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5 Feb 2007 : Column 749W—continued

the tables have also been placed in the Library over the last 10 years.

Data provided include the total number in temporary accommodation for each year, broken down between bed and breakfast, hostel, local authority/Registered Social Landlord stock, private sector leased and other types of housing.

A summary table showing the total number of households in temporary accommodation, from 1997-98 to 2005-06, for each local authority (including West Lancashire) is available in the Library of the House.

In January 2005 the Government set a target of halving the number of households in all forms of temporary accommodation used by local authorities to discharge their main duty under the homelessness legislation.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision there was of (a) social housing and (b) affordable housing in Chorley constituency in each of the last 10 years. [117192]


5 Feb 2007 : Column 750W

Yvette Cooper: Information on the stock of social rent housing by local authority area in each of the last 10 years can be found on the Communities and Local Government website:

Registered social landlords

Local authorities

A copy of the tables have been placed in the Library of the House.

Housing provided for social rent makes up part of the affordable housing supply with other dwellings being provided through low cost home ownership schemes. In the last 10 years 216 new affordable dwellings have been provided in Chorley through low cost home ownership schemes.

Key Workers Living Scheme

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many participants there have been in the key workers living scheme in each month since its implementation, broken down by London borough. [115981]

Yvette Cooper: A table has been placed in the Library of the House displaying information on the number of key workers helped through the Key Worker Living (KWL) programme in each month since its implementation, broken down by London borough. These data are taken from the Housing Corporation's payment system. From April 2004 to December 2006, 5,637 key workers in London have received assistance through the KWL programme.

Local Area Agreements

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to specify a role for alcohol reduction strategies in local area agreements. [117940]

Mr. Woolas: The Government are committed to reducing the harm caused by alcohol misuse. Some areas have found producing an alcohol harm reduction strategy helpful as part of their wider drugs and misuse plans but the Government have no plans to introduce a formal requirement for these. We will want to ensure that where Local Area Agreements can contribute to the delivery of the Government's and local areas' response to alcohol misuse, including alcohol harm reduction strategies, they do so. Many local areas have already chosen to include targets including stretch targets relating to alcohol misuse in their Local Area Agreements. Local Area Agreements have also facilitated enhanced partnership working between local bodies of the type that is necessary to ensure that there is a comprehensive response to alcohol misuse. The duties on local authorities and their local partners proposed in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill will further facilitate such joint working, including by making Local Area Agreements the single mechanism for central and local government to agree targets to reflect the key priorities for improvement in each local area.


5 Feb 2007 : Column 751W

Local Enterprise Growth Initiative

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what advice her Department gives to those local authorities whose bids for second round Local Enterprise Growth Initiative funding were unsuccessful; [112361]

(2) what the reasons were for the rejection of each unsuccessful local authority bid for funding under the second round of the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative. [112421]

Mr. Woolas: The resources available for the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) were only sufficient to support a small proportion of the bids received. A national panel made up of senior civil servants and two people from the private sector interviewed the promoters of the bids that they judged strongest on paper, and then recommended which bids Ministers should agree to support. Ministers accepted the panel’s recommendations. Bids were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons and the panel has offered to provide feedback to unsuccessful bidders whom they met. Other unsuccessful bidders are receiving feedback from Government offices. The feedback is aimed at giving authorities a clear idea about any gaps in their analysis, strategy or delivery plans with the aim of helping them to prepare for any future bidding round.

Local Government

Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take action to eliminate or reduce the impact on local government resource allocated of the floor damping block mechanism, with specific reference to the impact on Hartlepool Borough Council. [118872]

Mr. Woolas: The formula grant damping is an integral part of the system and hence will not be removed. I will decide the level of the floor for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 in due course. I am pleased to note that Hartlepool will receive a grant increase of 4.4 per cent. in 2007-08.

