| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
16 Apr 2007 : Column 280W—continued
Local Government Finance: Housing
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total housing debt was for each local authority in each year since 1996; how much principal debt was paid off in each year; how the repayments were financed; what the cost was to each local authority of servicing the debt; and how many homes were owned by each authority. [107142]
Yvette Cooper: I have arranged for a table showing the total housing debt for each local authority for each year since 1996 to be placed in the Library of the House. From 2001-02 onwards authorities with no notional housing debt (the assumed housing debt for the purposes of HRA subsidy) were not required to submit this data to Communities and Local Government.
The Department does not collect data on the actual amount of principal housing debt repaid each year. I have arranged for a table showing the amount each authority was obliged to set aside from the disposal of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) assets since 1996 to be placed in the Library of the House. Set-aside does not equate to debt actually redeemed, as local authorities may make a treasury management decision to keep the housing debt on their books rather than repay it, investing the set-aside elsewhere.
The Department does not keep data on how local authorities finance their housing debt repayments, nor does it have data on what the cost was to each local authority of servicing the housing debt. We only have data of the consolidated rate of interest (CRI) which is the average rate of interest a local authority pays across all its borrowing. The CRI for each year is in the table.
I have arranged for a table showing dwellings owned by each local authority for each year since 1996 to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the (a) elements and (b) totals of housing revenue subsidy were in each year since 1990; and what estimate she has made of each for the next 20 years; [107144]
(2) what housing subsidy has been paid to local authorities with council housing in each year since 1990. [107145]
Yvette Cooper: Data for the years 1990-93 inclusive can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Details of housing revenue account subsidy entitlements for individual authorities separated by main income and expenditure items for the years 1994-95 to 2004-05 inclusive are included in a table that has been deposited in the Library of the House.
No estimates have been made covering the next 20 years.
Lyons Inquiry
Mr. Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total cost was to the public purse of the Lyons Report on local government finance. [131133]
Mr. Woolas: The Lyons Inquiry is estimated to cost about £1.76 million. In addition, about £464,637 of funding has been provided by the Government for research commissioned by the Inquiry.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Sir Michael Lyons' report will be (a) vetted and (b) amended by Government Ministers before its publication. [129682]
Ruth Kelly: The Lyons Inquiry into Local Government was an independent report, and Sir Michael Lyons was entirely responsible for its contents.
Mortgages: Climate Change
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many lenders offer a green mortgage in preparation for the introduction of energy performance estimates; and if she will make a statement. [129358]
Yvette Cooper: We are aware of four lending bodies who currently offer ‘green mortgage’ products, others have said they are interested in developing products. As the Chancellor stated in the Budget, the Government expect the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates and other initiatives to provide the potential for the market for ‘green’ financial products to develop further.
Motorway Service Areas
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will postpone relevant determination of a start date for public inquiry into motorway services until such time as all relevant parties are in receipt of agreements and reports currently being negotiated between the Highways Agency, Birmingham International airport, Swayfields and Shirley Estates. [130471]
Ruth Kelly: The inquiry arranged for 12 June into two proposed motorway service areas (MSAs) has been postponed so that negotiations between the Highways Agency (HA) and Swayfields and Shirley Estates (the two developers) can proceed. Detailed highway proposals can then be considered by the Rule 6 parties prior to the inquiry. The new start date for the inquiry will be discussed at a pre-inquiry meeting to be held on 12 June. It is not considered the non-publication of a finalised Birmingham International airport (BIA) Master Plan or the Birmingham International airport surface access report will prevent the inquiry proceeding.
Parish Councils
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many town and parish councils in England have achieved quality parish council status. [129746]
Ruth Kelly: There are currently 405 town and parish councils in England which have achieved quality parish council status.
Public Requests Ordering Disposal
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to make the public aware of the right to make Public Requests Ordering Disposal under Section 98 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980. [103849]
Yvette Cooper: Public Requests Ordering Disposal (PROD) were introduced in the early 1980’s as a device to encourage derelict land and buildings to be sold for development although their use has been limited due to the nature of the process involved. The Government have already given local authorities greater responsibility for encouraging re-use of derelict land and buildings through the planning system and through their empty homes powers.
The Quirk Review is considering the scope for facilitating community management and ownership of assets and we will await its recommendations regarding whether there is a need to take steps to promote public awareness of their right to make PRODs as a part of this review.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department allocated to Hartlepool Borough Council for highways maintenance and repair in each of the last five years; and if she will increase in real terms the amount provided in the next three years. [131395]
Mr. Woolas:
Highway maintenance is one of the services supported by formula grant. Formula grant, which comprises revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula police grant, where appropriate, is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service. For this reason, and due to the method of calculating formula grant, particularly floor damping,
it is not possible to say how much grant an authority received for any particular service.
