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19 Feb 2007 : Column 494W—continued
Equal opportunities
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has any plans to introduce an age equality duty. [121075]
Mr. Woolas: The Government are considering the case for extending protection from discrimination on grounds of age beyond employment. This issue is being considered as part of the Discrimination Law Review. Proposals emerging from the review will be published in a Green Paper for public consultation shortly.
Freedom of Information
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs on the application of Freedom of Information regulations to private companies performing public services. [120466]
Angela E. Smith: In the course of official business my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues.
Gas: Planning
Mr. Crabb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the (a) Department of Trade and
Industry and (b) Minister for Energy on ensuring the timely delivery of gas infrastructure projects while maximising community consultation on planning applications. [121546]
Yvette Cooper: The Government will set out in a White Paper, in spring 2007, their proposals for taking forward Kate Barker's and Rod Eddington's proposals in December 2006 for reform of major infrastructure planning, including gas infrastructure. The Secretary of State has discussed the development of the White Paper with colleagues across Government
Growth Areas Initiative
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will provide a breakdown of programme expenditure for the (a) Growth Areas initiative in the (i) East Midlands, (ii) South East and (iii) London regions and (b) the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund initiative in the (A) York and Humberside, (B) West Midlands, (C) South West and (D) South East regions in the most recent year for which figures are available. [111697]
Yvette Cooper: In financial year 2005-06, the Growth Areas Fund provided grants as follows:
| Region | Amount (£) |
Programme expenditure for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund for 2006-07 is as follows:
| Region | Amount (£) |
Homelessness
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless households were placed in temporary accommodation in each year since 1997. [120530]
Yvette Cooper: Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter. The figures include both those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, and those for which enquiries are pending.
A snapshot of the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter is published in Table 6 of our quarterly statistical release on Statutory Homelessness. This is published on our website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index. asp?id=1002882&Press NoticeID=2309
and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. The latest release shows data back to 1997.
Since the third quarter of 2002 local authorities have also reported the number of households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty that were placed in temporary accommodation each quarter. The percentages are published in Table 8 of the statistical release.
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.
Housing
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing revenue account subsidy was paid to West Lancashire district council in each year since 1995-96; what amount has been paid in housing benefit to council tenants in each year; and how this has been financed. [112219]
Yvette Cooper: West Lancashire’s housing revenue account Subsidy entitlement for each year from 1995-96 to 2005-06 is given in the following table. Housing benefits payable to council tenants are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Housing benefits are not accounted for in the housing revenue account. Overall the Government contributes around £200 million to the housing revenue account which redistributes resources between areas to take account of historic funding agreements and meet need. Housing benefit is financed completely separately through by the Department for Work and Pensions.
| HRA subsidy 1995-96 to 2005-06, West Lancashire district council | |
| £ | |
| Notes: (a) Prior to 31 March 2004 HRA Subsidy included a rent rebate element. Figures provided are for the housing element only, which equates precisely with HRA Subsidy system since 1 April 2004. (b) The Major Repairs Allowance was introduced in 2001, providing substantial additional funds to counter depreciation of housing stock. (c) 2004-05 saw a 47 per cent. increase in West Lancashire’s maintenance allowances as part of the initial effects of rebasing took effect. There was, in the same period, a reduction in assumed rental income following a small reduction in housing stock levels over the previous year. Together these factors reduced the level of negative subsidy generated by the authority substantially. | |
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the projected number of households is in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas in each year from 2003 to 2026; and if she will make a statement. [118691]
Yvette Cooper: Projected households are only available at local authority level; therefore it is possible to measure households in local authorities classified as rural or urban by DEFRA’s Rural Definition and Local Authority Classification.
The projected numbers of households in rural and urban areas are tabulated as follows:
| 2003 Household projections for urban and rural local authorities( 1) | |||
| Rural | Urban | Total | |
| (1) Based on the DEFRA Rural Definition (2004) Source: 2003 Household Projections. | |||
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated value is of affordable housing delivered through planning obligations in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement. [118692]
Yvette Cooper: Information on individual section 106 agreements in England is held by local planning authorities and is not collected centrally. The study “Valuing Planning Obligations in England” (Department for Communities and Local Government, May 2006) undertaken by the University of Sheffield and the Halcrow Group estimated that the value of affordable housing contributions delivered through planning obligations in England in 2003-04 was £600 million, which included direct payments and in-kind contributions. This study did not distinguish between affordable housing delivered in rural and non-rural areas.
Chris Huhne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hectares of land were registered on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land in (a) rural and (b)
non-rural areas in each year since 1997; how much has been purchased by English Partnerships; how much has been used to provide affordable housing; and if she will make a statement. [118693]
Yvette Cooper: The register was established in 2003 and currently consists of 3,893ha covering about 650 sites—this compares with 4,734ha in June 2006 and 3,544ha in June 2005. It does not distinguish between rural and non-rural areas.
During 2002-03 English Partnerships purchased 2,087ha of surplus public sector land and it is estimated that this will provide nearly 24,000 new homes, including 11,200 keyworker and affordable homes.
The register does not provide a complete picture of surplus public sector land availability as only Government bodies and their sponsored bodies are required to take part in the register process, with others taking part on a voluntary basis.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of home ownership was in each year since 1980 in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement. [118695]
Yvette Cooper: The most recent information on home ownership by rural and non-rural areas is from the 2001 census. The table shows owner occupiers as a proportion of all households by rural and urban local authorities. The local authorities are classified as rural or urban by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair's Rural Definition and Local Authority Classification (2004). Information is not readily available for earlier years.
| Owner occupation by urban and rural local authorities( 1) | |
| Percentage of households | |
| (1) Based on the DEFRA Rural Definition (2004) Source: 2001 Census | |
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