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3 Sep 2007 : Column 1635W—continued
Arms Length Management Organisations
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued on the minimum threshold of support among (a) tenants, (b) leaseholders and (c) all residents for a local authority to proceed with transferring management of properties to an arm’s length management organisation. [153565]
Mr. Iain Wright:
None. The Department does not specify a minimum threshold of support. It is up to each local authority to demonstrate that it has consulted its tenants and leaseholders and to provide evidence of support for its arm’s length management organisation proposals when it applies for the Secretary of State’s consent to delegate its housing management
functions. Consent will not be granted unless the Secretary of State is satisfied with the evidence provided.
Audit Commission
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government why the Audit Commission decided to change the indicators used to assess comprehensive performance assessments prior to their replacement with comprehensive area assessments. [152951]
Mr. Iain Wright: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to you directly.
Letter from Steve Bundred , dated 26 July 2007:
I am writing in response to your parliamentary question asking why the Audit Commission decided to change the indicators used to assess comprehensive performance assessments prior to their replacement with comprehensive area assessments.
The Commission published a consultation document on the framework for CPA 2007 in April this year. In this document a small number of changes were proposed to the performance indicators used in the Audit Commission service assessments for housing, environment and culture, to ensure that CPA remained relevant and continued to drive improvements in public services. The proposals included supplementing the existing set of indicators with four newly available indicators that measure outcomes recognisable by local residents or vulnerable people. It was also proposed to remove four indicators (where there are issues with data availability, data quality or national consistency) and replace three indicators with more meaningful measures of performance. These represent only a small proportion of the total number of indicators; in 2006 there were 31 indicators included in the environment service assessment, 20 in housing and 18 in culture.
The majority of consultation responses expressed a strong desire for stability in the CPA framework and the Commission considered these at its meeting this morning. We will be publishing a document within the next few weeks setting out our final decisions and explaining the reasons for them. I am able to confirm at this stage, however, that a number of the changes proposed in our consultation document will not now go ahead.
It is worth noting that the Commission is also considering the framework and transitional arrangements that it puts in place for 2008, as this is the last year they will carry out assessments under the CPA methodology. The new CAA framework is due to be in place from April 2008.
A copy of this letter will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Bellwin Scheme
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost to the public purse is of the changes to the Bellwin scheme outlined in her statement of 9 July 2007, Official Report, column 1189, on flooding (England). [152890]
John Healey: It is too early to estimate the level of costs to local authorities arising out of the recent floods which might be eligible for Bellwin funding. Under the special arrangements for this scheme, authorities are able to claim for eligible costs incurred up to six months after the flooding.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the changes to the Bellwin scheme outlined in her statement of 9 July 2007, Official Report, column 1189, on flooding (England), will only apply to claims made in relation to the recent flooding incidents. [152891]
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have notified her Department of their intention to apply for Bellwin scheme funding following the recent floods. [153497]
John Healey: The following authorities had notified an intention to claim for the flooding events in June by the closing date of 31 July:
Amber Valley Borough Council
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Bassetlaw District Council
Bolsover District Council
Bridgnorth District Council
Chesterfield Borough Council
Derbyshire County Council
Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority
Derbyshire Dales District Council
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
East Lindsey District Council
Erewash Borough Council
Gedling Borough Council
Gloucestershire County Council
Harrogate Borough Council
Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue
High Peak Borough Council
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
Humberside Police Authority
Kingston upon Hull City Council
Leeds City Council
Lichfield District Council
Lincoln City Council
Lincolnshire County Council
Newark and Sherwood District Council
North East Derbyshire District Council
North East Lincolnshire Council
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Pendle BC
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Scarborough Borough Council
Sheffield City Council
Shropshire County Council
South Shropshire District Council
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
South Yorkshire Police Authority
Stafford Borough Council
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Warwick District Council
Warwickshire County Council
Wakefield City Council
West Mercia Police Authority
West Lindsey District Council
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Worcestershire County Council
Wyre Forest District Council
Authorities have until the end of August to notify incidents occurring in July. To date the following authorities have done so:
Bridgnorth District Council
Cheltenham Borough Council
Cotswold District Council
Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority
Gloucestershire County Council
Hereford and Worcester Combined Fire Authority
Lichfield District Council
Scarborough Borough Council
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council
South Shropshire District Council
Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Tewkesbury Borough Council
Warwick District Council
Warwickshire County Council
West Mercia Police Authority
West Oxfordshire District Council
Wokingham District Council
Worcestershire County Council
Wychavon District Council
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether expenditure by a local authority on a local council tax discount under the Local Government Act 2003 for victims of flooding is eligible for funding under the Bellwin scheme. [153504]
John Healey: The statutory power for Bellwin grant is section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. This section only permits the Secretary of State to provide financial assistance in respect of expenditure incurred by a local authority. Reductions in income arising out of council tax foregone are therefore not eligible for Bellwin grant.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to the operation of the Bellwin Scheme since May 1997. [153508]
John Healey: On 7 July the Prime Minister announced special changes to the Bellwin scheme for the June floods to make it easier for local councils to claim back additional costs. These changes allow local authorities to reclaim 100 per cent. of their costs above threshold (up from 85 per cent.) and to claim costs incurred in the six months following the incident (up from two months). We have also invited local authorities to make interim claims before the expiry of the six months qualifying expenditure period.
