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17 Jan 2007 : Column 1214W—continued


The main purposes for payments were subscriptions and attendances at conferences. In 2005-06 a staff secondment was also involved.


17 Jan 2007 : Column 1215W

Construction Products Directive

Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will provide additional resources to ensure that the Construction Products Directive is complied with in a uniform and consistent manner. [115938]

Angela E. Smith: Under the Construction Products Regulations 1991 as amended it falls to local authorities to provide adequate resources to ensure compliance with the Construction Products Directive.

Departmental Communications

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reason her Department's email news alert service is closing; and if she will make a statement. [114727]

Angela E. Smith: The Department's email news alert service was closed on 23 November 2006 in a move to RSS news feeds, supported by existing alternative email alerts from info41ocal.gov.uk and the Government News Network (GNN) at www.gnn.gov.uk. This is in line with the requirement to rationalise Government web services under the Transformational Government strategy. Subscribers to the Department's alert were forewarned of the closure and advised to register to receive one of the alternative free services via two emails on separate days prior to closure of the service. Subscribers may now opt to receive Departmental updates via:

Full details of how to access the Department's news feeds and alerts is held on the corporate website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsfeeds

Domestic Violence

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding her Department has provided for high-security safe rooms to be built in the homes of victims of domestic violence. [114475]

Meg Munn: Decisions about funding Sanctuary Schemes are local decisions and local authorities have a number of funding options available to them. For example, schemes could be funded through a local authority’s Private Sector Renewal Strategy. In the case of social housing the funding could come from the
17 Jan 2007 : Column 1216W
landlord. The police or the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership may have grants, or one-off funding to target crime reduction which could be directed to funding Sanctuary Schemes.

My Department has allocated £47.2 million to local authorities to help them further tackle and prevent homelessness in their area for 2007-08. They may choose to use a proportion of this money to fund Sanctuary Schemes. A survey conducted by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister found that 120 local authorities already had a Sanctuary Scheme in place and that a further 165 local authorities were planning to have one in place by the end of March 2007.

Guidance published entitled “Options for Setting Up a Sanctuary Scheme” covers funding issues.

Government Office for London

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff worked for the Government Office for London in (a) 1997 and (b) 2006. [115359]

Angela E. Smith: The Government Office for London staffing figures for 1997 and 2006 are as follows:

Number

1997

(1)274

2006

(2)273

(1) March (2) This is based on staffing levels as at 31 December 2006. In line with the Treasury review of the GO network, GOL plans to reduce its staffing to approximately 250 by December 2008.

Local Government Finance

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total amount of borrowing on (a) council housing and (b) arm’s length management organisations was in each year since 1990; what proportion of the public spending borrowing requirement this represents in each year; and what estimate she has made of each for the next 10 years. [107143]

Yvette Cooper: The net amount of borrowing on council housing and arm’s length management organisations since 1992-93, as well as the proportion of public sector net borrowing that that represents for each year, is set out in the following table.


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17 Jan 2007 : Column 1218W
Net HRA borrowing (£) ALMO borrowing (£) Public sector net borrowing (PSNB) (£) HRA borrowing/PSNB (percentage) ALMO Borrowing/PSNB (percentage)

