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19 Feb 2007 : Column 486W—continued
Council Tax
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on her Department's review of guidance to local authorities on the secondary use of personal information for the collection and administration of council tax. [114497]
Mr. Woolas: Work on guidance on data sharing for those working in and with revenues departments in local authorities is ongoing, with a view to publishing a short document in the spring.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list in descending order the ratio of council tax to budget requirement for each county council and metropolitan borough. [121655]
Mr. Woolas: The ratio of council tax to budget requirement for each county council and metropolitan borough in 2006-07 is shown in descending order in the table as follows.
| Ratio | |
| Source: Communities and Local Government Budget Requirement (BR) returns | |
Council tax requirement is the amount calculated by billing and local precepting authorities under section 97(1) of the 1988 Act to be transferred from the collection fund to the General Fund (except where the amount calculated is negative, in which case it is the amount to be transferred from the General Fund to the collection fund).
Budget requirement is the amount calculated by billing authorities and both major and local precepting authorities, in advance of each year, to be the estimated net revenue expenditure allowing for movement in reserves.
Council Tax: Renewable Energy
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what effect the addition of (a) solar panels, (b) micro wind turbines, (c) double glazing and (d) cavity wall insulation has on the council tax banding of a property. [120279]
Mr. Woolas: Council tax bands are based on property values in April 1991. Adding any of these items will have no effect on the current council tax banding of a property. If a property is subsequently sold any improvements may have an effect, but only if they are such that they push the value of the property into the next band range. Any of the above improvements are, in isolation, unlikely to result in a banding increase.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what use her Department makes of automated valuation techniques. [120818]
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the annual percentage change in average Band D council tax was in England in real terms in each year since its introduction. [120820]
Mr. Woolas: The real terms average percentage increases in band D, two-adult council tax in England in each year since the introduction of council tax are shown in the following table.
| Percentage real term increase | |
The figures are calculated from data reported by local authorities on BR1, BR2 and BR3 forms and have been adjusted using the all-items retail prices index (RPI) as at April each year.
Departmental Expenditure: Pendle
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenditure is planned to be carried out in Pendle by her Department in the years up to 2010; and if she will make a statement. [120603]
Mr. Woolas: Pendle have been allocated £1,960,942 in Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for the financial years of 2006-07 and 2007-08 and £65,360 in Community Empowerment Network (CEN) funding this financial year.
As of 1 April 2007 Pendle will receive £100,000 for the first year of the Preventing Violent Extremism Delivery Fund. The amount of funding that will be received in the second and third years of the programme is subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Pendle also receives annual capital funding for housing purposes from the Department: in 2006-07, the latest year for which full figures are currently available, funding amounted to £3.5 million. In addition Housing Corporation funding specifically for the provision of affordable housing in Pendle from
2006 to 2008 is £844,800. Pendle also received an allocation of £183,000 for 2007-08 through the Disabled Facilities Grant programme.
Pendle also benefits from the allocation £94.9 million made available to Elevate East Lancashire Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder through the Housing Market Renewal programme which was launched in February 2003 as part of Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. Funding is allocated every two years and the programme is expected to last for 10 to 15 years. Future funding will be decided in subsequent spending reviews. Pendle will also benefit from being part of the successful Pennine-Lancashire (Pendle, Hyndburn, Burnley and Blackburn with Darwen) Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) Round 2 bid. Total funding for the Pennine-Lancashire Local Enterprise Growth Initiative Round 2 bid is £23,400,000 until 31 March 2010.
Departments: Assets
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which fixed assets her Department sold for £10,000 or less in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset. [120692]
Angela E. Smith: A table has been placed in the Library of the House showing the fixed assets that were sold by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for £10,000 or less in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
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