Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 28 June 2007
Communities and Local Government
Business Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration the Valuation Office Agency and her Department have given to the merits of moving to annual revaluations for business rates. [114754]
Mr. Woolas: Ministers have not considered this issue.
Fire Services
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects regional directors to be appointed for each of the regional control centres; and what the target date is for the establishment of each regional control centre company under the Fire Control Project. [146737]
Angela E. Smith: Each company must have its directors appointed prior to being formally incorporated by Companies House. The appointment of the company directors is for Fire and Rescue Authorities in each region.
The Fire and Rescue Service National Framework 2006-08 set out target dates for the establishment of local authority controlled companies to operate regional control centres. These were by 1 August 2006 in the South West, East Midlands and North East; by 1 January 2007 in the West Midlands, North West and South East; and by 1 May 2007 in Yorkshire and Humberside and the East of England.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the staffing model to be produced for each of the regional control centre companies; what change in job numbers she expects to result from the transition to regional control centres; and how many temporary staff are currently employed in each region. [146738]
Angela E. Smith: The staff numbers contained within the latest version of the business case, published on 14 June, are outlined in the following table, together with current control room staffing levels. The numbers include control room operators as well as data and gazetteer specialists and operational managers. The actual number of staff employed by each regional control centre (RCC) will be for the RCC company to determine.
| Current FRS control rooms 2005- 06 | Planned RCC numbers | |
All numbers are in terms of full time equivalents. For staff who are unlikely to be able to transfer to an RCC, FRAs have been encouraged to find alternative jobs, and where appropriate, to provide retraining. Costs of redeployment and retraining will be borne by the Department, within reason. The Department seeks to avoid compulsory redundancies where possible.
The staffing model assumptions are being reviewed. The indicative staff numbers for each regional control centre resulting from this review will be made available by the end of October 2007.
We do not have information on numbers of temporary staff employed within each region.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place the business case for the Fire Control Project in the Library. [146739]
Angela E. Smith: Version 1.0 of the FiReControl Project’s Full Business Case was sent to Fire and Rescue Authorities on 8 June 2007. It was made available on the project’s website on 11 June. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Fire Services: Radio
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the specification of the Firelink project; and what recent consultation she has held with relevant staff and trade unions. [145998]
Angela E. Smith: The specification of the Firelink project was determined in advance of the contract being awarded in March 2006, and installation of the infrastructure for Firelink has commenced. Representative bodies sit on the Firelink Stakeholder Group which last met on 29 March 2007.
Housing
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of households in the UK living in (a) boats, (b) caravans or camper vans, (c) tents and (d) makeshift accommodation; and if she will make a statement. [146216]
Meg Munn: Information is not held centrally identifying households in these categories.
Counts of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England are available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/586/TablelCountofGypsyandTravellercaravansonl8January2007 Lastfivecounts_idl153586.xls
Counts of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in Wales are available at:
The 2001 Census identified 93,844 households in England and Wales living in a caravan or other mobile or temporary structure, in an unshared dwelling.
Non-Domestic Rates: Agriculture
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2007, Official Report, column 129W, on non-domestic rates: agriculture, whether she plans to review the exemption from business rates for agricultural land and agricultural buildings under Schedule 5 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. [137436]
Mr. Woolas: The exemption of agricultural land and buildings will be considered as part of the wider review of non-domestic rate reliefs and exemptions announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement on 21 March.
Tax Rates and Bands: Agriculture
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government has to re-rate agricultural land and buildings. [141644]
Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for the Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 28 June 2007, Official Report, (PQ 137436).
Tetra: Health Hazards
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has carried out into the potential long-term health implications of using (a) hand-held radio schemes using the Tetra system and (b) vehicles fitted with Tetra masts and radios. [145999]
Angela E. Smith: Government commissioned a comprehensive programme of research following the Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation report published in July 2001. The main conclusion of this research is that Tetra technology is unlikely to present a risk to health. Imperial College is continuing with a long-term health monitoring study of police users of Tetra technology.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is commissioning work to consider if any aspects of the introduction of Tetra in a Fire and Rescue Service environment need further consideration.
