| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Mar 2007 : Column 803W—continued
Trade and Industry
Businesses: Orders and Regulations
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his most recent estimate is of the (a) one-off cost and (b) recurring cost of implementing the Energy Act 2004 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126655]
Malcolm Wicks: The most recent estimate was published in the Regulatory Impact Assessment that accompanied the Act when it was passed in July 2004.
Construction: Tolls
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the construction industry of the introduction of road user charging. [128682]
Dr. Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
No decisions have been taken on a national road pricing scheme. The Government are working with local authorities interested in establishing local pricing schemes to address local congestion problems, and the first of these is expected to be in place in four to five years. Any decision on a national road pricing scheme will be taken only on the evidence of these schemes.
Given that no decisions have been taken on whether to introduce national road pricing and if so what form it might take, it is not possible to estimate the potential impact on the construction industry at this stage.
Natural Gas: Wales
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with representatives from the Welsh Assembly Government on the Felindre to Tirley pipeline. [125882]
Malcolm Wicks: Prior to the consenting of this pipeline by the Department of Trade and Industry on 7 February 2007, Welsh Assembly Government officials attended a number of meetings held for stakeholders covering various issues, including the impact of the pipeline on the Brecon Beacons National Park and Special Areas of Conservation.
Telephone Services: Regulation
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Services (ICSTIS) has (a) issued formal reprimands to service providers, (b) ordered service providers to submit future promotions and services to them for prior approval for a set period, (c) ordered a service provider to pay reasonable and valid claims for compensation, (d) imposed fines on service providers, (e) barred service providers from access to service and (f) banned named individuals from operating services for set periods for breaching the ICSTIS Code of Practice. [124254]
Margaret Hodge: ICSTIS lists over 7,900 active service providers which it regulates. The latest figures available are for 2006. During that year, ICSTIS (a) issued formal reprimands to 160 service providers, (b) asked three service providers to submit future promotions and services to them for prior approval for a set period and these services are individually monitored for compliance, (c) ordered 33 service providers to pay refunds to customers (the only compensation system open to ICSTIS), (d) imposed 157 fines on service providers, (e) barred access to service to 64 service providers and (f) banned two named individuals from operating services for set periods for breaching the ICSTIS Code of Practice. In some cases, individual service providers could have faced more than one of the aforementioned sanctions.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many service providers the Independent Committee for the Supervision of the Standards of Telephone Services has found in breach of its Code of Practice. [124255]
Margaret Hodge: ICSTIS lists over 7,900 active service providers which it regulates. In 2006, the last year for which figures are available, 99 service providers were found to be in breach of the ICSTIS Code of Practice. Further details are available in the written PQ answer 124254.
Water Power
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for trials of (a) tidal, (b) pump storage schemes, (c) wave and (d) hydroelectric power generation. [126896]
Malcolm Wicks: The DTI currently has no plans to trial pump storage or hydroelectric schemes. Such schemes are the application of well understood mature technology and have been in operation for several decades.
Support for the research and development of wave and tidal technologies including prototype trials is provided under the DTI’s Technology Programme. The programme is currently supporting five tidal and two wave projects that are expected to lead to trials of the technology.
In addition, we anticipate that the DTI’s Marine Renewables Deployment Fund will support a number of multi-device grid connected wave and tidal demonstrations.
Constitutional Affairs
Audience Community Safety Staff
James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what rights of audience community safety staff have to appear in court. [128213]
Bridget Prentice: The phrase ‘community safety staff' covers a wide range of people including those working within the local authority in their community and antisocial behaviour teams and those working within housing management organisations.
Under section 60 of the County Courts Act 1984, a local authority officer has a right of audience in the county court in certain housing proceedings. Currently employees of housing management organisations who manage local authority housing stock do not have a right of audience. They rely on the court's discretion, under section 27 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, to be able to appear in court.
As part of the Government's Respect agenda we are considering how to take forward plans to allow employees of housing management organisations similar rights to local authority officers in certain proceedings related to their housing management functions, including measures to tackle antisocial behaviour.
