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18 Feb 2008 : Column 11W—continued
Community Relations
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff are employed by her Department on the Prevent aspect of Project contest. [183320]
Mr. Dhanda: As of the end of December 2007, 22 civil servants were employed full-time and one civil servant are employed part-time by the Department for Communities and Local Government to work on the PREVENT strand of the CONTEST Strategy.
Council Housing: Tenants
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the proposal that tenants should be actively seeking work will apply to (a) council tenants, (b) tenants of registered social landlords, (c) existing tenants, (d) new tenants and (e) registered social landlord tenants on partial purchase schemes; and what account was taken of (i) secure and assured tenancies and (ii) the obligation on local authorities to re-house families with children in deciding on the proposal. [185604]
Caroline Flint: At my speech to the Fabian Society's conference on 5 February, which can be read at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/corporate/fabian societyaddress
I called for a wide ranging debate about how best to tackle the challenge of worklessness in social housing, examining the full range of options. Development of future policy proposals will be informed by this debate.
Professor John Hills' report, ‘Ends and Means: the future roles of social housing in England’, found that over half of social tenants of working age are without work. This represents a huge waste of potential and a challenge we must address.
Social housing has, and will continue to have, a crucial role as a safety net for the most vulnerable. But it should not only be a safety net. It should also provide a platform for people to get on with their lives, and improve their skills and prospects.
Council Tax: Debt Collection
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have a policy of using bailiff services in pursuit of council tax arrears. [186234]
John Healey: The Department does not hold this information.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has provided to local authorities on issuing bankruptcy orders in pursuit of council tax arrears; how many local authorities have issued such orders; and how many such orders have been issued in total by local authorities since 1991-92. [186446]
John Healey: The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/613) provide local authorities with a range of powers to enforce payment of council tax from those who refuse to pay. The Department does not issue guidance to local authorities on the issuing of bankruptcy orders or hold information on the number of orders issued by local authorities.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she has taken to reduce her Department's carbon dioxide emissions in 2008-09. [181844]
Mr. Dhanda: Communities and Local Government has undertaken various measures to reduce its carbon emissions in 2008-09.
These include fitting variable speed drives, installing a new boiler, and upgrading a building environmental management system. Automated meters are also being installed at our HQ building to facilitate improved energy monitoring.
We are actively rationalising our estate to reduce our total footprint. And to assist this programme, we are piloting a flexible desking initiative which ensures higher utilisation of available workstations therefore reducing the overall office space required.
We are also currently assessing the feasibility of installing voltage power optimisation equipment and we continue to investigate options for on-site micro-renewable technologies.
Numerous smaller projects are scheduled in 2008-09 to further reduce our carbon emissions, and surveys are being conducted to identify opportunities. All of these activities and opportunities will be fed into our energy efficiency action plan to help monitor progress against our reduction targets.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Mr. Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Freedom of Information requests her Department received in each year since 2005; and how many of those requests were refused. [183799]
Mr. Dhanda: The Government have published two annual reports that contain statistical information about how many requests have been received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) and how many have been refused. These reports can be found at the following address:
Data are currently being collected across monitored bodies in order to produce the 2007 annual report and monitoring report for the fourth quarter of the year. However, monitoring reports for the first three quarters of 2007 can be found at the following address:
Departmental ICT
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) personal digital assistants and (c) laptop computers issued to departmental staff were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen since 2001. [184324]
Mr. Dhanda: Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. The information in the table goes back to May 2002, and includes data for CLG’s predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (which was formed on 29 May 2002) and its Agencies. The data requested prior to this date are not held centrally and therefore cannot be provided.
| Status | Mobile phones | Digital assistants | Laptops |
| (1) This includes 2 x laptops from the Fire Service College and recorded as lost at the time of the answer of 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1616W, to the Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) but subsequently reported as stolen. | |||
The official data on each of the laptops were not encrypted, because none of the information was classified. However, each laptop was password protected.
This answer does not include Government Office for the Region who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of her Department’s personal digital assistants were (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last five years; and what the value of those items was. [185280]
Mr. Dhanda: There have been no digital assistants reported as lost or stolen.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) press and (b) communications officers her Department employed in each of the last 10 years. [182524]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department was established in 2006.
The Department employed 22 press officers in FY 2006-07. There are currently 20 press officers in post.
The Department does not have a “communications officer” grade. The hon. Member may wish to refer to The White Book, published by COI. This is available in the Library of the House and contains a listing for members of the Department's Communications Directorate. The book is updated twice yearly.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department has purchased products featuring departmental or Government branding in the last five years. [185341]
Mr. Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 January 2008, Official Report, column 1473W.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the special advisers employed in her Department and its predecessors since 6 May 1997; and what the (a) start and (b) end date of employment was in each case. [184363]
Mr. Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 1156W, to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather).
Departmental Public Relations
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many external contracts her Department held with public relations companies since its inception; and what the total cost of those contracts was. [183191]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested is available on the Department’s website at:
This is the reply to a recent freedom of information request seeking information about the Department’s dealings with public relations and public affairs firms, since 2002.
Departmental Vehicles
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vehicles were (a) owned and (b) purchased by her Department and its predecessor in each of the last 10 years. [178920]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department was formed in 2002 and information prior to this date could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department does not manage a fleet of motor vehicles for use by staff.
However, the Department has procured and owns vehicles in connection with the Fire and Resilience Division and in particular the New Dimensions Programme, for use in a major accident or disaster by emergency services personnel.
The Vehicles are listed as follows:
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