A further Bellwin scheme has been activated in respect of the July floods, incorporating the same special changes.
Commission on Integration and Cohesion
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for her Department to publish a formal response to the report of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion. [153515]
Mr. Dhanda: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has said that she will publish a formal response to the report on the Commission on Integration and Cohesion in the autumn.
Community Development: Bedfordshire
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding was provided by (a) the Government, (b) Bedfordshire local authorities and (c) others to the Bedfordshire Citizen Service Partnership. [149431]
John Healey: The amount of funds received by Bedfordshire Citizen Service Partnership from the Government was £1.78 million from the Local e-Government Programme and £1.24 million from the Invest to Save budget.
Details of funding provided by Bedfordshire local authorities and/or received from others should be available from the Bedfordshire authorities.
Community Development: Thames Gateway
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to ensure that adequate funding is made available for statutory agencies to (a) deliver the social infrastructure required to meet the needs of the new Thames Gateway communities and (b) ensure that they are fully sustainable. [149778]
Yvette Cooper: The Government are investing heavily in infrastructure and services for people in the Thames Gateway, with billions spent on education, health and transport. Since 2003, growth area funding also supports parks and green spaces in the Thames Gateway, and the Thames Gateway Draft Strategic Framework set out the need to involve existing communities in the development of the Gateway. We will be in a position to announce future spending in the Thames Gateway following the Comprehensive Spending Review.
We know that achieving our ambitions in the Thames Gateway is about more than just housing and jobs. With this in mind, we have established a cross Government senior level Board to ensure that policy and spending is joined up and will deliver the types of sustainable communities that people will choose to live in both now and in the future.
Council Housing: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Austin Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which stock option each local authority with council housing has chosen to meet the decent homes standard; whether tenants have supported or rejected the strategy in each
case; and what the performance rating is of the housing service (number of stars and expectations of future performance) in the case of retaining authorities and those that plan to set up an arms length management organisation. [151901]
Yvette Cooper: A table showing the information requested, with explanatory notes, has been placed in the Library of the House. We do not have up to date housing performance information for all local authorities and this is reflected in the table.
All delivery options have received tenant support as part of the Options Appraisal process, or as part of the application process for an individual programme where the application predated 2003.
Council Tax: Pensioners
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost of an automatic 50 per cent. discount on council tax for pensioners in England. [150628]
John Healey: The Department has made no such estimate.
Council Tax: Second Homes
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of how local authorities make use of the additional income raised through the discretionary council tax levy they can raise from second homes; and what proportion of resources are deployed to contribute to meeting local housing need. [150937]
John Healey: Since April 2004 local authorities have had discretionary powers to set the council tax discount offered on second homes at any point between 10 per cent. and 50 per cent. and on long term empty homes at any point between 0 per cent. and 50 per cent. It is up to local authorities to decide how to use this power and what they do with the additional income generated.
Communities and Local Government have made no assessment of how local authorities make use of the income generated through reducing the discount.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much her Department paid to local authorities to compensate them for the income foregone through the 50 per cent. council tax discount available for second home owners in each year for which records are available since 2000; [150938]
(2) how much subsidy has been paid to local authorities to compensate them for the 50 per cent. council tax discount available for second home owners since the council tax system was introduced. [150940]
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