1992-93

46,716,000,000

1993-94

347,455,678

51,054,000,000

0.68

1994-95

431,792,337

43,271,000,000

1.00

1995-96

-170,209,016

34,713,000,000

-0.49

1996-97

-435,801,552

27,170,000,000

-1.60

1997-98

-504,249,410

6,374,000,000

-7.91

1998-99

-678,146,182

-4,017,000,000

16.88

1999-2000

-542,751,024

-16,251,000,000

3.34

2000-01

-880,453,782

-19,896,000,000

4.43

2001-02

-14,679,989

921,000,000

-1.59

2002-03

-1,166,619,645

56,000,000

24,916,000,000

-4.68

0.22

2003-04

-2,415,662,009

321,000,000

34,094,000,000

-7.09

0.94

2004-05

-1,120,419,927

577,000,000

39,189,000,000

-2.86

1.47

2005-06

418,022,901

854,000,000

37,516,000,000

1.11

2.28

2006-07

1,212,183,164

845,000,000

35,848,615,071

3.38

2.36

Notes:
1. The Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO) borrowing shown is the level of borrowing supported by the Government, rather than the actual level of borrowing entered into by the local authority. It is part of, rather than additional to, council house borrowing.
2. From 2001-02 onwards the Department did not collect data on local authority borrowing for council housing from those authorities with no notional housing debt (used in calculating HRA subsidy entitlement)

The figures are unaudited and based on claims submitted by local authorities. The Department for Communities and Local Government cannot provide forecasts beyond the end of 2007-08 because that would pre-judge CSR07 and subsequent spending reviews.

Local Government Staff

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local government staff, excluding police officers, teachers and firefighters, were employed by local authorities collectively in (a) 1996-97 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available. [114462]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 January 2007:

Millennium Dome

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff work full-time on the Millennium Dome territory, as referred to on page 127 of her Department’s annual report for 2006, broken down by pay grade. [115657]

Angela E. Smith: English Partnerships has 11 (full-time equivalents) staff members working on Greenwich Peninsula Projects, including the Greenwich Millennium Village. Of these, three are support staff, two are pier managers and one is a security manager. The remaining five cover specialist roles including development and estate management. In addition, an area director at English Partnerships includes within his responsibilities delivery of the Meridian Delta Ltd and Anschutz Entertainment Group scheme.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding each neighbourhood renewal area in England received directly from her Department and its predecessor to support regeneration projects in each year from 2001-02 to 2005-06; what funding has been allocated to each local authority for the same purpose in 2006-07 and 2007-08; to which programmes within each neighbourhood renewal area funding has been allocated; and how much was allocated to each programme. [114875]

Mr. Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), provided £3.208 billion in direct funding to 90 neighbourhood renewal areas in England from 2001-02 to 2005-06, and has allocated £1.564 billion for the period 2006-07 to 2007-08. Total funding for the period 2001-02 to 2007-08 is £4.772 billion. A detailed breakdown of funding provided to each neighbourhood renewal area and the allocations for each local authority and each programme has been placed in the Library of the House.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the long-term costs and liabilities arising from private finance initiative credits are in the Joint Service Centre programme. [115659]

Angela E. Smith: Current long-term costs and liabilities arising from private finance initiative credits in the Joint Service Centre programme are assessed as being approximately £426 million over the duration of the projects.

Sub-national Statistics

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the purpose is of the Regional Co-ordination Unit's proposed knowledge network briefing engine for sub-national statistics; and how much it is expected to cost. [115040]


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Angela E. Smith: The Regional Co-ordination Unit does not have any proposals relating to sub-national statistics for its knowledge network briefing engine. The purpose of the knowledge network briefing engine, which was launched in 2002, is to produce compact briefing documents called "Fact Files" on regions and major cities in England for Ministers to use on regional visits. Although originally built by Cabinet Office, the briefing engine system is now maintained externally. The RCU contributes £30,000 a year towards the maintenance of the system.

Valuation Office Agency

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what training (a) material and (b) manuals are available for Valuation Office Agency staff on its intranet; [114424]

(2) if she will place in the Library copies of the Valuation Office Agency's intranet HR learning pages and training events catalogue; [114510]

(3) pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2006, Official Report, column 906W, on the Valuation Office Agency, if she will place in the Library the last edition produced of the agency's training and development (human resources) manual. [114571]

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.

The training events catalogue, on the Valuation Office Agency's intranet, has replaced the training and development manual. The catalogue allows staff to see what events are being held, where they will be held and whether there are any places available.

A copy of the Valuation Office Agency's learning home page has been placed in the Library. Copies of all the attached documents could be provided only at disproportionate cost.


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