Local Government: Pay

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for bringing forward legislation to deal with the impact of single status and equal pay claims on local government; and if she will make a statement. [118100]

Mr. Woolas: We have recently consulted on a proposed change to the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2003 which would allow local authorities greater flexibility in managing their financial liabilities relating to equal pay. This amendment would allow authorities to defer making financial provision for anticipated liabilities arising from equal pay back pay until the date on which the local authority must make the back payments rather than as soon as they can be reliably estimated, which accounting practices currently require. I am pleased to announce our intention to make this amendment in the current financial year. It is proposed that this new regulation would apply until the end of March 2011.


5 Feb 2007 : Column 752W

Lyons Review

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to publish a (a) Green and (b) White Paper on local government following the publication of the Lyons Inquiry into local government. [114517]

Mr. Woolas: Sir Michael Lyons's report will be published around the time of Budget 2007. His work will inform the comprehensive Spending Review 2007. Decisions on the Government's response will be taken in light of the report.

Market Renewal Pathfinders Fund

Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will break down by programme the expenditure on the Market Renewal Pathfinders Fund initiative in the (a) Yorkshire and Humberside, (b) North East, (c) North West and (d) West Midlands region in the most recent year for which figures are available. [117527]

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the amount of Housing Market Renewal funding paid to each region and pathfinder in 2005-06.

Pathfinders by region Housing Market Renewal funding 2005-06 (£ million)

Yorkshire and Humber

45.4

Hull and East Riding

8.7

South Yorkshire

36.7

North East

31.9

Newcastle Gateshead

31.9

North West

176.6

Manchester Salford

51.2

Oldham Rochdale

30.5

East Lancashire

43.2

Merseyside

51.7

West Midlands

49.3

Birmingham Sandwell

30.0

North Staffordshire

19.3


Royal Mail

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years. [115231]

Angela E. Smith: Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. The information in the following table covers the period from May 2002 to December 2006, and thus includes data for CLG's predecessor department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.


5 Feb 2007 : Column 753W
Royal Mail costs
£
CLG/ODPM Agencies

May 2002 to March 2003

297,847

667,605

April 2003 to March 2004

300,713

649,074

April 2004 to March 2005

978,706

323,792

April 2005 to March 2006

86,371

364,739

April 2006 to December 2006

78,747

212,193


As information for the period from March 2001 to April 2002 would relate to the former Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and is not held centrally it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

This answer does not include the Government Offices who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Social Housing

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the impact on social cohesion of social housing; and if she will make a statement. [110654]

Mr. Woolas: Communities and Local Government is currently engaged in examining the means by which we
5 Feb 2007 : Column 754W
monitor the impact of policies on cohesion, including those relating to social housing. This builds on the existing evidence base. For example, recently published evaluations of choice-based lettings schemes have shown that choice tends to result in more dispersed—not more concentrated—patterns of lettings involving minority ethnic households.

The role of local authorities and housing associations in contributing to community cohesion is one of several matters being considered by the independent Commission on Integration and Cohesion, which is due to report in June 2007.

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of all social housing starts in each English region have been three bed units or larger in each of the last 15 years. [115786]

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the percentage of social rented homes of three bed units and larger approved through the Housing Corporation's affordable housing programme in each region for the last three years and estimates for 2006-08.

Percentage
Region Name 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-08

East Midlands

29

24

33

31

Eastern

39

26

31

28

London

32

29

28

34

North East

18

33

39

34

North West

37

30

35

40

South East

30

20

21

21

South West

37

33

37

26

West Midlands

42

35

50

35

Yorkshire and Humberside

36

35

53

45


Information prior to 2003-04 was not collected in this format.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure that Professor Morton Cave’s review of social housing regulation follows the Cabinet Office guidelines for consultations; and if she will extend the deadline for submissions. [112354]

Yvette Cooper: Independent reviews, such as Professor Martin Cave’s review of social housing regulation, are not covered by the Cabinet Office’s code of practice on consultation.

As Professor Cave is working to a very tight timetable, it is not possible to extend the deadline of 16 February for submissions. However, it is proposed that any changes to the regulatory system following the publication of Professor Cave’s report should also be subject to consultation.


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