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23 Mar 2007 : Column 1217W—continued
These figures were published in a summary report of the 2006-07 BVPI user satisfaction survey results for upper-tier authorities only. This report can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
Non-Domestic Rates
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether municipal recycling facilities are subject to business rates; [129216]
(2) whether car parks are subject to business rates. [129217]
Ordnance Survey
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the ordnance survey technology tracking system reports from the last 12 months. [129257]
Angela E. Smith: Ordnance survey did not produce any technology tracking system reports in 2006.
Ordnance Survey: Publications
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the in-house staff magazine of the Ordnance Survey from the last 12 months. [129247]
Angela E. Smith: Copies of the spring, summer and winter 2006 editions of Viewpoint, the Ordnance Survey in-house staff magazine have been placed in the Library.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2007, Official Report, column 1102W, on parliamentary questions, and further to the evidence given before the Communities and Local Government Committee (HC 106-ii) on 4 December 2006 at Q117, why the revised guidance issued to civil servants on answering parliamentary questions does not specify that questions relating to the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister should be answered in the same way as questions that specifically relate to the Department for Communities and Local Government. [129244]
Angela E. Smith: The revised guidance states that
“Each question should be considered on its merits and there is no prohibition on providing information relating to the former ODPM.”
Thames Gateway
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many letters of objection she has received to the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge. [129460]
Meg Munn: Overall, the Department has received 4,808 written representations objecting to the scheme, broken down as follows:
2,949 representations, of which 2,836 were contained in petitions, before the opening of the public inquiry into the proposed bridge;
1,819 representations, of which 1,786 were individual letters prepared to a standard format, during the inquiry; and
40 representations following the close of the inquiry.
Valuation Office
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes to the collection of local authority (a) planning or development control and (b) building control data by the Valuation Office Agency for (i) business rate valuations and (ii) council tax valuations have been (A) made, (B) commissioned and (C) undertaken since May 1997. [128543]
Mr. Woolas: There have been no changes since 1997 to the statutory requirement on local authorities to provide information to the Valuation Office Agency. However, the method of transfer of the information has improved because of increasingly better technology.
Community Development: Disadvantaged
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if her Department will take steps to introduce microfinance schemes for individuals to improve the economy in deprived areas. [124730]
Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have already taken steps to introduce microfinance schemes to encourage entrepreneurs in deprived areas.
The Phoenix Fund, launched in 1999, was a time limited, £40 million fund which pump-primed the establishment of 63 community development finance institutions that serve disadvantaged communities around the country. 4,545 loans with at total value of £34,475,308 were provided by the Phoenix Fund, which closed in 2006. Future funding of CDFIs rests with the RDAs who have received a further £11 million of post-Phoenix transition funding for the 2006 to 2008 period specifically for the community finance sector.
Further assistance with micro-loans is available through the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) which was announced by the Chancellor in his 2005 Budget. It aims to release the economic and productivity potential of the most deprived local areas
across the UK through enterprise and investment—thereby boosting local incomes and employment opportunities, and building sustainable communities.
LEGI is a £300 million programme in the first instance, spread over three years. 15 local authorities have already benefited from the first round. A further 14 local authorities will benefit from the second round. Local authorities that have been successful in securing LEGI funding in rounds one and two may introduce microfinance schemes to encourage entrepreneurship.
Finally, small businesses in disadvantaged areas may seek funding from the Small Firms Loan Guarantee (SFLG). This scheme provides loans from £5,000 upwards to small businesses with viable business plans that are unable to obtain a conventional loan because they do not have collateral or a proven track record. Current monthly usage is around 250 loans with a total value of around £20 million.
Treasury
Child Trust Fund
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2007, Official Report, column 2032W, on the Child Trust Fund, what estimate his Department has made of the percentage of parents of children whose Child Trust Fund voucher expired by 31 December 2006 who have not been written to. [128453]
Ed Balls: Following the answer given on 7 March 2007, Official Report, column 2032W, the vast majority of parents of children whose voucher expired by 31 December 2006 (including those whose vouchers expired in late December) have been written to with details of the revenue allocated account opened for them. HMRC continue to notify parents about the expiry of their Child Trust Fund vouchers.
