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24 May 2007 : Column 1536W—continued
Local Government: Reform
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost of her proposals for local government reform; and if she will make a statement. [138739]
Mr. Woolas: The proposals for local government unitary status are not the Secretary of State's but the proposing councils' themselves.
Ordnance Survey
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department had with the Minister for the third sector with responsibility for the Office of Public Sector Information between 1 June 2006 and 13 July 2006 on a complaint made against Ordnance Survey by Intelligent Addressing Limited. [139052]
Angela E. Smith: There were no discussions between the Department and the Minister for the third sector on the complaint made between those dates.
Social Rented Housing
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of possession actions by social landlords which led to households losing their homes in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2004-05; and how many such cases involved (i) single people and (ii) families with children. [130999]
Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the number of evictions in respect of registered social landlord tenants in England in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
| Number of evictions (on all grounds) | |
| Source: Data from annual Housing Corporation Regulatory Statistical Returns. | |
The data cannot be further broken down to show the number of single people and families with children.
Communities and Local Government have asked local authority landlords in England to submit data on tenants subject to possession proceedings for 2005-06. While data have been returned, they are not considered to be of reliable quality in this first year of data collection. We are working to address these issues and will have a clearer view for 2006-07.
Social Rented Housing: Insurance
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps she plans to take to promote the take-up of insure with rent schemes among uninsured households; and if she will make a statement; [137537]
(2) what discussions she has had with (a) the insurance industry, (b) local government and (c)
housing associations on promoting insure with rent schemes among uninsured households; [137538]
(3) what guidance she has issued to local authorities and housing associations on promoting insure with rent schemes among uninsured households. [137539]
Yvette Cooper: The Government recognise the important role of insurance as a financial tool, enabling households to protect against potential losses arising from risks to assets such as the home or a car.
Registered social landlords and local authorities are required to provide high standards of customer care. Landlords should consider all aspects of this, including insurance.
The Housing Corporation has issued guidance on facilitating access to insurance in its publication ‘Insurance for All’.
The Housing Corporation has met the Financial Inclusion Taskforce and the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss the role of housing associations in promoting financial inclusion.
The Corporation and social landlords have also met with representatives from the insurance industry, to discuss how best to ensure coherent advice and good practice in the social housing sector.
The Department has recently received in invitation to join a Ministerial Working Group on financial inclusion, which will determine detailed priorities for financial inclusion policy, including insurance, which is currently under consideration.
Thames Gateway: Finance
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will use the announcement of the comprehensive spending review settlement to increase the funding to the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation. [139125]
Yvette Cooper: Decisions on the future funding for the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation will be taken once the outcome of the comprehensive spending review is known and in the light of the proposals in the corporate plan they are preparing for financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
Travellers
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities do not meet the minimum standards set in relation to the provision of Travellers' sites. [139034]
Meg Munn: The Government have established a new framework to increase the number of authorised Gypsy and Traveller sites in line with need. Local authorities are required to undertake an assessment of the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers in their area, and we understand that these assessments are completed or underway in 90 per cent. of authorities. Regional assemblies then determine need at a regional level and allocate pitch numbers to individual local authorities in regional spatial strategies.
Local authorities will then need to identify land to deliver the pitch numbers identified in their development plan documents.
Written Questions
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to reply to question 130747, tabled by the hon. Member for Brent, East on 27 March 2007. [138473]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 21 May 2007]: I have now replied to the hon. Lady’s question.
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will answer question 136372, on brownfield development, tabled by the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on 8 May 2007. [139145]
Yvette Cooper: I have now replied to the hon. Gentleman’s question.
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