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18 Dec 2006 : Column 1651W—continued
Local Government Pension Scheme
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will defer publishing draft regulations relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme until the negotiations between the Local Government Association and the trade unions have been concluded; and if she will make a statement. [109625]
Mr. Woolas: The statutory consultation exercise on the Government's proposed reforms of the Local Government Pension Scheme began on 23 November. Within the timetable available, all consultees are able to consider the terms on offer. Draft regulations to illustrate how the reforms will operate are to be circulated shortly, as promised in my written statement of 23 November. The publication of these draft regulations does not in any way affect the ability of stakeholders to discuss ways forward. No final decisions can or will be made until the consultation exercise is completed and responses to it have been given proper consideration.
Muslim Groups
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the (a) remit and (b) membership is of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB); how many times the MINAB has met; and what recommendations have been made by the MINAB; [104335]
(2) whether her Department’s plan of fit for purpose leadership and management development programme for imams and other faith community leaders has been completed; when the plan is expected to be published; and what plans she has to implement the plan across England; [104334]
(3) what progress has been made on the development of Muslim beacon centres; and what funding her Department has allocated to these centres; [104333]
(4) what assistance her Department provided for the drawing up of the Mosques Good Practice Guide; and where the guide has been distributed. [104327]
Mr. Woolas: The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) has been established as an independent national body. It launched on 27 June 2006 following a national consultation with Muslim communities led by Lord Ahmed.
A Mosques Good Practice Guide was published at the same time. The guide was published by MINAB in conjunction with the university of Birmingham. The Department for Communities and Local Government played no role in the development of this guide. Distribution of the guide is overseen by MINAB to mosques across Muslim communities.
I understand that MINAB is being led by a steering group comprising of five Muslim organisations; Al-Khoei Foundation, British Muslim Forum, Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim Association of Britain and the World Federation of KSIMC. The members of the steering group have met informally on a number of occasions since the creation of MINAB. The steering group are currently developing proposals on the five main areas that MINAB will focus on, these are as follows:
the accreditation of imams;
the development of leadership skills for imams and mosque officials;
progress in the inclusion of young people and women;
improvement in the governance of mosques;
supporting mosques to contribute to community cohesion and to combating extremism (this will include considering the idea of establishing beacon centres).
The Department has no plan for a ‘fit for purpose leadership and management development programme for imams and other faith community leaders’. As indicated, MINAB will be developing a programme of leadership skills training for imams and mosque officials.
To maintain its independent nature, MINAB has not requested any funding from Government.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funds her Department has provided to the Muslim Women’s Helpline; and how many calls this helpline has received since its establishment. [104353]
Mr. Woolas: Muslim Woman’s Helpline was awarded £4,950 from the first round of the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund.
I understand in 2005 the helpline dealt with around 1,500 calls. The average length of each call was around 30 minutes.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether the Muslim Youth Handbook has been published and distributed; [104431]
(2) what funds her Department has provided for the production of the Citizen’s Rights and Responsibilities pocket guide for British Muslims; [104352]
(3) what funds have been allocated to the pilot project number 27 (subheading Women) in the working document Preventing Terrorism Together; [104343]
(4) what progress has been made on the creation of a manifesto for Muslim women as proposed in the working document Preventing Extremism Together; [104339]
(5) what research projects involving Muslim communities have been taken forward as a result of recommendation 64 of the working document Preventing Extremism Together. [104330]
Mr. Woolas: The recommendations in the Preventing Extremism Together report were suggestions presented to Government from the community-led working groups set up after the London bombings. They were practical actions for both the Government and Muslim communities and organisations to consider and implement where appropriate. Progress on delivering the recommendations has been good with 49 of the 64 either completed or in progress.
With regard to the specific PET recommendations included in your questions:
While no specific work has started as a direct result of the suggestion of a national campaign and coalition (recommendation 27), the Government’s work to engage with Muslim communities in part focuses on increasing the visibility of Muslim women and empowering them to become informed and active citizens within society.
A specific focus of the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund is to support projects which develop the skills and capacity of Muslim women.
The recommendation for the creation of a manifesto for Muslim women is one for communities to lead on.
The handbook has not yet been produced; we are currently actively seeking community partners to develop this recommendation further.
