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Liverpool Regeneration
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding she has made available for regeneration in Liverpool, Riverside since 1997. [86294]
Mr. Woolas: We do not hold the total figures of regeneration spend for the Riverside constituency since 1997. The following table details regeneration funding spent or allocated from which Riverside has benefited. For some budgets, it is not possible to disaggregate to ward and constituency boundaries.
In addition to the aforementioned funding, considerable amounts of funding have been made available from English Partnerships, the North West Development Agency and other sources. However it is not possible to identify funding which has gone specifically towards regeneration in the Riverside constituency as this information is not held at constituency level. Riverside will also have benefited from projects funded through objective 1 delivered across Merseyside, for example by the Learning and Skills Council, Business Link and Merseyside Special Investment Fund.
Local Government
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of funds in each local government pension scheme is invested in socially responsible investment funds. [88892]
Mr. Woolas: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Individual Local Government Pension Scheme fund authorities in England and Wales can provide specific figures for their funds.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment the Government has made of the merits of cancelling the (a) 2007 and (b) 2008 local elections to facilitate local government reorganisation in two-tier areas. [86787]
Mr. Woolas: We have already confirmed that we expect and intend the 2007 and 2008 elections to go ahead. The details of our approach to restructuring will be set out in the forthcoming White Paper which will be published shortly after the summer recess.
Ordnance Survey
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what maximum or highest resolution of aerial photography Ordnance Survey holds for parts of England. [87347]
Angela E. Smith: The highest resolution aerial imagery held by Ordnance Survey is for those urban areas of England mapped at 1:1250 scale and is at 15cm resolution.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made with Ordnance Survey's Digital National Framework; and if she will make a statement. [88084]
Angela E. Smith: The Digital National Framework (DNF) is an industry standard for integrating and sharing business and geographic information from multiple sources. It is supported by Ordnance Survey and a number of other organisations. DNF is directed and overseen by an Expert Group which has over 40 members from the public and private sectors and academia. The Group has produced a “road map” to achieve its aims and is actively working on most elements of this. All progress is reported on the DNF website at www.dnf.org. The majority of recent effort has been directed at creating a framework for unique identifiers.
Planning
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether Planning Gain Supplement will be levied on developments by (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations; [88392]
(2) whether Planning Gain Supplement will be levied on home extensions; [88394]
(3) if the Government will take into account Planning Gain Supplement revenues in the calculations for the distribution of (a) local and (b) regional grant allocations. [88398]
John Healey: The Government consulted on their proposals for Planning-gain Supplement (PGS), including on scope, in their consultation paper published alongside the 2005 pre-Budget report. As set out in the paper, the Government propose that home improvements should be excluded from PGS. In Budget 2006, the Government stated that PGS revenues would be separate from the local government funding settlement to serve as an incentive to support growth. Further announcements will be made by the end of the year.
Planning Applications
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons parish and town councils are required to conduct all their deliberations on planning applications in public; and if she will make a statement. [83259]
Yvette Cooper: Unless the matter is confidential, parish and town councils are required to conduct their deliberations on planning applications in public in the interests of transparency and accountability.
Planning System
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with Kate Barker on further changes to the planning system. [84158]
Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend had an introductory meeting with Kate Barker last month to discuss the review of land use planning that Kate Barker is currently conducting on behalf of the Government. I have also met Kate Barker on several occasions over the past eight months to discuss progress on her review.
Kate Barker has now published her Interim Report, which the Government have welcomed. We look forward to seeing her recommendations later in the year on the further changes we need to make to build on the recent reform of the planning system.
Planning Policy Guidance Note 3
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the 2000 edition of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG) applies in Wales; and whether draft PPG3 is intended to apply in Wales. [87023]
Yvette Cooper: The planning system in Wales is the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly, which has its own planning policy framework governed by an overarching document—Planning Policy Wales (PPW), which was first published in March 2002. This is supported by a range of technical advice notes, similar to our guidance and statements.
Planning Guidance on Housing in Wales has recently been updated through the issuing of a Ministerial Interim Planning Policy Statement (June 2006) and the publication of TANs 1 (Joint Housing Land Availability Studies) and 2 (Planning and Affordable Housing) in June 2006.
English planning guidance and planning policy statements can be used as material considerations in determining Welsh planning applications and appeals, where the Welsh policy framework does not cover the particular points in question.
Right to Buy
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been purchased under the right to buy scheme in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1997, expressed (i) in absolute terms, (ii) per 1,000 population and (iii) per 1,000 households; and if she will make a statement. [84967]
Yvette Cooper: The numbers of right-to-buy sales in rural and urban local authorities are tabulated as follows. The number of right-to-buy sales is expressed in absolute terms and as the number of sales per 1,000 people and 1,000 households. Data for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The number of right-to-buy sales is as reported by local authorities and no adjustment is made for missing data.
| Total | Per 1,000 population | Per 1,000 households | |
| Source:
Quarterly returns (P1B) from local authorities to the Department for
Communities and Local Government, Office for National Statistics
population estimates, DCLG household
estimates. | |||
Local authorities have been classified as rural or urban according to definitions given by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. For further information on the DEFRA classification please see:
http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/rural_resd/rural_definition.asp
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many right-to-buy completions there were in West Lancashire in each year since 1996-97. [83551]
Yvette Cooper: The number of right-to-buy completions in West Lancashire in each year since 1996-97 can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Government’s website at:
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/383/Table648Excel545Kb_idl1156383.xls
Search Fees
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what amendments the Government have made to (a) regulations and (b) legislation relating to local authority search fees since 1997. [70609]
Yvette Cooper: The following amendments have been made to regulations and legislation relating to local authority fees for local land charge services since 1997.
Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 1190 - The Local Land Charges (Amendment) Rules 1998
These rules specified the fees payable for local land charge services with effect from 1 June 1998.
Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 2502 - The Local Land Charges (Amendment) Rules 2003.
These rules specified the fees payable for local land charge services with effect from 3 November 2003.
Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 3044 - The National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Function) Order 2004.
This Order transfers the Lord Chancellor's power, with the consent of the Treasury, for setting fees for local land charge services in Wales to the National Assembly for Wales.
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005, schedule 4, paragraphs 82 to 85.
This Act amends the Local Land Charges Act 1975. The amendments provide for the transfer to registering authorities in England, of the Lord Chancellor's power, with the consent of the Treasury, for setting fees for local land charge services, other than fees for personal searches, in England.
These amendments were brought into force by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2006, (SI 2006 No. 1014) on 3 April 2006. The effect of the commencement order was modified by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (Supplementary Provisions) Order 2006, (SI 2006 No. 1693). This Order provides that from 3 April 2006 until 31 March 2007 the fees specified by registering authorities in England under section 13A Local Land Charges Act 1975 shall be those that were applicable immediately prior to 3 April 2006.
No amendments have been made to regulations relating to fees for other local authority search services since 1997.
The Office of Fair Trading made a number of recommendations to improve the operation of the property search market which we are working with other government departments to address.
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