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9 July 2007 : Column 1276W—continued

Housing: Peterborough

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of key workers living in the Peterborough city council area. [144066]

Yvette Cooper: The Department does not hold data on the number of key workers living in the Peterborough city council area.

However, since April 2004, 43 key workers in Peterborough city council have received assistance through the Government's key worker housing programme, Key Worker Living (KWL). KWL is one element of the Government's HomeBuy scheme which will expand the opportunity for home ownership to over 120,000 households by 2010.

Housing: Utilities

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications for planning permission in respect of houses designed to be operated unconnected to mains electricity, gas and water supply there have been since 1997; and of these how many were (a) approved without an appeal and (b) rejected. [146790]

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Key Worker Living Scheme: Civil Servants

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many civil servants are eligible for the key worker discount on housing; and how many have used the discount over the last five years. [148347]

Yvette Cooper: None. Civil servants working within Government Departments are not classed as key workers for the purposes of the key worker living scheme.

Landlords: East Lancashire

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of absentee private landlords in (a) Pendle and (b) east Lancashire; and how many there were in (i) 2002 and (ii) 1997. [145740]

Mr. Iain Wright: We have no estimate of the number of absentee private landlords in Pendle or east Lancashire or how many there were in 2002 and 1997. This is an issue for Pendle and the other authorities in east Lancashire to consider.


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Landlords: Licensing

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have brought in schemes to license private landlords in designated areas. [145741]

Mr. Iain Wright: Four local authorities, Salford, Middlesbrough, Manchester and Gateshead, have brought in schemes under powers within the Housing Act 2004 to license private landlords in designated areas.

Mobile Homes: Surveys

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were surveyed in the Park Homes Commission Consultation; and how many votes were cast for each of the three proposed options. [147025]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 2 July 2007]: The consultation paper on the Park Home Commission Rate was published on 10 May 2006. It was sent directly to all key stakeholders and was publicised within the sector. It sought comments on options for reforming the commission payable on the sale of a mobile home. This was a consultation exercise rather than a vote.

We received 1,250 responses to the consultation. The number of responses that supported each option were:

In addition, the consultation paper explained that we favoured the option of a lower commission rate (7.5 per cent.) with no increase in pitch fees for existing agreements while prohibiting the charging of a commission and placing no limitation on a compensatory increase in pitch fees for new agreements. Only one respondent supported this option.

218 respondents suggested alternative proposals and 28 respondents did not give a view on any option.

Multiple Occupation

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the quality of information gathering and collation of data on houses in multiple occupation by local authorities; and if she will make a statement. [146747]

Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 2 July 2007]: The Department has worked closely over the past 12 months with local authorities in England in the development of a data collection system for houses in multiple occupation, the register of licensable houses in multiple occupation (ROLHMO). This commenced
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operation in April 2007 and data has been collected from May. It is, therefore, too early to make an assessment of the system's effectiveness. However, the Department is keeping the system under review.

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the toolkit of good practice guidance for local authorities in respect of houses in multiple occupation to be available for use; and if she will make a statement. [146748]

Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 2 July 2007]: The Department has resourced the local authorities coordinators of regulatory services to provide practical advice and assistance to local authorities on private sector housing provisions in the Housing Act 2004, including licensing of houses in multiple occupation. The Department funded the Chartered Institute of Housing to produce a toolkit—The Ways and Means Report—to assist local authorities in their application of the powers under the Act. The Department will be publishing non-statutory guidance on the licensing provisions in the Act during the summer, to reflect best practice in light of local authorities' experiences since implementation in April 2006.

Planning Permission

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning applications were approved against Environment Agency advice in each year since 2000. [148336]

Mr. Iain Wright: The following data on planning applications permitted by local planning authorities contrary to Environment Agency advice are contained in the report to Communities and Local Government and Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs prepared annually by the Environment Agency and Local Government Association on the impact of the technical advice given to English local planning authorities: No comparable data is available before 2001.

2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

Applications permitted by LPAs contrary to Environment Agency advice(1)

283

221

323

248

136

Major applications permitted contrary to Environment Agency advice(2)

50

24

21

29

10

(1) Permitted contrary to sustained objections by the Environment Agency, or with conditions which only partially met/mitigated EA concerns.
(2 )Major development is defined in this report as one in which the number of dwellings to be constructed is 10 or more, or the site area is equal to or greater than 0.5 Ha. Non residential developments are defined as major if they involve a floor space equal to or greater than 1,000m(2), or a site area equal or greater than 1 Ha.
Figures from 2006 High Level Target 5 (HLT5) report

To set these figures in context the following table gives the percentage of applications permitted by local planning authorities against Environment Agency objection (from table 3 of the 2006 HLT 5 report).


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2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

Percentage of applications permitted by LPAs against Environment Agency objection(3)

38

11

12

8

5

(3) Decisions made by LPAs (where they notified the Environment Agency) permitted contrary to sustained objections by the Environment Agency, or with conditions which only partially met/mitigated EA concerns.

Since 2001 there has been a significant fall in the number and percentage of planning applications which has been permitted against sustained Environment Agency advice. 95 per cent. of planning decisions on applications in flood risk areas to which the Environment Agency had objected were in line with the Environment Agency’s advice compared with 62 per cent. in 2001-02.

In 2001 Planning Policy Guidance Note 25 (PPG25) was published in response to the floods of Easter 1998 and autumn 2000. These figures reflect the positive impact that PPG25 has had, but also support consultation which showed that while PPG25 had succeeded in raising the profile of flooding in the planning process more was needed to get planning authorities to implement its core policy. Responding to this, we published the new, stronger Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25) in December last year to replace PPG25.

Planning Policy Statement 25

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning applications subject to Planning Policy Statement 25 were referred to the Secretary of State in each year since 2000; and how many of them were subsequently approved. [148333]

Mr. Iain Wright: The Department does not separately record how many of the planning applications that have been called in by the Secretary of State were referred because of issues relating to Planning Policy Statement 25.

Planning: Recycling

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will issue guidance to planning authorities on the provision of recycling points in new developments. [147389]

Mr. Iain Wright: Our planning policies on waste management are set out in Planning Policy Statement 10 (PPS10). These state that planning authorities should ensure new development makes sufficient provision for waste management and promote designs and layouts that secure integration of waste management facilities without adverse impact on the street scene or, in less developed areas, the local landscape. The standard application form for planning applications, which comes into use across England in October, will require developers to set out the arrangements made for the separate storage and collection of recyclable waste.

PPS10 also highlights that good design and layout in new development can help secure opportunities for
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sustainable waste management, including matters relating to kerbside collection and community recycling. The Manual for Streets, a joint publication by the Department for Transport and Communities and Local Government, provides practical advice for designers.

Rented Housing

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her policy is on the building of housing for rent by local authorities; and if she will make a statement. [147872]

Yvette Cooper: 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.

Squatting

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cases of squatting were reported by local authorities in England between June 2006 and June 2007. [146194]

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally.

Waste Disposal

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to regional government offices and the Planning Inspectorate on the content of local authority core strategies for waste disposal. [146784]

Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 5 July 2007]: A comprehensive guidance document has recently been produced by the Planning Inspectorate and is available on their website. This draws out the lessons learnt from examining over 100 development plan documents, the majority of which have been core strategies. The Planning Inspectorate's document incorporates a note provided by Communities and Local Government on the waste content of core strategies. The note sits within the policy framework provided by extant planning policy statements (in particular, PPS10 Planning for Sustainable Waste Management and PPS12 Local Development Frameworks) and their supporting practice guidance. Government offices and inspectors who will undertake the examination of development plan documents have had the guidance document drawn to their attention.

Defence

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many mosquito nets are available to troops in Afghanistan; and how many are required; [147803]

(2) how often mosquito nets provided to troops deployed in Afghanistan are replaced. [147804]


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Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Over the past year, some 25,000 individual nets have been provided to support operations in Afghanistan. This number is sufficient to meet requirements.

A mosquito net is issued to each individual deploying to Afghanistan, suitable for use when sleeping in field conditions. They are designed to be used for one deployment and are disposed of locally. A new net will be issued if the same individual deploys again. In the event that a net is damaged, for whatever reason, a new one is issued in theatre.

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many rounds of ammunition have been purchased for grenade machine-guns since they have been in use; and how many of them have been provided to troops in Afghanistan. [147807]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Approximately 160,000 rounds of ammunition have been purchased for grenade machine guns since they came into use. This includes ammunition for operations and training.

I am withholding details of how much ammunition has been delivered to Afghanistan as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces. In-theatre stocks of ammunition, however, are currently assessed as adequate.

Alderman Blaxill School: Closures

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what discussions officials in his Department have had with Essex Local Education Authority on the proposed closure of the Alderman Blaxill School in Colchester; and if he will make a statement; [147865]

(2) what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with Essex Local Education Authority on the involvement of the Ministry of Defence in the establishment of a city academy in Colchester; and if he will make a statement. [147866]

Derek Twigg [holding answer 5 July 2007]: Officials from Colchester Garrison were briefed on 26 June by Essex county council on issues relating to the placing of Alderman Blaxill School in special measures. At the meeting Essex county council also confirmed that a full consultation process will be implemented in the autumn concerning the proposals for an academy in Colchester and the MOD as an interested party will be invited to participate.


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