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16 Apr 2007 : Column 261W—continued


Council Tax

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision is made when setting council tax banding for dwellings located within estates where services are funded directly by residents rather than the local authority; and if she will make a statement. [131186]

Mr. Woolas: Council tax bandings are based on open market property values in 1991, which—in such cases—will reflect the local circumstances for the estate.


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Council Tax: Part-time Students

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has given to local authorities on the eligibility of part-time students to pay council tax; and if she will make a statement. [130748]

Mr. Woolas: Council Tax Practice Note No. 2—‘Liability, Discounts and Exemptions’ published in 1993 by then Department of the Environment, provided guidance to local authorities on who qualified as a student for the purposes of a council tax discount disregard or exemption. Further guidance on council tax and students has been provided to local authorities by the Department of the Environment and its successors through council tax implementation and information letters dated 15 October 1992, 4 December 1992, 13 March 1995. 13 November 1996, 27 November 2003 and 5 October 2004.

Council Tax: Fines

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of the fine is that may be deployed against local residents who do not fill in a questionnaire sent by the Valuation Office Agency asking for information on the property attributes of their residence. [129681]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

Councillors: Payments

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the probity of payments from councillors’ allowances to political parties or political groups being paid via local authority payroll arrangements. [129662]

Ruth Kelly: No guidance has been issued by the Department on this subject. Donations to political parties by councillors are a matter for the members concerned.

Departments: Databases

Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how often her Department's databases are updated with the details of individuals who have moved house. [130598]

Yvette Cooper: Communities and Local Government does not hold databases on members of the public moving house.

Departments: Manpower

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in her Department are based in or allocated to regional activities; and what the salary costs of those staff were in the last financial year. [130124]


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Angela E. Smith: Communities and Local Government had 950 (Full-Time Equivalent 910) out of a total 2,799 (Full-Time Equivalent 2,681) staff based in the nine Government Offices for the Regions at the end of the last financial year 2005-06. Communities and Local Government's share of these 2,799 staffs costs was broadly pro-rata to its 34 per cent. staff numbers, but that element could be separated from its overall Government Office Administration resource contribution of £138,741,000(1) only at disproportionate cost.

In addition, a number of staff in the Department's HQ contribute to work aimed at delivering the Government's regional objectives. These include those working on regional resilience, on the regional economic performance public service agreement target, on broader cities and regions policy, in planning and housing strategy and on the development of Communities England. They also include the staff of the Regional Co-ordination Unit, which provides central services to all ten Departments operating through the Government Office network.

Again, it is not possible to disaggregate the specifically regional elements of these staffs activities, but the Department's Annual Report 2006 sets out in detail the resources allocated to different work streams.

Departments: Paper

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure her Department’s economical use of paper. [128012]

Angela E. Smith: Paper supplied for use in the Department’s laser copiers and facilities management document copying machines is of 100 per cent. post-consumer waste materials.

The Department’s facilities management contractor operates a waste paper recycling scheme whereby collections are made on a regular basis through the organisation.

The Department’s publications, where printed, use paper material of no less than 75 per cent. post-consumer waste. Any printed publications to be destroyed by the Department’s storage contractors are sent for pulping and recycling into new products.

Departments: Pay

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the salary band is of her Department’s new Director of Communications; [128443]

(2) what the name is of her Department’s new Director of Communications. [128529]

Angela E. Smith: The salary for the Director of Communications falls in line with other major Departments of State, within pay band 2 of the senior civil service pay range, details of which are published on www.civilservice.gov.uk

The names of all directors in the Department are published on the Department’s website at www.communities.gov.uk


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Departments: Public Appointments

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the former hon. Members who left Parliament in 2005 who have since been appointed to public bodies by her Department, broken down by party; and who was responsible for making each appointment. [130138]

Angela E. Smith: Information about the political activity of appointees is recorded and publicised in accordance with the independent Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. This shows that no former hon. Members who left Parliament in 2005 have since been appointed to public bodies sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government, which was established in May 2006. Those appointed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are as follows:

Name

Party

Appointing Authority

Departments: Publicity

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many press, information and marketing staff are employed by her Department. [129101]

Angela E. Smith: The members of the Department’s Communications directorate are listed in The White Book, published by COI, which is available in the Library of the House.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what public funding her Department has provided to the Media Planet Group for (a) advertorials and (b) supplements in the last 12 months. [129200]

Angela E. Smith: The Department's Communications Directorate has not provided any funding to the Media Planet Group for advertorials or supplements in the last 12 months.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) press, (b) information, (c) communications and (d) marketing staff are employed by her Department. [129276]

Angela E. Smith: The members of the Department’s Communications directorate are listed in The White Book, published by COI, which is available in the Library of the House.

Discrimination

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made with the Discrimination Law Review; and when she expects to publish the Review. [131610]


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Mr. Woolas: As the Secretary of State announced to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Equalities on 20 March, the proposals emerging from the Discrimination Law Review will be published for public consultation in May.

