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19 Dec 2006 : Column 1815W—continued
Evaluation of the Youth Training Project.
Identifying further data on ODPM contracts with Ecotec, Research and Consultancy Ltd. would be at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 10 consultancy fees charged to her Department since May 1997 were the most expensive. [107168]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested is as set out in the following table.
Communities and Local Government has engaged consultants to support policy development in response to the need to develop sustainable homes and communities. The skills required for these programmes were not available from civil servants.
In addition, specialist skills including project management, finance, engineering, technology specification, building specification and design, security and resilience have been procured to support the delivery of projects to enhance the ability of the fire and rescue service to respond to major incidents.
The work undertaken includes provision of radio engineering expertise for the new radio systems for the fire and rescue service; also, logistical support and design for responding to chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear incident, and search and rescue incidents.
| Vendor name | Programme | Value of supply 1 April 2003 to 1 September 2006 (£ million) |
Council Housing: Property Transfer
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much gap funding was produced for stock transfers by local authorities in each year since 1997; and from which of her Department's budgets funds were provided. [107487]
Yvette Cooper: £182 million was made available following SR 2004 to support negative value housing stock transfers through gap funding arrangements with registered social landlords. Payments under these arrangements are paid to RSLs from the Department's capital DEL budget and cover the period 2004-08.
The first gap funding agreement was signed in March 2005. Annual payment against agreements signed has been paid from the £182 million and is as follows.
| £ million | |
Council Tax
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of how local authorities used the revenue resulting from the ending of the second home council tax discount in the most recent year for which figures are available. [109663]
Mr. Woolas: The use of revenue collected as a result of reducing the second home council tax discount is a matter for individual authorities. The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect information as to how this revenue is used.
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) North East Lincolnshire council and (b) North Lincolnshire council raised in council tax in each of the last five years. [110030]
Mr. Woolas:
The council tax received by North East Lincolnshire UA and North Lincolnshire UA in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
The figures for each year include both arrears received for previous years and prepayment of council tax for subsequent years.
| £000 | ||
| North East Lincolnshire UA | North Lincolnshire UA | |
The data are as reported on QRC4 forms submitted by all billing authorities to Communities and Local Government each year.
Departmental Expenditure
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what costs were incurred from the change of the name of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to the Department for Communities and Local Government, broken down by cost area. [103967]
Angela E. Smith: Provisional figures were provided in the answer given to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Rogerson), on 17 May 2006, Official Report, column 989W.
The updated final figures are:
The design and production of a new logotype £2,200, no change;
Modifications to buildings furnishings and signage cost £5,130, £130 more that the original estimate;
Provision of new stationery cost £2,680, this was £180 more than the original estimate; and
Changes to the Department website cost £290, this was £310 less than the original budget.
The final overall cost was £10,300.
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total spend was by her Department on (a) catering, (b) hospitality and (c) official entertainment in 2004-05. [112675]
Angela E. Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) on 30 January 2006, Official Report, columns 65-66W.
Identifying the constituent elements of hospitality and official entertainment would incur a disproportionate cost.
Election Candidates
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what work her Department is undertaking with local authorities to encourage people to stand for election. [109113]
Mr. Woolas:
The Local Government White Paper announced an independent review of the incentives and barriers to serving on councils in England. The
review will look at a range of issues which affect whether or not people decide to stand for election, including the time commitments expected of frontline councillors and cabinet members. The review will be established in early 2007 and we expect it to report in the autumn. The local government sector will be fully involved in the review.
Energy Performance Certificates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether larger homes will be charged more for an energy performance certificate. [104084]
Yvette Cooper: The price of an energy performance certificate will be set by the market and not by Government. We expect these costs to vary according to the size, type and location of the property.
Equality Legislation
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has had any discussions with the Commission for Racial Equality on bringing forward amendments to equality legislation to allow positive discrimination. [108554]
Mr. Woolas: No, neither the Secretary of State nor I have had any such discussions. Positive discrimination is and will remain unlawful under UK and EU law. The Government are committed to promoting equality of opportunity in the workplace and selection on the basis of merit.
Faith Communities Consultative Council
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the membership is of the new Faith Communities Consultative Council set up in March 2006; how many times it has met; and what its forward work programme is. [104331]
Mr. Woolas: The membership of the Faith Communities Consultative Council is drawn from the nine main world faith groups. There are seven Christian, three Muslim, two Hindu, two Jewish, two Sikh, one Zoroastrian, one Buddhist, one Jain and one Baha'i representatives. There is also a representative from the Inter Faith Network and from the Faith Based Regeneration Network. The Council membership also includes representation from the Scottish Core Liaison Group, Inter Faith Council Wales and the Northern Ireland Interfaith body to ensure a UK wide perspective. The Faith Communities Consultative Council has met on three occasions 27 April, 25 July and 6 December 2006 respectively. Members identify emerging issues for consideration in consultation with Government.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish the interim recommendations from the Faith Communities Consultative Council. [104332]
Mr. Woolas: The Council will produce an end of year annual report of its activity, which will be submitted to Department for Communities and Local Government Ministers. It will outline the progress made on the issues considered throughout the annual period. The report will be published in summer 2007 and made available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website.
Fire and Rescue Service
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) average and (b) target response time is for fire services attendance at the scene of an incident following a 999 call. [110258]
Angela E. Smith: Fire and rescue authorities are required by the fire and rescue service national framework to have in place and maintain an integrated risk management plan (IRMP) which reflects local need and sets out plans to tackle effectively both existing and potential risks to communities, including appropriate response times to 999 calls. It is, therefore, for each fire and rescue authority to determine its target response.
The average response times to primary fires, measured in minutes from first call being received in the control room to time of arrival of an appliance at the fire ground, for each fire and rescue authority in England in the calendar year 2005 were as follows:
| Minutes | |
| Source: FDR1 returns from fire and rescue services to the Department for Communities and Local Government | |
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