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Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of immigration on waiting lists for social housing. [129208]

Yvette Cooper: The Department does not collect information centrally on the number of migrants on local authority waiting lists. However, the Department does collect information on the number of lettings to foreign nationals by local authorities.

In the 12 months up to September 2006, local authorities reported that under 1 per cent. of lettings were made to foreign nationals.

South East Plan

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007, Official Report, column 1163W, on the South East Plan, if she will place in the Library a copy of the reports commissioned from Robert Tym and Partners. [129269]

Angela E. Smith: A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.

Sustainable Development: Rapid Transit System

Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for the integration of light rail systems (a) into the new sustainable communities and (b) in existing urban areas being regenerated. [129113]

Mr. Woolas: The Government recognise that access to good quality local services and infrastructure, including transport, is a key element of creating sustainable communities. It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine their transport needs and to develop appropriate solutions in each case, taking account of local and regional plans.

Telecommunications

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether in
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addition to the forthcoming consultation on non-domestic rates for unbundled local loops she has any plans to take further steps on the wider review of rating telecoms infrastructure as outlined in the Government’s response to the 2002 Annual Report from the Broadband Stakeholder Group. [126910]

Mr. Woolas: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Mr. O’Brien), to the then hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan) on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 245W. There are no plans to take any further steps on the rating of telecoms infrastructure beyond the forthcoming consultation and subsequent secondary legislation on local loop unbundling.

Temporary Accommodation: Swindon

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people lived in temporary accommodation in Swindon in each year since 1995. [127665]

Yvette Cooper: Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level, in respect of households rather than people.

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 summary table showing the total number of households in temporary accommodation, from 1997-98 to 2005-06, for each local authority (including Swindon,) was placed in the Library of the House on 23 October 2006.

Key data at local authority level are published in supplementary tables to our quarterly statistical release on statutory homelessness. These are placed in the Library each quarter, as well as published on our website. Data on the number of households in temporary accommodation in the Thamesdown district of Wiltshire, for years prior to 1997-98, are already available in the Library.

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.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the proportion of letting agencies which will meet the implementation deadline of 6 April 2007 for the Tenancy Deposit Scheme; and if she will make a statement. [127419]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 14 March 2007]: All letting agencies should be able to comply with the requirements of the tenancy deposit protection. From
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6 April 2007 there will be three schemes for operation. A letting agent will be able to decide with their landlord clients to either insure the deposit with one of the two insurance based schemes or lodge the deposit with the custodial scheme.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure the Tenancy Deposit Scheme does not create a disproportionate administrative or financial burden for small businesses; and if she will make a statement. [127421]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 14 March 2007]: The Department has worked with stakeholders to ensure that the tenancy deposit protection scheme does not create an administrative or financial burden. There is no charge for the use of the custodial scheme and information that needs to be provided to a tenant has been kept to a minimum and is prescribed by the Department.

Unitary Councils

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much she has budgeted for the cost of assessment of unitary authority bids going to independent audit (a) per bid and (b) in total. [127513]

Mr. Woolas: The assessment of proposals against the criteria are decisions for Ministers, having regard to all the relevant information available to them. This information will include for proposals that proceed to stakeholder consultation, the results of the limited assurance to the baseline financial data that will be carried out by the Audit Commission and for which the Commission will charge the authorities concerned.

Valuation Office

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 11 December 2006, Official Report, column 906W, on the Valuation Office Agency, what the expected payments by (a) Capgemini and (b) the Agency to (i) CLT and (ii) Tyler Technologies are in 2007-08. [128561]

Mr. Woolas: Payments will depend on the support to be provided, which is subject to discussion.

Waste Management: Domestic wastes

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice the Audit Commission has provided to local authorities on the frequency of domestic rubbish collections. [129237]

Angela E. Smith: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member. The Chief Executive subsequently replied to him on 22 March and a copy of the letter has been placed in the Library of the House.


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Deputy Prime Minister

Departments: Credit Cards

Mr. Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Department have corporate charge cards; and whether he holds one. [129413]

The Deputy Prime Minister: Government procurement cards are used by civil servants as required in accordance with the terms of the Cardholders' Manual issued by Communities and Local Government, which administers cards on our behalf. I do not hold one.

Departments: Trade Unions

Mrs. May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many meetings he held with trade union representatives in 2006. [128752]

The Deputy Prime Minister: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Departments: Database

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what databases are controlled by his Department; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date. [124041]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The only databases controlled by my Department contain internal records of correspondence.

Duchy of Lancaster

Departments: Publications

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the Cabinet Office publication ‘The Occupants Guide: A-Z of Key Services at The Admiralty Arch Building’. [129143]

Hilary Armstrong: The occupant guides are no longer in use.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library copies of the last 12 months of the Cabinet Office’s staff newsletter. [129144]

Hilary Armstrong: This is an internal staff journal and not for publication.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the latest edition of the Central Office of Information’s IPO directory. [129146]

Mr. McFadden: The Central Office of Information’s IPO (Information and Press Officers) Directory is now officially called the White Book and lists a wide range
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of contacts in Government Departments and agencies, not just information and press officers.

The latest edition was distributed on 6 March and copies are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

The next edition is due to be published at the end of July.

National Youth Volunteering Organisation

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library the details of each project funded by the National Youth Volunteering Organisation, v; what estimate she has made of the number of people who volunteered through each project; what the (a) cost and (b) location was of each project; and on what date the project (i) commenced and (ii) ended. [128901]

Edward Miliband: Details of the projects funded by the independent charity v in its first grants round are contained in the press release issued by v on 27 September 2006. Copies will be placed in the Library for the reference of Members.

In the first grants round, v has supported the creation of 42,000 volunteering opportunities involving 100 organisations. The break-down on funded projects shows 31 projects for short-term volunteering opportunities, 32 projects for part-time opportunities, 17 projects for full-time volunteering opportunities, and 20 projects through the v development teams. The projects funded ranged in size from providing 15 to 4,000 volunteering opportunities and from a cost of £240 to £298,500 for the total project cost.

In addition, through partnerships with the private sector, 64 projects are being supported by the match fund to the tune of £7.5 million, which will create a further 43,000 opportunities.

These projects are set to commence at various points between summer 2006 and spring 2008.

Details of projects which v has supported will be made available in the Annual Report, which will be published this year.

Press Officers

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many press officers her Department employs; and at what cost. [130008]

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office employs eight press officers at an estimated cost of £475,000 in 2006-07.

Primary Care Trusts

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin) of 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 853W, on primary care trusts, which trusts have been visited; and if she will place in the Library copies of the reports of each visit. [129911]

Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit has visited the following 35 primary care trusts (PCTs) within the last year:


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The purpose of the visits is to gain an understanding from the front line of issues affecting delivery of key services, rather than assess the performance of individual PCTs. The resulting reports constitute confidential advice to Ministers and are not published.

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