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29 Nov 2006 : Column 753W—continued

Government Office for London

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total expenditure of the Government Office for London was in each year since 1996-97; and what the forecast figures are for (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [104024]

Angela E. Smith: Government Office for London’s running cost expenditure is as follows:

£ million
Status Total

1998-99

Outturn

16.0

1999-2000

Outturn

16.0

2000-01

Outturn

14.7

2001-02

Outturn

13.2

2002-03

Outturn

14.1

2003-04

Outturn

16.7

2004-05

Outturn

18.9

2005-06

Outturn

18.5

2006-07

Forecast

18.2

2007-08

Forecast

17.3


Figures for 1996-97 and 1997-98 are not held.


29 Nov 2006 : Column 754W

Government Office for London’s programme expenditure is as follows:

£ million
Total

1998-99

1,440

1999-2000

2,202

2000-01

1,605

2001-02

2,094

2002-03

2,530

2003-04

2,724

2004-05

3,323

2005-06

2,970

2006-07

3,074


GOL’s programme budget for this year, 2006-07, breaks down as follows:

We do not hold figures for 1996-97 and 1997-98. The figure for 2006-07 is the programme budget, not outturn. Allocations for 2007-08 have not yet been made.

Hotels

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations her Department has received advocating a new local tax on hotel accommodation. [104053]

Mr. Woolas: Local taxation issues are being considered as part of Sir Michael Lyons’s inquiry into local government funding.

Local Government Referendums

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions local referendums have been held since the relevant provisions of the Local Government Act 2003 came into force. [105954]

Mr. Woolas: My Department does not record the number of local authorities who have held a local poll under the Local Government Act 2003.

Muslim Women

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what funding her Department provided to the Women's National Commission to carry out research on Muslim women's attitude to becoming more active in their communities; and when the report into this work will be published; [104342]


29 Nov 2006 : Column 755W

(2) what funding her Department provided to the Women's National Commission to carry out research on Muslim women's attitude to becoming more active in their communities and when the report into this work will be published. [104345]

Meg Munn: The Department for Communities and Local Government funded the Women's National Commission to undertake five consultation events and three focus groups with Muslim women in 2005-06 at a total cost of £83,700. These events were delivered through the Muslim Women's Network. The independent report will be published on 7 December.

Sexual Orientation Regulations

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the (a) publication and (b) parliamentary ratification of the Sexual Orientation Regulations. [103870]

Meg Munn: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government made clear to the House on 19 October 2006, Official Report, column 1014) our intention is to lay the sexual orientation regulations before the House in good time for them to be debated and approved before coming into effect on 6 April 2007.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to what parliamentary procedure the Sexual Orientation Regulations will be subject. [103895]

Meg Munn: The Sexual Orientation Regulations for Great Britain will be subject to the affirmative procedure, as specified at Section 81 (4) of the Equality Act 2006.

Valuation Office Agency

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings in England have value-significant code data for each of the value-significant codes. [103929]

Mr. Woolas: This information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic properties in England are recorded by the Valuation Office Agency as at a band-margin value. [104037]

Mr. Woolas: None.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the initial draft numeric value was of the coefficient applied to the variable for a DC dwellinghouse code by the Valuation Office Agency before the council tax revaluation in England was postponed. [104040]

Mr. Woolas: There is no such dwellinghouse code.


29 Nov 2006 : Column 756W

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether double glazing is a (a) value significant and (b) dwelling house code property attribute in the Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model. [104088]

Mr. Woolas: Double glazing is neither a (a) value significant code nor (b) a property attribute code in the Valuation Office Agency's database.

Work and Pensions

Benefit Claims

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average processing time for an (a) housing and (b) council tax benefit claim was in each of the last five years. [101108]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws), on 8 November 2006, Official Report, columns 1614-1615.

Benefit Errors

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of how much was paid in error in benefits to those serving terms of imprisonment in each of the last three years. [100861]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 13 September 2006, Official Report, column 2369.

Benefits (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency were in receipt of (a) state pension and (b) pension credit at (i) 30 December 2005, (ii) 30 March 2006, (iii) 30 June 2006 and (iv) 30 September 2006; and what the average pension credit payment was at each of these dates. [101387]

James Purnell: The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.

Pension credit beneficiaries and claimants and the average weekly payment for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk parliamentary constituency: August 2005 to May 2006.
Quarter Beneficiaries Claimants Average Weekly Payment

May 2006

6,500

5,300

38.33

February 2006

6,490

5,280

35.42

November 2005

6,490

5,300

35.75

August 2005

6,480

5,290

35.60



29 Nov 2006 : Column 757W
State pension recipients for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk parliamentary constituency: August 2005 to May 2006.
Quarter Total

May 2006

20,650

February 2006

20,540

November 2005

20,520

August 2005

20,490

Notes.
Caseload figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Average amounts are shown as pounds per week and rounded to the nearest penny.
Pension credit claimants—includes people who are one of a couple and have claimed on behalf of both members of the couple.
Parliamentary constituencies are those for the Westminster Parliament.
Source :
DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Benefits (Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Bexleyheath and Crayford received (a) income support, (b) pension credit and (c) disability living allowance in 2005-06. [101489]

Mr. Plaskitt: The available information is in the table.

Income support, pension credit and disability living allowance recipients in Bexleyheath and Crayford parliamentary constituency at the quarters shown
Income Support Pension Credit Disability Living Allowance

May 2005

2,270

2,780

2,940

August 2005

2,290

2,800

2,960

November 2005

2,310

2,810

3,200

February 2006

2,320

2,790

3,040

Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Income support figures exclude residual minimum income guarantee claimants.
3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory.
4. Pension credit recipients are those people who claim pension credit either on behalf of themselves only or on behalf of a household. This number is equal to the number of households in receipt of pension credit.
5. Disability Living Allowance figures show the number of people in receipt of an
allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been
suspended, for example if they are in hospital.
Source:
100 per cent Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Child Support Agency

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress with reforms to the Child Support Agency. [102447]

Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 27 November 2006]: We are currently developing plans for introducing a new system of child support. As part of this we are considering the most cost-effective way of moving to, and administering, the new system.


29 Nov 2006 : Column 758W

We are carrying out an intensive programme of work to determine the way forward and plan to publish detailed proposals in a White Paper.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Coventry, South have received ex-gratia payments from the Child Support Agency in the last five years. [103294]

Mr. Plaskitt: The Child Support Agency’s financial accounting systems do not enable us to report expenditure or transactions on a parliamentary constituency basis.


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