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1 Feb 2007 : Column 419W—continued
A further £15 million has been allocated for the next round of projects in the 2007-08 financial year.
Licensed Premises: Opening Hours
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what modifications she is considering to the current law on pub and club opening hours; and what has prompted her to consider modifications. [117971]
Mr. Woodward: We are not proposing any modifications to the Licensing Act 2003 so far as it relates to hours of trading.
We are consulting on changes to the current statutory guidance to local authorities on the 2003 Act which clarify our existing policy on licensing hours, i.e. that the licensing objectives (including the prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance) must be paramount considerations in any licensing decision.
We originally clarified these issues in September 2005 and they need to be incorporated into the terms of the guidance.
These changes were prompted by a misplaced perception among a minority of stakeholders in 2005 that the guidance includes a presumption in favour of longer opening hours.
Olympics
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to promote British culture as part of the 2012 Olympics. [111951]
Mr. Lammy: The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will offer a unique opportunity for the British people to engage with and participate in a major cultural celebration.
From the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games in 2008, the UK will commence its “Cultural Olympiad” which will contribute to an enhanced and positive image of the UK. It will be a developing four-year period of cultural activity designed to reflect the key themes of the 2012 Games—celebrating London and welcoming the world; inspiring and involving young people; and generating a positive legacy.
The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is working with a range of partners to develop its plans for how the Cultural Olympiad will be delivered across the UK.
Television Licences
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of television licences were (a) paid and (b) evaded in the 12 months (i) before and (ii) after the ending of the BBC contract with the Post Office for the collection of such fees. [117522]
Mr. Woodward: TV licences ceased to be sold at post offices at the end of July 2006 and the comparative figures requested are not therefore available. The BBC as licensing authority recommends the use of financial year evasion figures, because of seasonal fluctuations in sales. As at 31 March 2006, of the estimated total number of premises requiring a TV licence 95.4 per cent. held a licence and 4.6. per cent did not.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2007, Official Report, column 1771W, on television licences, what steps her Department is taking to monitor how the duty under the Royal Charter is applied. [117686]
Mr. Woodward: It is not the role of Government to monitor the individual activities of the BBC or its agents. The BBC Trust is the regulator of the BBC and the Government are confident that the trust will discharge its functions properly.
Communities and Local Government
Best Value Performance Indicators
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) for what reason her Department decided to delete Best Value Performance Indicator 180, on energy consumption; [111945]
(2) how many Best Value Performance Indicators were collected in total in each year since the introduction of Best Value; and how many will be collected for 2006-07; [111946]
(3) what assessment she has made of the accuracy of Best Value Performance Indicator 202, on rough sleeping, as an indicator of the actual level of rough sleeping. [111976]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is as follows:
Best Value Performance Indicator 180
Best Value Performance Indicator 180 was deleted with effect from 1 April 2005 as a result of difficulties in the development of guidance that would enable authorities to produce robust and reliable data. However, most of the information is provided by local authorities through Property Performance Indicator 4, which is one of a number of performance indicators used to report management of local authority capital assets In the 2006 Climate Change Programme and the Local Government White Paper the Government made a commitment that the post 2008 performance framework will include an appropriate focus on climate change.
Collection of Best Value Performance Indicators
Details about the number of Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) that have been collected since the introduction of Best Value is available on the
Department’s website: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1136106. A total of 90 BVPIs will be collected in 2006-07.
Best Value Performance Indicator 220
Local authority returns on Best Value Performance Indicator 202 (BV202) are based on the results of recent rough sleeping counts or, in areas where a count has not taken place, locally informed estimates. Local authorities are expected to submit their returns in accordance with BVPI guidance which replicates my Department’s published guidance on how and when a rough sleeping count should take place. This guidance was developed in association with the voluntary sector and independent evaluation has consistently shown it to be the most effective method for evaluating the changing levels of people sleeping rough.
Council Tax Revaluation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the initial average draft value was of the coefficient applied to the variable for the FC dwelling house code by the Valuation Office Agency before the council tax revaluation in England was postponed. [115055]
Mr. Woolas: No figure is available.
Departmental Offices
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what area of office space her Department and its agencies used in central London in (a) 2004 and (b) 2006; and if she will make a statement. [112188]
Angela E. Smith: The area of office space used by Communities and Local Government in central London in 2004 and 2006 is as follows:
| Sq m | ||||
| 2004 | 2006 | |||
| Floor space in buildings occupied in whole | Floor space in buildings occupied in part | Floor space in buildings occupied in whole | Floor space in buildings occupied in part | |
The Department’s occupation of 26 Whitehall ceased at the end of October 2006 apart from the Equalities Review Team, a body sponsored by Communities and Local Government, which remained in 26 Whitehall but the occupation is not expected to continue after the end of this financial year. Communities and Local Government is not being charged for the space occupied. In place of 26 Whitehall the Department took 1,981 sq m on two floors in Stockley House from the beginning of November. These are unoccupied but will be occupied temporarily in 2007 as decant space to enable the reorganisation of Eland House to full open plan standard. The move to open plan in Eland House is
part of the Department’s plan to rationalise its central London buildings by March 2008.
These figures do not include Government Office for London which performs functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments. The only Agency in central London is the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre which has not been included in the answer as it does not function as an office.
Fire Service
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters died on duty in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, broken down by fire authority. [112371]
Angela E. Smith: Details of firefighter deaths while on operational duty (attending fires and other incidents) are as follows:
| Firefighter deaths while on operational duty: England 1997-2006 | ||
| Number | Fire and Rescue Service | |
| Source: Fire and Rescue Service returns to Communities and Local Government | ||
Local Authority Buildings
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) advice and (b) guidance her Department has given to local authorities on providing facilities in the local authority’s buildings to trade unions (i) free and (ii) at below market rates. [114756]
Mr. Woolas: I am not aware that Communities and Local Government or any of its predecessor Departments has issued advice or guidance on this topic.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times she has visited the constituency of Bolton South East in a Ministerial capacity in the last 12 months; and what plans she has for such visits in the future. [111948]
Angela E. Smith: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has visited the constituency of Bolton South East in a ministerial capacity once in the last 12 months. There are not currently any future plans to visit the constituency in a ministerial capacity.
Parish Councils
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her policy is on increasing the number of parish council representatives on the East Midlands Regional Assembly. [111716]
Yvette Cooper: It is up to the East Midlands Regional Assembly to decide its composition within the terms of relevant legislation.
I understand that currently two parish councillors serve on the East Midlands Regional Assembly.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether officials in her Department have discussed with other Departments co-ordinating responses to round robin written Parliamentary questions in the last 12 months. [112077]
Angela E. Smith: The Government made clear in their response to the Third Report of Session 2003-04 from the Public Administration Select Committee, that while Government Departments may liaise with each other when they receive the same question, this co-ordination
“does not cut across the line of ministerial accountability which is that it is for individual Ministers to decide on the final content of an answer to a Parliamentary Question”.(1)
(1) Page 3, HC 1262, Ministerial Accountability and Parliamentary Questions: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report—First Special Report of Session 2003-04.
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