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23 Oct 2006 : Column 1669W—continued
Information is also collected on the number of people who sleep rough—that is, those who are literally
roofless on a single night—and these are also presented in the table (mid-year estimates).
| England | Households accepted( 1 ) as owed a main homelessness duty during the year | Households in temporary accommodation( 2) at end of year (31 March snapshot | Rough sleepers( 3,) number of persons (June) |
| (1) Households eligible under homelessness legislation, found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty. (2) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting re-allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as "homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative accommodation as those in accommodation arranged by the authority. (3 )Mid-year estimates. (4) Denotes data not collected/available Sources: DCLG P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly); and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (annual) for Rough Sleepers data. | |||
Information on acceptances and number of households in temporary accommodation at local authority level is available from 1997-98 onwards. The statutory homelessness data reported by local authorities has been placed in the Library, along with rough sleeper estimates from 1998 onwards.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with Foreign and Commonwealth Office colleagues on proposals to warn girls and women living outside the UK of the dangers of trafficking. [95313]
Meg Munn: Discussions about this issue are ongoing with Foreign Office colleagues in the Inter-Ministerial Group on trafficking of which I am a member. We are working internationally to prevent trafficking by investing in projects in source and transit countries to build capacity and raise awareness of trafficking with potential victims. The Home Office, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office and Department of International Development have all funded schemes aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of trafficking and building capacity.
We have provided a total of £200,000 to fund various anti-trafficking projects in the Western Balkans, a key transit region. We have also given £70,000 to Anti-Slavery International for raising awareness of the abuses suffered by the victims of trafficking and remedial action in West Africa (including Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Niger and Togo). Additionally we have given £8.9 million for the International Labour Organisation's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) programme in the Greater Mekong region (parts of Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam). This involves a number of inter-linked interventions to raise awareness and prevent trafficking, and to withdraw women and children from labour exploitation and reintegrate them back into their own, or new, communities.
IDeA Knowledge
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which body (a) audits and (b) inspects IDeA Knowledge. [94754]
Mr. Woolas: IDeA Knowledge is a website provided to local government by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). The IDeA itself is a company limited by guarantee and as such is required to appoint auditors. Appointment of auditors, (currently Deloitte Touche) is a matter for the IDeA directors.
The IDeA receives grant funding via section 78 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (duty for the Secretary of State to pay revenue support grant to specified bodies each financial year). The procedures for monitoring the use of these funds are covered by a memorandum of understanding agreed between the Local Government Association and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Interreg
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role her Department plays in the EU's Interreg programmes; and if she will make a statement. [94616]
Mr. Woolas: The Department's role in respect of the European Union Interreg Community Initiative is to represent Government and stakeholder interests in the direction and management of the Interreg programmes in which the Department is involved. The Department also works with stakeholders who seek support and advice on preparing proposals for projects which might be supported by the programmes. The Department has in the past provided match funding to support some projects.
Islam and Muslim Affairs
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements her Department has in place for offering her advice on Islam and matters relating to Muslims; and who her advisers are on Islam and Muslim affairs. [94340]
Meg Munn: The Secretary of State is advised by her officials. This advice is informed by engagement with a diverse range of UK Muslim communities that she has met since taking on her current role.
Local Government
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) for what reason she changed the supported borrowing regime for local authorities; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the changes made on the capital expenditure of local authorities; [96357]
(2) what assessment she has made of the effect of the changes to the supported borrowing regime on (a) the construction industry and (b) school construction in (i) Gloucestershire and (ii) England. [96434]
Mr. Woolas: The supported borrowing regime has not changed. Government support for borrowing continues to be issued as part of formula grant, which comprises Revenue support grant and redistributed business rates.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library all submissions sent to her Department in the last year from individuals and organisations in Gloucestershire on local government reorganisation. [96435]
Mr. Woolas: We have received five written representations from the Gloucestershire county area about local government reform; we will send redacted copies to the hon. Member.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions the local government ombudsman concluded that local councils were found to have been guilty of (a) maladministration and (b) administrative fault in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what (i) definition and (ii) processes apply to each type of finding. [93281]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested on the number of findings of maladministration by the ombudsman in 2005-06 and on the meaning and process which applies to such a finding, is available in the Ombudsman's Annual Report 2005-06 at www.lgo.org.uk/annual.htm. Copies of the annual report will be placed in the Library of the House.
The Local Government Act 1974, under the terms of which the ombudsman operates, does not make provision for the ombudsman to make a specific finding of “administrative fault”.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities are in dispute with the District Auditor over their Minimum Revenue Provision; and what sums are involved in each case. [95555]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is not held centrally.
Local Government Pension Scheme
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) of 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 400W, on the Local Government Pension Scheme, what the cost to employers of the scheme was in each financial year from 1996-97 to 2003-04 in 2004-05 prices. [95789]
Mr. Woolas: The amount of contributions paid by employers in the Local Government Pension Scheme for the period 1996-97 to 2003-04 at 2004-05 prices is shown in the following table. About 20 per cent. of these costs relate to non-local authority employers who participate in the scheme.
| £ million | ||
| Actual cost | Cost at 2004-05 prices | |
Local Referendums
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued on whether a decision by a local authority to hold a local referendum under the Local Government Act 2003 should be taken by (a) a full council and (b) an executive. [94843]
Mr. Woolas: No such guidance has been issued. As this matter is not stipulated in regulations the decision is by default for the executive of the local authority to take, by virtue of section 13 of the Local Government Act 2000.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether county councils in two-tier local government areas may hold a a local referendum; and which tier of local government should pay for the costs of a local referendum in a two-tier area. [94844]
Mr. Woolas: A county council in a two-tier area may hold a local referendum either independently of, or in tandem with, local district councils. Funding would be a matter for the authorities concerned.
London Olympics
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received on the Olympic Levy in London. [94433]
Angela E. Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not keep a separate record of representations received on the Olympic Levy in London.
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