Emergency Services: Reorganisation

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultation her Department has undertaken on the regionalisation of fire control centres with (a) the police and (b) the ambulance service. [130911]

Angela E. Smith: The Department consulted widely on proposals to establish a network of Regional Control Centres in 2003, before the project was initiated. The FiReControl project remains in touch with developments within the other emergency services and is a member of the 999/112 Liaison Committee, which includes representatives of the police, ambulance services and the coastguard.

Fire Services

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice her Department has issued to fire authorities on co-responding following the decision by the Court of Appeal in March 2007. [130912]

Angela E. Smith: No advice about co-responding has been given to Fire and Rescue Authorities since the Court of Appeal decision. The court case was about whether co-responding formed part of firefighters’ contracted duties. Firefighters’ terms and conditions are a matter for the employers.

We fully support co-responding schemes in principle, given their potential to save lives, and would wish to see all Fire and Rescue Authorities working in partnership with their local Ambulance Service NHS Trusts to introduce such schemes locally if that is appropriate. But decisions on whether to introduce or maintain co-responding schemes are for each Fire and Rescue Authority to make, subject to local needs and resources.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been issued to fire (a) authorities and (b) services relating to the installation of CCTV in fire engines. [129751]

Ruth Kelly: Communities and Local Government have issued guidance to authorities/services relating to the installation of CCTV in fire appliances on two occasions. These are given as follows:

A section on the provision of CCTV on fire appliances has been included in the recently published Fire and Rescue Service Circular, 14/2007 (issued 15 March 2007) ‘Tackling Violence at Work: Good Practice Guidance Document for Fire and Rescue Services’ The extract from this document that relates to CCTV provides evidence that CCTV reduces attacks on crews and appliances. The guidance points out that the use of CCTV cameras comes under the scope of
16 Apr 2007 : Column 266W
the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Data Protection Act 1988 (DPA).

The circular outlines the importance of CCTV in providing continuity of evidence needed to meet the requirements of The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), to support the principles of “prevent and deter” and can provide evidence to catch and convict perpetrators. The circular recommended that authorities should consider the use of CCTV in support of staff that may be exposed to violence at work in identified areas of high risk (Ref 7.1.3).

Reference to the provision of CCTV on fire appliances has also been made in the “Pumping Appliance Output Based Specification and Compliance Statement” that forms part of the “Firebuy” Tender framework agreements for pumping appliances, which stated that a CCTV system with 360 vision and a record facility should be offered as part of any tender.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and which staff working in fire control centres are on short-term contracts. [131228]

Angela E. Smith: This information requested is not held by the Department.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects (a) each regional fire control centre to open and (b) staff to migrate to each centre; and what the rental costs are expected to be for each centre in the final year of operation. [131229]

Angela E. Smith: The dates when each FRA control room functions are expected to cut over to the new regional control centre are set out in the following table. The table also gives the annual rent for each RCC building. Prior to cut-over, each RCC building will be equipped with IT infrastructure that will provide the call handling and mobilisation functionality. The RCCs will also be used for staff training and by the regional project management team.

Staff will become employees of an RCC at or around the time of their authority cut-over.


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FRA Control room function cut-over to RCC Annual lease per annum for RCC (£)

East Midlands

Derbyshire

October 2009

(1)1,205,000

Leicestershire

January 2010

(1)

Nottinghamshire

March 2010

(1)

Lincolnshire

May 2010

(1)

Northamptonshire

July 2010

(1)

North East

Durham and Darlington

January 2010

(2)1,156,009

Tyne and Wear

October 2009

(2)

Cleveland

March 2010

(2)

Northumberland

March 2010

(2)

South West

Somerset

October 2009

(3)1,213,500

Devon

January 2010

(3)

Dorset

March 2010

(3)

Avon

May 2010

(3)

Cornwall

July 2010

(3)

Wiltshire

September 2010

(3)

Gloucestershire

January 2011

(3)

West Midlands

Staffordshire

January 2010

(4)1,358,311

West Midlands

March 2010

(4)

Shropshire

May 2010

(4)

Hereford and Worcester

September 2010

(4)

Warwickshire

July 2010

(4)

South East

Hampshire

May 2010

(5)1,445,000

Royal Berkshire

September 2010

(5)

Oxfordshire

January 2011

(5)

Kent

March 2011

(5)

East Sussex

May 2011

(5)

Buckinghamshire

July 2011

(5)

Isle of Wight

September 2011

(5)

Surrey

September 2011

(5)

West Sussex

July 2010

(5)

North West

Cumbria

March 2011

(6)1,197,500

Cheshire

March 2011

(6)

Lancashire

March 2011

(6)

Greater Manchester

September 2010

(6)

Merseyside

January 2011

(6)

Yorkshire and Humberside

West Yorkshire

January 2011

(7)1,198,808

South Yorkshire

March 2011

(7)

Humberside

May 2011

(7)

North Yorkshire

May 2011

(7)

East of England

Essex

July 2011

(8)1,349,322

Norfolk

September 2011

(8)

Cambridge and Peterborough

May 2011

(8)

Hertfordshire

September 2011

(8)

Bedfordshire and Luton

July 2011

(8)

Suffolk

July 2011

(8)

London

London

November 2010

Procurement ongoing. No estimate available at this time


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