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19 Jun 2007 : Column 1674W—continued
Housing: Valuation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the classification is of a greenhouse located with the curtilage of a domestic dwelling for the purposes of a Valuation Office Agency dwellinghouse or value significant coding. [141737]
Ruth Kelly: Greenhouses are not classified separately within the Valuation Office Agency’s coding system.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency’s Dwellinghouse Code Validation Matrix as listed in CT IA 241005. [141774]
Ruth Kelly: A copy of this matrix has been placed in the Library of the House. This was an internal guide made available to VOA staff during the mass data capture exercise that took place in preparation for the (now postponed) council tax revaluation in England.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the Valuation Office Agency’s Dwellinghouse Coding Guide was last updated on the agency’s intranet. [141775]
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency’s document Mass Data Capture of Dwellinghouse Codes—FAQ. [141812]
Ruth Kelly: A copy of the document has been placed in the Library of the House and it can also be found on the Valuation Office website:
Land: Databases
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what use the Automated Valuation Model of the Valuation Office Agency makes of the National Land and Property Gazetteer. [143476]
Angela E. Smith: The Valuation Office Agency’s Automated Valuation Model makes use of grid co-ordinates supplied from the National Land and Property Gazetteer to identify the location of properties and their relative geographic position.
Local Government: Pay
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average increase in local government employee wages was in each year since 1996-97; and what the cost of the local government wage bill was in each year since 1996-97. [141823]
Ruth Kelly: Information on local government wages is not held centrally. However, the increase in the local government employee pay bill and the cost of the local government employee expenditure in each year is published in Local Government Financial Statistics or in National Statistics Releases as available from:
All figures are for England only.
Parish Councils
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether district and unitary councils will have powers to direct parish councils to change their names under her proposals for reform of local government. [129745]
Ruth Kelly: Under the terms of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill there are no powers available to principle authorities to change the geographical name of a parish council. However, the principle authority is able to direct a parish council to change the way they refer to their area. The alternative terms of reference are “community”, “neighbourhood” or “village”.
Planning Gain Supplement
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she expects planning gain supplement to apply to new (a) farm buildings, (b) mobile phone masts and (c) ATM cash machines, where such developments require planning permission. [141816]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The Government set out the proposed scope of the Planning-gain Supplement in paragraphs 3.121 and 3.122 of the 2006 pre-Budget report.
Planning: Teesside
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the suitability of Tees Valley being used as a pilot area for a Multi Area Agreement. [143427]
Mr. Woolas: Multi-Area Agreements (MAAs) are being taken forward through the review of sub-national economic development and regeneration. As a result we are still refining our thinking about how MAAs will operate and have not made any formal assessment on which sub-regions would have MAAs.
However, officials have been working closely with colleagues in Tees Valley who have established a very effective sub-regional partnership. Officials are continuing to work with the Tees Valley Partnership to further develop their city region business case as well as their thinking to develop a MAA. We are learning from their approach already and will continue our dialogue with them as we take this policy forward.
Public Sector Relocation Independent Review
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Government agency or department now holds the documents produced by the Lyons Review of Local Government; and what plans the Government has to transfer this material to the National Archives. [142361]
Ruth Kelly: A copy of the Lyons Inquiry website has been captured to form part of the UK Government Web Archive at The National Archives. Other documents from the Inquiry are now held by the Department for Communities and Local Government. We will hold discussions with The National Archives about these documents in due course.
Second Homes: Taxation
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on the proportion of receipts from local taxation on second homes that should be spent in the district in which the home is located. [143805]
Mr. Woolas: The decision to change the council tax on second homes from between 50 per cent. to 90 per cent. lies with the local authority. The increased council tax receipts accrue to the local authority.
Communities and Local Government does not therefore hold a record of representations received about the proportion of receipts from the local taxation of second homes that should be spent in the district in which the home is located.
Travelling People
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will give directions to those local authorities, whose plans will not deliver land allocations for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation within the target framework, to meet unmet need. [144059]
Meg Munn: The Secretary of State may direct a local authority to amend its local development scheme to allocate land for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation, where she considers it appropriate. Directions in this regard have been given to two local authorities.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will require local planning authorities to report, upon receipt of pitch requirements from the relevant regional planning board on plans for delivery of those pitches, with a timetable. [144060]
Meg Munn:
Local authorities must allocate sufficient sites in site allocation development plan documents to meet the pitch requirements allocated to them by Regional Assemblies in Regional Spatial Strategies. Section 35 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act requires every local authority to make an annual report to the Secretary of State containing information on the implementation of the local development
scheme, which includes development plan documents, and the extent to which policies set out in local development documents are being achieved.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will instigate a review of caravan counts and the methods of ascertaining the size of the Gypsy and Traveller population for local authority biannual caravan counts. [144062]
Meg Munn: The caravan counts provide a snapshot of the number of caravans owned by Gypsies and Travellers situated in a local authority area on a single day. As such, it does not include Gypsies and Travellers living in bricks and mortar housing, and does not provide a record of the total Gypsy and Traveller population within a local authority area. There are no plans to review the caravan count at this time.
Culture, Media and Sport
Departments: Manpower
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people granted (a) temporary part-time, (b) temporary full-time, (c) permanent part-time and (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in her Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over. [143891]
Mr. Lammy: The information relating to permanent part-time and full-time staff is contained in the following tables. We do not hold such information on temporary staff.
| Full-time | Part-time | ||||
| 1 April each year | Male | Female | Male | Female | Total |
| Disabled( 1) | Aged over 55 | |||
| 1 April each year | Male | Female | Male | Female |
| (1) Note that Information on disabled staff relates to those staff who have self-declared a disability. | ||||
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of staff in her Department are (a) male, (b) female, (c) registered disabled and (d) aged 55 or over. [143908]
Mr. Lammy: In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 1 April 2007, 52.8 per cent. of the staff were male; 47.2 per cent. female; 2.3 per cent. recorded as being disabled and 9.5 per cent. aged 55 or over.
Departments: Remploy
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) services and (b) products her Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [143798]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not procured any services or products in the last 12 months from Remploy.
Digital Broadcasting
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the spectrum required for high definition television; and what safeguards are in place to ensure there will be sufficient spectrum available for such broadcasting. [143702]
HD can be provided on various platforms; it is essentially a matter for broadcasters and Ofcom. They are currently in discussion regarding the provision of HD on existing digital terrestrial television (DTT) capacity.
Nicholas Goodison
Mr. Vaizey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether (a) she and (b) any Minister in her Department has met Sir Nicholas Goodison
formally since the publication of his report to discuss his recommendations. [143291]
Mr. Lammy: Sir Nicholas Goodison’s report was published in January 2004. The then Culture Minister, Estelle Morris, met Sir Nicholas Goodison on 11 October 2004 and I met Sir Nicholas on 18 January 2007 to discuss his report.
Regional Development Agencies
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the (a) purpose, (b) date and (c) location was of each tourism event attended by Ministers in her Department in the last six months; who attended each event; and if she will make a statement; [141770]
(2) what the (a) purpose and (b) date was of each meeting of Ministers in her Department with representatives from the tourism industry in the last six months; who attended each meeting; and if she will make a statement; [141771]
(3) what the (a) purpose, (b) date and (c) location was of each meeting of Ministers in her Department with representatives from (i) regional development agencies and (ii) VisitBritain in the last six months; who attended each meeting; and if she will make a statement. [141772]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is set out in the table. However, complete lists of organisations for events not organised by DCMS are not available.
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