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9 July 2007 : Column 1265W—continued


Parliamentary Questions: Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Leader of the House what arrangements have been made for hon. Members to question the Olympics Minister. [148084]

Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to establish an oral question time for the Minister for the Olympics and London to answer questions on her responsibilities. [147941]

Ms Harman: On 4 July 2007 I confirmed the new questions rota until the summer recess. This includes 10 minutes to the Olympics Minister. The rota will be reviewed during the summer recess.

Communities and Local Government

Council Housing: Construction

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of council houses which will be built in 2007-08. [147864]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 5 July 2007]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) on 6 June 2007, Official Report, column 535W.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has for the large scale resumption of building council houses; and if she will make a statement. [147867]


9 July 2007 : Column 1266W

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 5 July 2007]: Local councils have a vital role in the delivery of more social and affordable housing, working in partnership with developers and housing associations, using to the full their planning and other powers, and the use of their own land, to deliver the homes needed locally.

We are encouraging innovative ideas from local authorities to increase the supply and improve the quality of social housing, including through more direct development.

We expect housing associations to continue to deliver the majority of new social homes, as they can bring in significant additional independent borrowing. But we also see the potential for local authorities to make a bigger contribution towards meeting the housing needs of current and future generations.

Council Housing: Essex

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council homes were built in Essex in each year since 1997. [147369]

Yvette Cooper: There have been no reported local authority dwellings built in Essex local authorities since 1997.

Between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2006, the following units of affordable housing (social rent and intermediate (e.g. low cost home ownership)) were built or acquired on behalf of Essex local authorities and the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.

Essex county council Southend-on-Sea Thurrock

1997-98

243

50

16

1998-99

130

36

6

1999-2000

43

11

2

2000-01

77

6

4

2001-02

60

3

2002-03

145

16

6

2003-04

175

12

19

2004-05

176

44

29

2005-06

354

92

102


Essex county council local authorities comprise of Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Tendring and Uttlesford.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people are waiting for council homes in (a) Essex and (b) the London borough of Havering. [147408]

Yvette Cooper: Information is available on numbers of households rather than people. The number of households on the waiting list for social housing in (a) Essex and (b) the London borough of Havering as at 1 April each year is published on the Communities and Local Government website in table 600. The link for this table is given as follows:


9 July 2007 : Column 1267W

Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the Government’s target is for numbers of new council homes to be built in (a) Essex and (b) Romford; [147368]

(2) how many new council homes are planned to be built in the London borough of Havering in the next period for which figures are available. [147385]

Yvette Cooper: There are no Government targets for the provision of new council home in Essex or Romford.

The East of England Plan, the Regional Spatial Strategy, is expected to be published in autumn 2007 and states that a minimum of 98,620 new homes will be built in Essex between April 2006 and March 2021—with the expectation that some 35 per cent. are affordable. The London Plan, the Regional Spatial Strategy for London, sets a 10 year target for the London borough of Havering of 5,350 net additional homes between 2007-08 and 2016-17. There is a strategic target in the London Plan that 50 per cent. of all additional housing London-wide should be affordable.

Council Housing: Sales

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average level of discount on council homes was in (a) Essex and (b) England when bought under the right-to-buy scheme in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006. [147404]

Yvette Cooper: The average market values and levels of discount awarded on council homes sold through the right to buy scheme, in Essex, England and the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock are tabulated as follows, Essex county council local authorities comprise of Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Tendring and Uttlesford.


9 July 2007 : Column 1268W
Financial data on homes sold through the right to buy scheme: Estimated average per dwelling
Discount
Financial year Market value (£) £ Percentage

2003-04

Essex CC

98,986

33,197

34

Southend-on-Sea UA

95,204

32,531

34

Thurrock UA

97,994

33,031

34

England

66,840

24,635

37

2004-05

Essex CC

105,029

33,545

32

Southend-on-Sea UA

92,613

33,452

36

Thurrock UA

111,000

33,469

30

England

77,176

25,652

33

2005-06

Essex CC

117,776

34,115

29

Southend-on-Sea UA

94,500

32,500

34

Thurrock UA

116,108

33,405

29

England

83,474

25,549

31

Source:
Statistical returns from local authorities (P1B)

Emergency Services: Floods

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what duty fire and rescue authorities are under to respond to calls for assistance from the general public to incidents of flooding. [147753]

Mr. Dhanda: Fire and rescue authorities have a general power to respond to emergencies under section 11 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004: this encompasses responding to calls for assistance to flooding incidents.

Fire and rescue authorities have duties to conduct risk assessments of their area as part of their integrated risk management plan process, and under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. If they conclude there is a flooding risk in their area they may procure resources to respond to that risk. In practice, fire and rescue authorities do respond to flooding incidents, as demonstrated so clearly in the June floods. Great use was made by the fire and rescue service of the high volume pumps, provided under Communities and Local Government's New Dimension programme.

Fire Services: ICT

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will assess the relevant experience held by the contractors designing the new computer systems for the proposed regional fire and rescue control centre in the East of England in the design and delivery of projects funded by the public purse. [146791]

Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 2 July 2007]: The contractor is EADS Defence and Security Systems Ltd.

Their relevant experience, as evaluated as part of the procurement process, is detailed in the following table.


9 July 2007 : Column 1269W

9 July 2007 : Column 1270W
Country Summary of works Key features

Estonia - Ministry of Interior

Design and infrastructure deployment for border surveillance.

Various remote radar system installations connected to regional and national security centres.

France — French Gendarmerie

Design and implementation of national wireless voice and data communications system for Gendarmerie and special forces along with an associated logistical support programme.

Encrypted radio communications, secure identification systems, national control rooms.

France - Ministry of Defence

Design and implementation of unmanned aerial Vehicle (UAV) "tracker" systems for border and hot-spot surveillance and command and control tactical systems for mobile patrol deployment.

Silent running short-range UAV automatic video surveillance system, CIS, Integrated voice and data communications.

France - Ministry of Interior

Design and implementation of multi-agency integrated dispatching and communication system for fire services and police forces.

Digital radio communications. control rooms, automatic vehicle location through GPS, GIS.

Germany - Ministry of Defence

Design and implementation of an operational battalion Command and Control system.

Advanced CIS, messaging, Automatic vehicle location, digital radio communications

Germany - Ministry of interior of Different Landers

Design and implementation of major integration programmes between the police and fire brigades control centres in Frankfurt and Munich

Emergency call taking, dispatching, resource management, Computer aided dispatch, CIS (geographical Information system), communications (voice and data), video monitoring centre

Mexico — Federal Government and States

Design and implementation of a national forces integrated communications network, uniting the 30 states into a single unified network.

Encrypted radio communications, secure identification systems, national control rooms

Mexico - Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional(SEDENA)

Design and implementation of a sophisticated network of sensor monitoring systems integrated with the national SEDENA Command and Control Centre for reduction of illegal activities, such as smuggling.

CIS, fixed radars (high and low altitude), airborne sensors, data mining, communications, resource management

Portugal - Ministry of Interior

Design and implementation of coastal vessel monitoring system

Various remote radar and other sensor systems connected to resilient national control centre.

Spain - Police and Guardia Civil

Design and implementation of a coordinated local/national communication and deployment system for more effective operational management.

National infrastructure backbone, digital radio communications, control rooms, automatic vehicle location systems

UK - Ministry of Defence

Design and build secure communications satellite system

Skynet satellites, ground control stations, upgraded communication systems


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