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30 Oct 2007 : Column 1157W—continued
New-build social for rent dwellings only make up part of the affordable supply; the remainder being acquired by registered social landlords or through new build intermediate housing e.g. low-cost home ownership.
Council Housing: Eligibility
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to the eligibility requirements for local authority social housing since May 1997. [152552]
Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member.
Council Tax
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much revenue was raised from council tax in England in 2006-07 (a) in gross terms and (b) net after council tax benefits; and what the forecast estimates are for 2007-08. [157588]
John Healey: The revenue raised from council tax in England in 2006-07 and the forecast for 2007-08 both in (a) gross terms and (b) net after council tax benefits are shown as follows.
| £ million | ||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
Council Tax: Statistics
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what statistics her Department collects on the amount and proportion of unpaid council tax that is written off. [157676]
John Healey: Details of the amount of unpaid council tax that has been written off by local authorities are collected on the quarterly return of council taxes and non-domestic rates (QRC4) form that is completed annually by all billing authorities.
Departments: Accountancy
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what departmental budget items have been reclassified, under consolidated budgeting guidance, following comprehensive spending review 2007 decisions; and what the (a) former and (b) new (i) classification and (ii) sum budgeted is in each case. [160419]
Mr. Dhanda: No budget items for this Department have been reclassified as part of CSR07 decisions.
Departments: Assets
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the (a) description and (b) book value of each such asset is; and what the expected revenue from each such sale is. [160347]
Mr. Dhanda: The central Department has no property assets planned to be sold from 2007-08 to 2010-11. Asset management policy for its other classes of assets is to fully use them up before planned disposal, as nil value waste, rather than as saleable assets. In consequence there are no plans for asset sales by the central part of the Department in the period.
The asset management strategy for the whole Communities and Local Government family is planned to be published in December.
Departments: Civil Proceedings
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many civil law suits have been brought against her Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many were settled out of court, before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements cost the public purse since 1998. [160704]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Cost Effectiveness
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what efficiency savings her Department was required to make as part of its spending review 2004 targets; what efficiency projects have been undertaken in the Department in pursuit of those targets; on what date each was initiated; and how much each was predicted to contribute to the SR04 target. [160554]
Mr. Dhanda:
The details of the workstreams within our efficiency programme, including how much each
was predicted to contribute towards the SR04 target are contained within the efficiency technical note published in December 2005 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Department regularly publishes details on the progress made on meeting its efficiency target, including a breakdown of efficiency savings made in each workstream, in both its annual report and autumn performance report.
Departments: Disabled
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which buildings occupied by her Department (a) are and (b) are not fully accessible to disabled people; and if she will make a statement. [161182]
Mr. Dhanda: Of the 16 buildings occupied by my Department, 14 are considered to be fully accessible, and two are not fully accessible to disabled people.
Where there are access difficulties for disabled people, my Department makes appropriate reasonable adjustments to its arrangements for the recruitment and employment of staff, and the services and functions it delivers to its users, in accordance with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
This answer does not include Government office for the regions who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
Departments: Legislation
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many regulations her Department has (a) brought forward and (b) revoked over the last 12 months. [158734]
Mr. Dhanda: In the period October 2006 to September 2007, Communities and Local Government made 101 statutory instruments (regulations and orders). As part of the regulatory changes made by these instruments 16 statutory instruments were revoked entirely, another was revoked as to England only, and another seven were partially revoked.
The Government have committed to a 25 per cent. reduction in administrative burden arising from regulation by 2010. In delivering this commitment, the Government are also repealing regulations where appropriate.
Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any of her Department’s special advisers have declared a conflict of interest. [160788]
Mr. Dhanda: Special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the ‘Model Contract for Special Advisers’. Copies of the ‘Model Contract’ are available in the Libraries of the House.
Departments: Public Expenditure
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what dates her Department breached its (a) resource, (b) near-cash, (c) administration and (d) capital budgets since 2001; what the value of each breach was; and what the reason was for each breach. [160310]
Mr. Dhanda: No breaches of these budgets have been reported since 2001.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which financial years since 2001 her Department's outturn for its capital budget at the end of the year was less than planned at the beginning of the year; and what the (a) value and (b) reason for the underspend was in each case. [160329]
Mr. Dhanda: The National Audit Office measures spending performance against plans by comparing outturns against final provision following supplementary estimates—rather than against plans at the start of the year—as plans can change during the year for a number of reasons, such as machinery of government and classification changes. The definitive figures for final provision and provisional outturn are published each year in the Public Expenditure Outturns White Paper. Changes to plans arising in-year are published in public expenditure statistical analyses, as are differences between provisional and final outturns.
In recent years, the Department’s capital underspends have been reducing and have generally been below 5 per cent. The exception to this was in 2004-05, when a delay (caused by circumstances outside the Department’s control and known only in the last week of the year) of a £225 million property transfer from NHS Estates to English Partnerships caused a larger underspend.
Underspends which have arisen have generally been as a result of slippage on capital projects or of forecast capital acquisitions, which can occur for various reasons, not always in the control of the Department.
Departments: Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many citizens’ juries have been arranged by her Department since June 2007; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the cost was of each exercise. [159498]
Hazel Blears: The Department has not held any citizens’ juries since June 2007. However, Communities and Local Government will be using juries to consider issues of cohesion, migration and housing. These are in the early stage of being arranged and no formal contracts have yet been issued, and no firm costs or budgets have yet been assigned to these.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many citizens’ juries were arranged for (a) her Department and its predecessor and (b) her Department’s and its
predecessor’s agencies in each year since 1997; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens’ jury; and what the cost was of each. [160009]
Hazel Blears: Data from 1997 is not readily available and would require a significant review of all engagement activities and analysis of the techniques used, extracting costs for citizens’ juries at a disproportionate cost.
Departments: Retirement
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many employees in (a) her Department and (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by her Department applied to continue to work beyond state retirement age in the latest year or part thereof for which figures are available; and how many of those applications were successful. [161298]
Mr. Dhanda: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departments: Written Questions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of questions tabled to her Department for answer on a named day received a substantive reply on the day named in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [161343]
Mr. Dhanda: From the start of the 2006-07 Session (15 November 2006) to 24 October 2007, the Department received 606 questions for answer on a named day of which 344 (56.8 per cent.) received a substantive reply on the day named.
Elections: Northumberland
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many representations she has received in favour of elections to the new Northumberland unitary authority being held in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009. [160813]
John Healey [holding answer 25 October 2007]: We are continuing our dialogue with the affected authorities about election dates on the basis of our discussion paper, “Councils’ Proposals for Unitary Local Government—An Approach to Implementation” published on 22 August. Once we have reached a final view, as reflected in any order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, we will publish a summary of all representations and comments we have received on this matter.
Emergency Services
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the FireControl business case has considered the merits of tri-service emergency centres. [157462]
Mr. Dhanda:
Two independent reports by consultants Mott MacDonald looked at the provision
of control room services including tri-service centres. The reports concluded that efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of fire control services could best be achieved from the amalgamation of existing controls into nine regional control centres. These reports informed the decision to proceed with FireControl.
The FireControl business case sets out the costs and benefits of the FireControl project. It compares the merits of the proposed FireControl arrangements with those of the existing arrangements, which includes the tri-service centres.
Europe Economics: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding her Department has given to Europe Economics in each year since 2002; and for what purpose in the case of each award. [156599]
Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait) on 29 October 2007, Official Report, columns 654-55W.
Fire Service: Manpower
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2007, Official Report, columns 1030-31W, on fire service: manpower, what assessment she has made of the effect of the change in the number of control room operators, managers and other support staff to be employed at each fire control centre. [161392]
Mr. Dhanda: We expect that the total number of staff in the new regional control centres to be around 30 per cent. less than the number currently employed in the control rooms of English fire authorities. As a result we expect there will be efficiency savings.
The forecast staffing numbers will ensure the new system will match or exceed the performance of existing arrangements. The new system will also deliver enhanced resilience and functionality.
The model used to generate forecast staff numbers is based on a range of data and assumptions. The model has been developed involving stakeholders from the fire and rescue service.
The decision on the actual numbers of staff to be employed in each control centre will be for its RCC company to determine.
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