Village Halls: Conservation
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support she plans to make available for the protection and enhancement of village halls following her recent announcement on community assets. [139289]
Mr. Woolas: The independent Quirk Review of community management and ownership of public assets, published by The Department for Communities and Local Government on 15 May, was primarily concerned with removing barriers to the transfer of surplus public assets to communities.
The majority of village halls are in fact already in the management or ownership of community-led committees, and while recognising the enormous contribution they make to the well-being of their communities, the Government believe that their primary sources of revenue support should be their users and other local funding sources.
Continuing practical advice and help is available to village hall management committees from Village Hall Advisors employed by Rural Community Councils, which are supported through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Rural Social and Community Programme.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts: Finance
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) funded organisations and (b) project to project grants will be affected by the reduction in Arts Council England forecast funding. [146314]
Mr. Lammy: No decision has yet been taken by Arts Council England on its future lottery budgets.
Decisions about grant in aid for Arts Council England will be taken as part of the comprehensive spending review later this year.
Gaming Machines: Orders and Regulations
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the summary of responses to the consultation on the section 240 machine regulations under the Gambling Act 2005 will be published; and when the regulations will be laid. [146253]
Mr. Caborn: The Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) Regulations to be made under section 240 of the Gambling Act 2005 will be laid in Parliament in August 2007. The regulatory impact assessment which will accompany the regulations will include a summary of responses to the consultation and will be published on the Department’s website www.culture.gov.uk when the regulations are laid.
Licensing: Fees and Charges
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to publish a response to the Report of the Independent Licensing Fees Review Panel; and if she will make a statement. [146070]
Mr. Lammy: The question of fee levels and the recovery of any local authority overspend is a matter which needs to be agreed with other Government colleagues. We are currently assessing the implications of all the panel’s detailed conclusions and recommendations and hope to publish a response shortly.
Olympic Games: Greater London
Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether an 80,000 seat stadium at the Olympic Park is required in order to fulfil the London 2012 host city contract. [146071]
Mr. Caborn: Yes. The commitment made to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the London 2012 Candidate File was for the Stadium to have an 80,000 seat capacity during the games.
Tourism
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with devolved authorities on development of a single UK tourism strategy. [146204]
Mr. Lammy: Tourism is a devolved matter. Discussions take place with all tourism partners to co-ordinate strategies. The 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games present great opportunities for all tourism bodies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
DCMS will also shortly publish a Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games. The devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and their national tourism bodies, were consulted in developing the Strategy.
The Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly are also represented on the Ministerial Advisory Group which has, since early 2006, helped to shape the emerging strategic approach.
Defence
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much depleted uranium ammunition has been used by British forces in (a) Operation Telic and (b) Operation Herrick since 2003. [145952]
Des Browne:
Approximately 1.9 tonnes of depleted uranium ammunition was expended by UK forces in the early phases of Operation Telic in 2003. There has been no depleted uranium ammunition used in
Operation Telic since this time. No depleted uranium ammunition has been used by UK forces in Operation Herrick since 2003.
Duchy of Lancaster
Charities: Public Expenditure
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much Government funding was allocated to third sector organisations for the delivery of public services in (a) education and (b) health in each year since 2005. [138508]
Hilary Armstrong: For 2005 and later years, no figures are currently available. Figures for 2004-05 are currently being compiled on expenditure by central Government Departments allocated to the third sector for the delivery of public services. These figures will be made available later this year.
Figures for 2003-04 indicate that in education, spending allocated to the third sector for the delivery of education services by central Government Departments amounted to £221 million and that allocated by local government amounted to £1,454 million.
Figures for 2003-04 indicate that spending on health-related activity in the third sector by central Government Departments amounted to £26 million. These figures do not include spending by the national health service. A separate estimate, produced externally for the Department of Health, suggested that in 2004-05 third sector organisations in England received around £1.1 billion from the NHS, including through trusts and PCTs, for the delivery of health care services.
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