Citizen’s Rights and Responsibilities pocket guide
We are currently in discussions with partners who are keen to take this forward, at this time no funding has been awarded.
While there has been no specific research commissioned as a direct result of the PET recommendations, we continue to broaden our knowledge base through ongoing stakeholder engagement work and existing surveys such as the Citizenship Survey, which is the most substantial research of its kind.
Official Cars
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cars run by her Department were manufactured (a) in the UK and (b) abroad. [104825]
Angela E. Smith: Information on cars operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency is available on page 14 of its Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
In addition some Government Offices, which come under the Departmental umbrella, still retain pool cars for use on official business. Out of a total of 50 cars 13 were made in the UK.
Ordnance Survey
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what action she proposes to take in relation to Ordnance Survey in response to the recommendations made in the recent Office of Fair Trading's market study of public sector information; and if she will make a statement. [110284]
Angela E. Smith: As one of the major public sector information holders covered by the study, Ordnance Survey is giving the report very careful consideration.
Ordnance Survey officials will be working with officials in my department and in other Departments and organisations mentioned in the report to assist the Department of Trade and Industry in its co-ordination of the official Government response to the report.
Park Homes
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many responses there were to the Park Home Commission Rate consultation; and when she expects to publish the Government’s response. [105420]
Yvette Cooper: We received 1,250 responses to the consultation on the Park Home Commission Rate. We intend publishing our response early in the new year.
Planning
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on planning guidance policy 3 in relation to building on brownfield sites. [108809]
Yvette Cooper: The Department received a range of representations on the development of housing on brownfield sites, in connection with the proposed replacement of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 with Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) when it was published in draft for consultation last year. Final PPS3 was published on 29 November, together with the summary of consultation responses. Copies of both documents are in the Library.
Right to Buy Scheme
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total of right to buy set aside was for each year since the scheme started; and how much in each local authority was used to pay off historic debt. [107444]
Yvette Cooper: Communities and Local Government does not collect data on right to buy set-aside amounts. Nor does it collect data on how much set-aside was used to pay off debt.
Roads
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether there will be a public inquiry on the proposed Heysham M6 link road. [105424]
Yvette Cooper: Lancashire county council referred the planning application for the proposed Heysham M6 link road to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 3 November 2006 under the terms of a Direction (Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning Act (General Development Procedure Order 1995)) issued on 8 March 2006. The application, along with all the representations received, is currently under consideration with a view as to whether or not it should be called in for determination by the Secretary of State. If the application is called in it will necessitate a public inquiry.
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the working group of practitioners led by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors referred to in the Official Report, 11 January 2006, column 400, has published its guidance for right to buy valuations. [109167]
Yvette Cooper: The code of practice ‘Right to Buy: Valuations for Right to Buy, Right to Acquire and Equity Sharing of Social Housing’ was published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in October 2006. More information is available on the RICS website at:
http://www.ricsbooks.com/productInfo.asp?product_id=10101
Rural Programmes
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what programmes her Department operates to provide particular provision in rural areas; and what the cost of such programmes is expected to be in 2007-08. [108253]
Mr. Woolas: For 2007-08, the Department expects to allocate £40,751,863 of neighbourhood renewal funding to five areas classified as rural and 11 areas classified as significantly rural.
The National Affordable Housing programme seeks to provide affordable homes in both rural and urban communities based on the advice of regional bodies as to the appropriate balance in funding between the two. The Housing Corporation allocated over £250 million for schemes in rural communities of less than 10,000 population in 2006 to 2008.
The Department also has a number of other programmes which benefit both urban and rural areas but to provide information on the cost of these programmes in rural areas alone is not possible.
Smoke Alarms
Ms Barlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the percentage of battery operated smoke alarms which did not operate in dwelling fires in each year since 1994. [109659]
Angela E. Smith: The available information covers primary fires in dwellings attended by fire and rescue services where a battery smoke alarm was fitted but failed to activate.
| Primary fires in dwellings attended by fire and rescue services, England 1994-2005 | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Of which due to | ||||
| Battery operated smoke alarms: Percentage not operated | Flat/missing battery | Fire products did not reach detector | Other reasons | |
| (1) Provisional Notes: Excludes fires during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003. Figures for 1994-2004 are based on sampled data grossed to fire and rescue service totals. Source: Fire and rescue service returns to the Department for Communities and Local Government | ||||
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