There are a very small number of cases where we have not written to a parent following the expiry of a voucher, for example where we no longer have a current address.
Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 8 February, transferred to his Department from the Department for Transport, PO Ref: 7/14043/2007. [129378]
Departments: Manpower
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2007, Official Report, column 1430W, on Departments: Manpower (1) which directors the personal assistants work for; and whether any Director has more than one personal assistant; [128896]
(2) which directors the two private secretaries work for; and what the pay band is of each private secretary. [128897]
Ed Balls: Each Director has a PA or share of a PA. The Director of Operations and the Director of Policy and Planning each has a Range E who provides them with support as part of their duties.
Gila Sacks
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2007, Official Report, column 1490W, on Gila Sacks, which policy area Gila Sacks covers. [128899]
Ed Balls: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 March 2007, Official Report, column 1490W.
Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to issue a press notice on the appointment of each special adviser to his Department. [128804]
Ed Balls: A full list of special advisers across Government is provided each year by the Prime Minister in a written statement to the House.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what aspects of the Government’s Policy Review findings he plans to take into account in the Comprehensive Spending Review. [128832]
Ed Balls: The Cabinet’s Policy Review Working Groups as well as the series of specific policy reviews set out in chapter 6 of the 2006 pre-Budget report, will inform the Government’s preparations for the 2007 comprehensive spending review, which will focus on equipping Britain to meet the challenges of the next decade. On completion of the 2007 CSR, the Government will publish a White Paper setting out their conclusions.
Reverse Charge Mechanism
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Paymaster General’s written statement of 19 March 2007, whether any concessions were made by the UK Government in return for EU approval of the implementation of the Reverse Charge mechanism in the UK. [129774]
Ed Balls: After discussions with European partners and UK businesses, the Government decided that the derogation should run for two years rather than three, after which the UK can apply for it to be renewed, and that the scope of the reverse charge should be restricted to mobile phones and computer chips which are the goods most commonly used in MTIC fraud.
In addition the Government decided that a de minimis level of £5,000, rather than £1,000 as originally envisaged, is sufficiently low to deter fraud in these goods, while ensuring that those supplying very small quantities of these high value goods do not need to use non-standard VAT accounting rules. Some member states were also particularly concerned about
the fraud moving to them, so we have agreed to enhanced co-operation measures.
These changes will not reduce the effectiveness of the measure.
Treasury Board
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the conclusions were of the Treasury Board on 25 January 2007 on his Department’s performance in the last quarter. [128802]
Ed Balls: Detailed reporting on the Department’s performance is available in the Departmental Report and Autumn Performance Report.
Welfare Tax Credits: Overseas Students
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many English for Speakers of Other Languages students are claiming tax credits; and if he will make a statement. [128810]
Ed Balls: This information is not available.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Politics and Government
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any of the benchmarks set out in Afghanistan Compact have been revised; and if she will make a statement. [127166]
Margaret Beckett: The benchmarks set out in the Afghanistan Compact last until 2011. The Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), which comprises members of the government of Afghanistan and the international community, was mandated under the Compact to keep all the benchmarks under regular review. To date, some of the deadlines have been revised to take account of developments on the ground. The full details are available on the Afghanistan National Development Strategy's website at www.ands.gov.af under “JCMB”.
British Council: Offices
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British Council offices (a) opened and (b) closed in each of the last five years. [128812]
Mr. Hoon: In the last five years British Council country operations have opened in Afghanistan and Iraq (2004) and closed in Ecuador (2002), Bolivia (2003), Brunei (2005) and Peru (2006).
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British Council offices there were in (a) Europe, (b) the Middle East, (c) South and Central America, (d) Africa, (e) North America, (f) Asia and (g) Australasia in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2006. [128813]
Mr. Hoon: In 2000 the British Council had a presence in 110 countries. Although there have been changes in the network the British Council still operated in 110 countries worldwide in 2006.
| British council country operations | ||
| 2000 | 2006 | |
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