to the City of York council in the period 1996-97 to 2006-07.
| £ million | ||||||
| Revenue Support Grant | Redistributed Business Rates | Specific and Special Grants within Aggregate External Finance (AEF) | ||||
| Cash terms | Current prices | Cash terms | Current prices | Cash terms | Current prices | |
Please note that these amounts are not comparable year-on-year due to changes in funding and function. For example, in 2006-07 support for school funding moved from formula grant (i.e. revenue support grant plus business rates) to the dedicated schools grant.
The current prices have been calculated using the GDP deflator as the measure of inflation.
The Department for Communities and Local Government do not routinely collect data on all individual special grants from other Government Departments. The purpose of the special grants is a matter for the department that provides them.
Specific grants within aggregate external finance are those revenue grants paid for councils’ core services (such as schools funding), excluding funding for local authorities’ housing management.
Commission for Equality and Human Rights
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights will be appointed; and if she will make a statement. [86742]
Meg Munn [holding answer 20 July 2006]: I anticipate that the chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights will be appointed during the summer period.
Consultancies
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006, Official Report, columns 1538-42W, on consultancies, if she will place in the Library a copy of document 5, the MORI Survey of Government Office for the South East partners. [86910]
Angela E. Smith: The requested document will be made available in the Libraries of the House.
Contaminated Land
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what arethe principal purposes of the Contaminated Land: Application in Real Environments scheme; how much public funding the scheme will receive in 2006-07; when its current grant expires; and by what process future public funding levels will be determined; [86426]
(2) what is the commercial remit of the Contaminated Land: Application in Real Environments programme; and what its principal commercial activities are. [86427]
Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
Contaminated Land: Application in Real Environments (CL:AIRE) is an independent registered charity, which organises and independently reviews demonstration projects on the remediation of contaminated land and disseminates the results in line with its charitable objectives. Details are provided in CL:AIRE’s annual accounts.
CL:AIRE’s board includes representatives from the private and public sectors. Some £465,000 of public funds from several sources has been agreed for this financial year, including £80,000 per year from DEFRA for this year and the next two years. Public funding is mainly for specific remedial projects, and also for dissemination of information and other activities. Funding organisations establish their individual requirements in discussions and formal arrangements with CL:AIRE, which has been encouraged to diversify its sources of income.
Council Tax
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the Greater London population paid council tax in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage qualified for discounts. [87115]
Mr. Woolas: The number of chargeable dwellings liable for council tax in Greater London as at November 2005 was 3,108,000 of which 1,281,000 dwellings (41.2 per cent.) were entitled to a discount.
The number of chargeable dwellings and those entitled to a discount are taken from the CTB1 forms submitted to this Department by all 33 London billing authorities including the City of London.
The number of individuals liable for council tax cannot be accurately determined from these or other sources.
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much council tax was raised in the last year for which figures are available. [87156]
Mr. Woolas: The council tax received by local authorities in England in 2005-06 was £18,419 million. This figure excludes amounts funded by council tax benefit and includes both arrears received for previous years and prepayment of council tax for subsequent years.
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of administering the council tax system in the latest year for which figures are available. [87158]
Mr. Woolas: Net current expenditure on administering the council tax system for 2004-05 by local authorities in England is tabled as follows.
| £ million | |
The data are as reported by local authorities and are taken from Revenue Outturn (RO) returns for 2004-05.
Net current expenditure is defined as gross expenditure on employees and running expenses, less income from sales, fees and charges, and ‘other income’.
The council tax collection figures also include any costs relating to collection of arrears of pre-1990 domestic rates and community charges.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax people’s panel reports and summaries from the last 24 months. [87348]
Mr. Woolas: The results from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax people’s panels, for the now postponed council tax revaluation in England, are for input to the formulation and development of Government policy and it is not therefore appropriate to place these in the public domain.
E-Government
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government have for (a) a single property account and (b) a single citizen account as part of its e-government and Government Connects programme. [88058]
Mr. Woolas: The Government recognise the strategic importance of (a) a single property account and issued an outline prospectus entitled “Towards the National Spatial Addressing Infrastructure” for public consultation in May last year, containing technical details and governance structures. Discussions with stakeholders regarding this initiative are currently ongoing.
The Government Connect Programme will provide local government with a single secure approach to registering and authenticating users of online services. This will include checking identity details through data matching and data sharing processes to enable joined-up or shared service provision.
In relation to (b) a single citizen account, a core element of the Government Connect programme is the ability to offer a ‘single sign-on’ to citizens, i.e. once a citizen has registered and authenticated themselves online, all subsequent transactions will use this authentication, which means that citizens will no longer be asked for the same information again and again as they use different services from different providers.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding was provided to local authorities for Implementing Electronic Government in each year since its introduction; and how much has been allocated for (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [88070]
Mr. Woolas: Local authorities in England were allocated the following capital grant for Implementing Electronic Government:
| Capital grant (£) | |
The Local e-Government Programme was completed in March 2006, so no Implementing Electronic Government funding has been allocated for 2006-07 or 2007-08.
Empty Dwellings
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vacant homes there are in (a) England and (b) Swindon. [86631]
Yvette Cooper: The information is as follows:
At October 2005 there were an estimated 723,194 vacant homes in England.
At October 2005 Swindon district council reported a total of 2,374 vacant homes.
Source:
Council Tax Base 1 (CTB1) returns.
Fair Trade Councils
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department has taken to support local authorities becoming designated as fair trade councils. [87523]
Mr. Woolas: Local authorities are responsible for taking their own procurement decisions subject to the requirements of Best Value Legislation and to the EU/UK regulatory framework. Fair trade options have to be considered by local authorities within this framework.
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