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18 Dec 2006 : Column 1644Wcontinued
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities do not have a strategy for meeting the Decent Homes target. [107437]
Yvette Cooper: Of the 196 local authorities who needed to complete an options appraisal to put a Decent Homes delivery plan in place, all bar Camden have done so. Since completing their options appraisals a small number of authorities have revisited their strategies for delivering decent homes and we are aware that some are still doing some further work.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will visit Wellingborough to discuss the provision of infrastructure for the development that is taking place in the area. [108422]
Yvette Cooper: Wellingborough plays an important part in the growth proposals for north Northamptonshire. There have already been a number of ministerial visits to north Northamptonshire in the past and I hope there will be opportunities for further ministerial visits from my Department next year. Communities and Local Government Ministers are more than happy to discuss housing development and infrastructure provision in Wellingborough when we next visit north Northamptonshire.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many information technology projects within the responsibility of her Department, its agencies and their predecessors have been cancelled since 1997; what the total cost was of each project at cancellation; and if she will make a statement. [105472]
Angela E. Smith: Since May 2002 one project, Housing and Employment Mobility Services Agreement, has been closed before completion; total cost at closure was £1.06 million.
It is not possible to provide the information requested for the period predating the creation of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in May 2002 without incurring disproportionate cost.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff (a) in total, (b) on pro-rata salaries of less than £20,000 and (c) on pro-rata salaries of £20,000 or more were employed by City of York Council (i) in April 2003 and (ii) at the same date in each subsequent year. [105668]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what factors she took into account when deciding to implement a 2.7 per cent. increase in the East Devon district council revenue support grant. [109155]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 14 December 2006]: Formula grant is based on the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the authority, together with the number of band-D equivalent properties in an authority's area. We then ensure that every local authority receives at least a minimum percentage increase (the 'floor') year-on-year on a like-for-like basis i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function.
A full description of the calculation can be found in the draft Local Government Finance Report (England) 2007-08 which was placed in the Library of the House on 28 November 2006.
When deciding the level of the floor, we took account of the average increase in formula grant for the group, together with the rate of inflation for the period covered by the report as measured by the GDP deflator.
East Devon benefits from the floor in 2007-08 by £100,950.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on the Local Government Finance Settlement 2007-08. [109697]
Mr. Woolas: The consultation on the Governments proposals for the 2007-08 settlement was launched on 28 November 2006. The closing date for responses to the consultation is 5 January 2007.
As of 13 December, Communities and Local Government have received 16 representations from
local authorities and Members of Parliament on the 2007-08 settlement proposals.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many gap funding applications for stock transfer were made by each local authority in the current transfer round; and for how much in each case. [107134]
Yvette Cooper: 22 applications for places on the 2006 Housing Transfer Programme were received from 14 local authorities in respect of housing stock which has a negative valuation.
Any gap funding arrangements the Department might make with a registered social landlord (RSL) in respect of these schemes would be made in the period after a ballot in favour of transfer takes place, but before housing transfers to the RSL. Other funding sources have first to be explored before there is a call on the Departments resources.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities are in receipt of financial support for (a) arms length management organisations, (b) gap funding and (c) private finance initiative housing schemes; how much support each received in each year since 1996; and how many homes each owned in each year. [107136]
Yvette Cooper: Local authorities with ALMOs that have achieved a rating of two stars or better from the Audit Commission receive funding in the form of supported borrowing, the agreed total of which is taken into account in the calculation of the Housing Revenue Account subsidy. Table 1 gives the annual supported borrowing for each LA with respect of its ALMO. The number of homes is those recorded at the point management responsibility transferred to the ALMO.
The PFI subsidy payments are used by the LAs along with other resources to meet the Unitary Charge that is charged annually by the PFI contractor. PFI subsidy payments are calculated from the level of PFI credits that have been awarded for the scheme. The annual subsidy payments are set out in table 2. The number of homes for the Housing Revenue Account schemes is the reduction in the number of non-decent homes once the construction and refurbishment phase of the contract is complete. The number of homes for the General Fund schemes is the number of additional social rented homes that will be constructed under the contract.
Local authorities do not receive any payments for gap funded transfers. Payments are made to RSLs.
Table 1: LA level of annual supported borrowing for ALMOs | |||||
Authority | Number of homes | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
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