Landlord and Tenant: Fees and Charges
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance her Department has issued on the types of services incurring service charges on which freeholders will be obliged to consult residents and leaseholders following the implementation of the Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003. [128879]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for the Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003. Guidance on the types of long term agreements which a landlord is obliged to consult upon under these regulations is available in the Departments' booklet, “Long Leaseholders—A Guide to Your Rights and Responsibilities”. This briefly explains the service charges consultation process itself and includes examples of the types of agreements that would need to be consulted upon where they exceeded 12 months.
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), an Executive non-departmental public body sponsored by this Department, has also issued more detailed guidance on the consultation process and describes some types of long term agreements which a landlord is obliged to consult upon. LEASE can also give free advice on this and other service charge issues.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans for freeholders to have an obligation to consult residents or leaseholders on service charges for the provision of (a) a managing agent and (b) the provision of buildings property insurance; and what anti-avoidance measures are in place to avoid the consultation requirements being sidestepped by the rolling renewal of agreements of less than one year. [128880]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for leasehold issues. Legislation provides that landlords are required to consult with leaseholders where an agreement of more than 12 months is to be entered into that will incur expenditure to be funded through leaseholder service charges. This includes agreements with managing agents or relating to building insurance. Parliament agreed during the passage of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 that agreements of 12 months or less should not automatically require consultation. However leaseholders with agreements of 12 months or less do have the right to challenge the reasonableness of service charges they may be asked to contribute towards.
Work and Pensions
Attendance Allowance: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex are in receipt of (i) attendance allowance and (ii) carer's allowance. [125456]
Mrs. McGuire: The administration of attendance allowance and carer's allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Terry Moran, dated 20 March 2007:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex are in receipt of (i) attendance allowance and (ii) carer's allowance.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
The information requested is in the attached annexes.
| Annex 1: Attendance allowance—all entitled cases at August 2006 | |
| Thousand | |
| Total | |
| Notes: 1. Definitions and Conventions: Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Caseload totals show both the number of people in receipt of an allowance and those with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. Parliamentary constituencies are those used for the Westminster Parliament. Source: DWP Information Directorate: 100 per cent. work and pensions longitudinal study. | |
| Annex 2: Carer's allowance by payment status at August 2006 | ||||
| Thousand | ||||
| Entitled/receiving payment | ||||
| Total | Entitlement only | Claimant receiving benefit | Entitled, payment status unknown | |
| Notes: 1. Definitions and Conventions: "—" Nil or Negligible; Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Caseload totals show the number of people who are entitled to receive carer's allowance, including those who receive no actual payment. Carers entitled to receive carer's allowance may be paid the benefit, or not paid it because they receive an overlapping benefit equal to or greater than their weekly rate of carer's allowance. ‘Claimant receiving benefit’ cases cannot be distinguished from ‘Entitled’ cases prior to August 2003. Parliamentary constituencies are those used for the Westminster Parliament. Source: DWP Information Directorate: 100 per cent. work and pensions longitudinal study. | ||||
Community Care Grants
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time taken to process an application for a community care grant was in the last year for which figures are available. [124874]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 March 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what the average processing time for Community Care
Grant applications was in the last year for which figures are available. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The time it takes to process Community Care Grant applications is measured by counting the average length of time taken to clear all claims processed within a set period (usually monthly). The measure is referred to as the Average Actual Clearance Time.
The clearance time for an individual Community Care Grant application is measured in whole working days from the date the application is received to the date of the decision, inclusive.
The expected service level for Community Care Grants is nine days.
The information in the table covers the twelve months to January 2007.
| National Monthly Community Care Grant Average Actual Clearance Times in Days | |
| Days | |
I hope this is helpful.
Departments: Freedom of Information
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of monitoring the time spent processing requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the purposes of the proposed fees regulations. [121716]
Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. friend the Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs on 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 866W.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |