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15 Jan 2008 : Column 1158W—continued
Empty Property: Farms
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of disused farm buildings in England. [179298]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
English Language
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has spent on English language classes for staff in the last year for which figures are available. [177430]
Mr. Dhanda: My Department has not incurred any expenditure on English language classes for staff.
Fire Services: Costs
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the costs of support services as a percentage of total costs were for each fire authority in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [177437]
Mr. Dhanda: It is not possible to derive meaningful estimates of the cost of support services from the information collected from fire authorities, given the significant differences between years and between authorities in how support services costs are classified in their accounts.
Fire Services: Finance
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what factors were taken into account in determining the 2008-09 North Yorkshire fire and rescue provisional budgetary settlement. [178015]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 14 January 2008]: The distribution of formula grant takes into account the relative needs and potential to raise income locally (resources) of an authority, relative to all other authorities providing the same service. It also contains a central allocation and a floor damping mechanism.
For North Yorkshire fire and rescue the needs component is measured through the Fire and Rescue Relative Needs Formula (RNF) and the Capital Finance RNF. The Fire and Rescue RNF takes into account the resident population, coastline, deprivation, high risk sites, property and societal risk and community fire safety. The capital finance RNF takes into account assumed outstanding debt and supported capital expenditure (revenue).
The resources element uses a measure of the council tax base (number of Band D equivalent properties).
From the proposals for the 2008-09 settlement announced on the 6 December, North Yorkshire will also benefit by £1.71 million from the floor damping mechanism. This will ensure that they receive a 1 per cent. increase in grant on a like for like basis.
Government Offices for the Regions: Consultants
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government Offices of the Regions spent on (a) running costs and (b) programme expenditure on consultants in (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07. [178500]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 14 January 2008]: The Government Offices for the Regions spent the following running cost amounts on consultancy:
| £ | |
The Government Offices receive financial delegations to incur programme expenditure on behalf of the sponsor Departments, however this is recorded against the accounts of the Departments and no central records are retained within the GOs of programme expenditure.
Housing Data Domain Group
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 16 October 2007, Official Report, column 1035W, on the Housing Data Domain Group, whether her Department compiles neighbourhood or local statistics on family breakdown. [176454]
Mr. Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government does not compile neighbourhood or local statistics on family breakdown.
Housing: Construction
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the provisions of the Housing Green Paper relating to house building targets are intended to be applied by planning authorities in determining planning applications currently under consideration or taken into account for planning applications currently subject to appeal before legislation is enacted. [177445]
Mr. Iain Wright: Local planning authorities must determine planning applications in accordance with the statutory development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Government national statements of planning policy, such as planning policy for housing policies set out in Planning Policy Statement 3, and other policy, such as the house building targets set out in the Housing Green Paper ‘Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable’, are capable of being material considerations to be taken into account by local planning authorities, the Planning Inspectorate Agency or other relevant decision taker, in determining planning applications.
It is for the relevant decision taker to determine the weight to be given to any material consideration depending on the circumstances of any individual case.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) houses and bungalows and (b) flats and maisonettes she expects to be built as part of her Department's target of 3,000,000 new homes by 2020; and if she will make a statement. [179247]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government target is in terms of net additional dwellings and is not divided between flats and houses. It is for regional and local planning authorities to plan for an appropriate mix of housing,
Housing: Low Incomes
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimates she has made of (a) the number of affordable houses that will be built by (i) 2010 and (ii) 2020 and (b) the proportion of those that will be accessible. [179348]
Mr. Iain Wright: We announced in the Housing Green Paper an increase of new affordable housing to at least 70,000 per annum by 2010-11. Of these 45,000 homes will be for social rent and 25,000 for low cost home ownership. We have a goal to go further in subsequent years to 50,000 new homes for social rent in the next spending review period.
The number of social rented homes to be provided from 2011-12 will be the subject of further spending reviews.
The Housing Corporation is committed to increasing the number of homes built to Lifetime Homes Standards (LHS) in their 2008 to 2011 Affordable Housing programme and are actively seeking to encourage bids to include LHS in the current bidding round. From 2011, public sector funded homes will be built to LHS.
Housing: Planning
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to amend planning regulations on the conversion of family homes into bed sits. [176739]
Mr. Iain Wright: Under existing planning regulations, the conversion of a dwelling house into bed sits may require planning permission, depending on the characteristics of the proposed domestic arrangements and whether these are deemed to result in a material change of use. The Government recognise that there may be instances where the use of dwelling houses in group occupation may have adverse impacts upon the character and amenity of existing neighbourhoods. We intend to conduct further research into the extent of this problem and possible ways of addressing it. There may be a case for amending the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 to strengthen the ability of local planning authorities to control the proliferation of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). We propose to consult on possible amendments to the Use Classes Order in relation to HMOs later in the year.
Housing: Waiting Lists
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households were on waiting lists for housing in (a) Cleethorpes constituency and (b) Great Grimsby constituency in each year since 1997. [176873]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information is collected at the local authority level. Cleethorpes constituency and Great Grimsby constituency falls within North East Lincolnshire council. The number of households on the waiting list for social housing in North East Lincolnshire council in each year since 1997, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The figures for 2007 will be available by February 2008. The link for this table is as follows:
Specifically, the waiting list for social housing in North East Lincolnshire council in each year since 1997 is given in the following table:
| Households on the waiting list (excludes households looking for transfers)—North East Lincolnshire UA | |
| Number | |
| Note: As reported by local authorities. Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA). | |
Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time. The size of the waiting list is not an indicator of absolute need, it is only useful as a broad indicator of housing demand in an area.
Local Authorities: Planning Permission
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in what circumstances an intention by a local planning authority to issue a temporary planning permission is called in by her Department; how many such call-ins have occurred since 1 January 2005; and if she will make a statement. [178163]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government's policy on calling-in planning applications, including those involving temporary planning permission, was set out by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn) in reply to the former hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Bill Michie) on 16 June 1999, Official Report, column 138. Since 1 January 2005, there has been one planning application seeking temporary planning permission called in for determination by the Secretary of State.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of each bid for unitary status was in 2007, broken down by main budget heading. [174191]
John Healey: We do not hold information on the cost of preparing unitary proposals. The invitation to councils issued on 26 October made clear that it was wholly at the discretion of a council as to whether or not it responded to the invitation to make a proposal for future unitary local government structures in their area. It was for the authorities who submitted proposals to judge the level of resource they would apply to preparing proposals.
Local Government: Housing
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities managing their own housing stock are in (a) positive and (b) negative subsidy. [175008]
Mr. Iain Wright: Lists of authorities managing their own housing stock which were in positive and negative housing revenue account subsidy in 2005-06 (the last year for which we had audited data) are as follows.
Authorities which have retained their stock and are part of the subsidy system, but who had delegated the management of their housing stock to an arm's length management organisation at that time have been omitted from the lists.
Local authorities managing their own housing stock 2005-06
Adur
Alnwick
Arun
Ashford
Aylesbury
Babergh
Barking
Berwick
Blaby
Bolsover
Bournemouth
Bracknell
Braintree
Brentwood
Bridgnorth
Broxbourne
Broxtowe
Cambridge
Cannock
Chase
Canterbury
Caradon
Castle
Morpeth
Castle Point
Chesterfield
Chester-le-Street
Chorley
City of York
Corby
Crawley
Croydon
Dacorum
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