The comprehensive spending review 2007 will set the framework for support to local authorities for 2008-09 to 2010-11 to enable them to deliver effective services. We have been working closely with local government in the context of the spending review to ensure that we identify the pressures that councils face, along with the scope for efficiencies.
Social Rented Housing
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much land is owned by (a) the Housing Corporation and (b) English Partnerships; and what estimate she has made of its value. [130123]
Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation predominantly pursues its objectives through the provision of grant funding and does not currently own any land.
English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, owns over 8,000 hectares of land being held for phased redevelopment and disposal, with an estimated market value of £1,838 million as at March 2006.
Unitary Councils: Bedfordshire
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what process she expects South Bedfordshire district council and Mid Bedfordshire district council to follow during the consultation exercise on the unitary proposals for Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement. [131568]
Mr. Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Patrick Hall) and the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) of 29 March 2007, Official Report, column 1733W. South Bedfordshire district council and Mid Bedfordshire district council may choose to respond to the consultation by proposing support for the Bedfordshire county council unitary proposal or by proposing support for the Bedford borough proposal, and in doing so, may suggest that the remainder of the county also be made unitary.
Written Questions
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will answer the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Meriden on (a) 9 January 2007 (114760) and (b) 22 November 2006 (103902) on Home Information Packs. [130880]
Yvette Cooper: I replied to the hon. Member’s question (103902) on 11 April 2007. I will answer question (114760) shortly, I apologise for the delay.
Yalberton Valley
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will remove from her Department’s website reference to
Paignton West (Yalberton Valley) as the preferred site in relation to the New Growth Points application in Torbay; and if she will make a statement. [128196]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 20 March 2007]: There is no reference to Paignton West (Yalberton Valley), as a preferred site in relation to the New Growth Point or otherwise, on the Torbay New Growth Point page of the Department’s website. The page does refer to:
(a) the provision of infrastructure to open up employment areas at Yalberton road, Paignton, but I think this refers to employment development already proposed in the adopted local plan; and,
(b) a new sustainable community, for the public to debate as part of the Local Development Framework. Torbay council identified a location at the Yalberton Valley as one of several options for this new community, but my information is that no decision has been taken. As the website says, decisions on whether to develop a new community, and where, are matters for the Local Development Framework, which will be the subject of community involvement and public examination by an independent planning inspector.
Education and Skills
Adoption: China
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average length of time for the process for an adult in the UK to adopt a child from China was in each of the last five years; what the current time scale is; and if he will make a statement. [128916]
Mr. Dhanda: There is no centrally held information on the average length of time it takes an adult in the UK to adopt a child from China from the initial approach of the prospective adopters to their adoption agency until an adoption order is made.
There are a number of stages to the intercountry adoption process. These comprise: assessment by a UK adoption agency; the issuing of a Certificate of Eligibility by the Department for Education and Skills; notarisation; legalisation (at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Chinese embassy in London); and processing of the application by relevant authorities in China.
After-school Clubs: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places were available in after-school clubs for (a) primary and (b) secondary school age children in (i) Eastbourne and (ii) East Sussex in each year since 1997. [130932]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested about child care places broken down by primary and secondary school age children is not collected. The available information on the number of registered child care places in out-of-school clubs for children under eight in East Sussex local authority area is shown in the following tables.
The latest figures on registered child care providers and places are available on the following website
| Table 1 : Number( 1,2) of registered child care places for children under eight years of age East Sussex Position at 31 March each year 1997 to 2002 | |
| Number of places | |
| (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 places. (2) Data Source: Children's Day Care Facilities Survey. (3 )Not available. | |
| Table 2: Number( 1,2) of registered child care p laces in out of school day care for children under eight years of age East Sussex Position at 31 March each year 2003 to 2006 | |
| Number of places | |
| (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 places. (2) Data Source: Ofsted | |
Apprenticeships
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of apprenticeship training providers funded by the Learning and Skills Council were employers in each year since 1997. [128576]
Phil Hope: Data on Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships are collected on the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR). The table shows the percentage of apprenticeship training providers funded by the LSC that were "private organisations in their own right" or "other private organisations". Included within these proportions are employers whose main business activity is the provision of education and training. We are unable to identify such employers separately.
| Percentage of providers that were employers | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |