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26 July 2007 : Column 1437W—continued
Mortgages
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Government have made of the number of mortgage lenders who offer fixed rate mortgages for terms of 10 years or longer. [152949]
Mr. Iain Wright: This data is not collected by Communities and Local Government.
Non-Domestic Rates: Agriculture
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for her Department's review of the business rate exemptions for agricultural land and buildings. [153512]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given to the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) on 25 July 2007, Official Report, column 1151W.
Ordnance Survey: Publications
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the last technology tracking system report produced by Ordnance Survey. [152387]
Mr. Iain Wright: Ordnance Survey has not produced an internal technology tracking system report since January 2005. These reports were internal management documents.
However the Research and Innovation (Research Labs) division within Ordnance Survey published an annual review of foresight and trends in the development and use of geographic information in September 2006. This document is intended to introduce the work of this division to a wider and external audience.
I have today placed copies of the Ordnance Survey Research Labs Annual Review 2005-06 in the Library of the House.
Planning Inspectorate: Standards
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the effect of delays in setting start dates for appeals is on the Planning Inspectorate’s performance against the ministerial targets on timeliness. [152823]
Mr. Iain Wright: None. Ministerial timeliness targets for appeals are based on the starting date and not the date when the appeal is received.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at what point in time consideration of an appeal by the Planning Inspectorate is deemed to have commenced for the purpose of the Inspectorate's performance statistics. [152824]
Mr. Iain Wright: For statistical purposes, an appeal is deemed to have commenced from the date written notice is given by the Planning Inspectorate to the appellant and the local planning authority that all the documents required to enable the appeal to proceed have been received (the “starting date”).
Planning Permission
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning applications have been drawn to her attention as a consequence of the provisions of section 8 of planning circular 04/06; and what her decision was on whether to call in the application in each case. [152945]
Mr. Iain Wright: Five planning applications have been referred to the Secretary of State under Circular 04/2006. One application has been called in, three have not, and one remains under consideration.
Planning Permission: Flood Control
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning applications in England for development on floodplains have been (a) refused and (b) approved by the Planning Inspectorate in the last 12 months. [152946]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Planning Inspectorate does not record the information centrally. It cannot be retrieved without disproportionate cost.
Planning: Appeals
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes the Planning Inspectorate has made to the practice of setting start dates from when an appeal is received in the last 24 months. [152700]
Planning: Electromagnetic Fields
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to implement the recommendations of the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Electro-magnetic Fields' report to ensure that magnetic fields below power lines do not exceed 0.4mT. [151473]
Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
I am grateful to the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Extremely Low Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields for all the hard work that has gone into the production of its report. The Government will now need to consider the implications of the report's conclusions and recommendations.
Refuges: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many women were recorded as being housed in refuges and safe houses in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex in each of the last 10 years. [151427]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department does not hold a total figure centrally.
Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level. The duty owed to a household accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available the authority may secure temporary accommodation until settled accommodation is provided.
One type of temporary accommodation is women's refuges. A breakdown by local authority of reported households in women’s refuges under homelessness provisions at the end of March from 1998 to 2007 has been placed in the Library of the House. The local authorities that make up East Sussex are: Eastbourne borough council, Hastings borough council, Lewes district council, Rother district council, and Wealden district council.
Women may also enter refuges without going through the statutory homelessness route. Many women's refuges receive Supporting People funding, and records of new entrants to Supporting People funded services are submitted by service providers on the client record form.
Data from the client record form are published on the Centre for Housing Research's website. for financial years and at administrative authority level. This includes the number of new clients entering Supporting People funded women's refuges, for service providers in each of the administrating authorities, including East Sussex county council, from 2003-04 to 2006-07, and is available at
Regional Planning and Development: South East Region
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to amend the draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East by increasing the annual building target above 29,000 a year. [152677]
Mr. Dhanda: Proposed changes to the draft regional spatial strategy for the South East of England will be published following the receipt and publication of the panel’s recommendations resulting from the examination in public.
The proposed changes will be consulted on and representations on the changes considered, before the final version of the RSS is approved and published.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to amend the South East England Regional Assembly’s draft Regional Spatial Strategy. [152679]
Mr. Dhanda: Proposed changes to the draft regional spatial strategy for the South East of England will be published following the receipt and publication of the panel’s recommendations resulting from the examination in public.
The proposed changes will be consulted on and representations on the changes considered, before the final version of the RSS is approved and published.
Smoking: Planning Permission
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether outdoor smoking shelters require planning permission; and what guidance her Department has given to local planning authorities on them. [152854]
Mr. Iain Wright: Outdoor smoking shelters will normally require planning permission although freestanding awnings and canopies may not. While Communities and Local Government has not issued specific guidance, leaving specific matters to the discretion of local authorities and particular local considerations, the Department of Health has worked closely with the Planning Officers' Society to produce guidance for local planning authorities on this issue.
Thames Gateway
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the concerns raised about the Thames Gateway project in the evidence taken by the Public Accounts Select Committee at its meeting on 13 June 2007, HC 693-i. [152663]
Mr. Iain Wright: 1 refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen) on 25 July 2007, Official Report, column 1155W.
Travelling People
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) title and (b) date was of the European Court of Human Rights ruling which requires legislation proposed to be introduced in the forthcoming Housing and Regeneration Bill. [152939]
Mr. Iain Wright: The European Court of Human Rights ruling which the Government's draft legislative programme proposes to implement in a Housing and Regeneration Bill is that in the case of Connors v. United Kingdom, given on 27 May 2004.
Unitary Councils
Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether it is her policy to approve unitary status only for those councils which command broad stakeholder support. [152153]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 25 July 2007, Official Report, column 68WS. Our Invitation to Councils makes clear proposals will proceed towards implementation only if they were judged to meet the five criteria, one of which is that proposals must be supported by a broad cross section of partners and stakeholders.
Urban Areas: Wind Power
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what her Department’s policy is on siting wind turbines in urban areas; [152750]
(2) what planning guidance her Department issues to local authorities on requests for permission to site wind turbines in urban areas. [152757]
Mr. Iain Wright: We consulted earlier this year on a new Planning Policy Statement (PPS) on planning and climate change. This sets out our proposals for how planning should contribute to reducing emissions, and make a full contribution to delivering the Government’s Climate Change Programme and energy policies. This includes giving greater emphasis to local renewable sources for supplying the energy needs of new developments and looking favourably on proposals for renewable energy including the use of wind turbines.
The draft PPS builds on our policies in PPS22 “Renewable Energy” which state that renewable energy developments should be capable of being accommodated throughout England in locations where the technology is viable, and environmental, economic, and social impacts can be addressed satisfactorily. PPS22 sets out the detailed considerations applicable to determining planning applications for renewable energy projects, including wind turbines. PPS22 is supported by a Companion Guide that provides practical advice for considering proposals for renewable energy.
Valuation Office: Databases
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Valuation Office Agency submitted a bid to the tendering process to set up and maintain the (a) home condition report database and (b) energy performance certificate database. [152547]
Mr. Iain Wright: No such bid was submitted by the Valuation Office Agency.
Duchy of Lancaster
Correspondence: Cabinet Office
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many items of correspondence were received by Cabinet Office Ministers from right hon. and hon. Members in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006; what the target time for replying to such correspondence is; and how many replies were sent within the target time. [153009]
Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 101-04WS. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006, Official Report, columns 75-78WS.
Departments: Air Conditioning
Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in each of the last five years. [151981]
Phil Hope: Information on how much the Cabinet Office and its agencies has spent on air conditioning units prior to 2006-07 can be provided only at disproportionate costs.
The Cabinet Office has not spent any money on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in the financial years 2006-07 and 2007 to date.
Departments: Community Development
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) which social enterprises, excluding registered social landlords, have contracts awarded by his Department; and what the value is of each such contract; [152265]
(2) with which social enterprises his Department has contracts; and what the value of each contract is. [150106]
Phil Hope: Businesses that are awarded contracts by my Department are not currently required to state whether they are social enterprises and no detailed central record of contracts awarded is held. Therefore the information for my Department as a whole is only available at disproportionate cost.
However, since 1 April 2007, the Office of the Third Sector within the Cabinet Office has contracted, or provided grants to, with the following social enterprises and social enterprise representative bodies either on strategic partnerships and/or for other services at a total cost of £2,821,300:
CAN
Cats Pyjamas
Co-operatives UK
Development Trusts Association
Pack-It
Plunkett Foundation
Prowess
School for Social Entrepreneurs
Social Enterprise Coalition
Social Enterprise London
Social Firms UK
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