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18 Dec 2007 : Column 1344W—continued
Regional Government: East of England
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what engagements the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield has attended in her capacity as Minister for the East of England since her appointment. [174236]
Mr. Dhanda: The Minister for the East of England, my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage has met chief executives and leaders from local authorities as part of a programme of regional visits. My hon. Friend has also held a wide range of meetings and discussions with the Regional Development Agency, Regional Assembly, Learning Skills Council and Civil Servants. The Regional Minister has also undertaken high profile press events to understand the impact of Avian Influenza and the response to the Coastal Surge that affected the region. Engagements include the following:
Regional Government: South East Region
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) date and (b) purpose has been of each visit made by the Minister for the South East to (i) Kent, (ii) Sussex,
(iii) Surrey, (iv) Hampshire, (v) the Isle of Wight, (vi) Oxfordshire, (vii) Buckinghamshire and (viii) Berkshire. [174656]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 17 December 2007]: My hon. Friend the Minister for the South East has undertaken a number of visits across the South East region as set out in the following table:
[Official Report, 16 January 2008; Vol. 470, c. 11MC.]Regional Planning and Development
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of local planning authorities have had the core strategies of their Local Development Framework approved by the Government; and what her Department's targets are in this regard. [173297]
Mr. Iain Wright: As of 5 December 2007, 18 core strategies have been found sound at independent examination. This represents 5 per cent. of all local authorities in England.
The cross-governmental PSA no. 20 on Housing Supply has as its sixth indicator "Local Planning authorities to have adopted the necessary Development Plan Documents, in accordance with their Local Development Schemes, to bring forward developable land for housing in line with PPS3". The "national target" under this heading is "By March 2011, 80 per cent. of local planning authorities to have adopted the necessary Development Plan Documents, in accordance with their agreed Local Development Scheme”. This is the Government's target.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for (a) panel reports on each of the regional spatial strategies to be delivered to her Department and (b) her response to each report. [174540]
Mr. Dhanda: The timetable (indicative) sets out the actual dates or anticipated dates when panel reports and the Secretary of State's proposed changes for the eight English RSSs will be published
1. Panel reports on the following draft RSSs have been published.
| Panel r eport | |
2. Panel reports on the following draft RSSs are expected.
| Panel r eport | |
3. The proposed changes on the following draft RSSs have been published.
| Proposed changes | |
4. The proposed changes on the following draft RSSs are expected.
| Proposed changes | |
The Secretary of State considers the recommendations in the panel report and representations made on the draft RSS before publishing proposed changes, which are then subject to further consultation before being finalised.
Regional Planning and Development: Greenbelt
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the number of dwellings that will be built on land (a) designated and (b) previously designated as green belt in (i) 2007 and (ii) each year under the proposed regional spatial strategies. [171500]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information on how many dwellings may be built on designated or previously-designated green belt land is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, decisions about the use of land which is designated as green belt, or whether land should be designated as green belt, must be taken in accordance with the policy in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 on green belts. This policy has performed an important role in preventing urban sprawl and protecting the countryside for 50 years. The Government remain committed to current green belt policy and has no intention of making fundamental changes to the policy. The Government are also committed to building at least 60 per cent. of new dwellings on previously-developed ("brownfield") land. In 2006 74 per cent. of new dwellings were built on previously-developed land, compared to 56 per cent. in 1997.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for which regulators and inspectorates her Department has had responsibility in each year since 1997; what the budget was of each such body in each year; and what the cost to the public purse was of any restructuring of each such body in each year. [175314]
Hazel Blears: The Department sponsors the following ‘independent regulators’ as identified by the Better Regulation Task Force in their report published on 1 October 2003: the Architects Registration Board, the Audit Commission, the Housing Corporation and the Standards Board for England. Details of these bodies’ funding from Government and gross expenditure is set out in Cabinet Office’s annual ‘Public Bodies’ directory and on the Department’s website for 2007 at:
The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) is an executive agency of this Department. PINS’ annual report and accounts can be found at:
Repairs and Maintenance: Finance
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average annual real terms change in the 2008-09 management and maintenance allowance would be required for the average allowance in England to reach the real terms level of management and maintenance expenditure set out in the estimate of the Need to Spend on Maintenance and Management in Local Authority Housing, published in June 2003 by 2010-11. [163509]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department has not produced any sufficiently robust estimates of what average annual real terms change in the 2008-09 management and maintenance allowance would be required for the average allowance in England to reach, by the Decent Homes target year 2010-11, the real terms level of management and maintenance expenditure set out in the estimate of the Need to Spend on Maintenance and Management in Local Authority Housing published in June 2003, but intends to undertake rigorous analysis on management and maintenance needed to be spent as part of the review of the HRA subsidy system.
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