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18 Feb 2008 : Column 39W—continued
We expect 2006-07 data on housing capital expenditure to be available shortly.
Housing: Thames Gateway
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built in the Thames Gateway area since 2003. [184724]
Caroline Flint: The number of new build completions for local authorities that intersect the Thames Gateway is estimated as 44,700 dwellings between April 2003 until March 2007. It is estimated that 26,400 of these dwellings lie within the Thames Gateway boundary.
Source:
New build completions from P2 returns submitted by local authorities and National House Building Council (NHBC).
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes built since 1 January 2003 in the Thames Gateway area have been located on brownfield land; and if she will make a statement. [184835]
Caroline Flint: It is estimated that approximately 23,000 dwellings were built on previously-developed (“brownfield”) land in the Thames Gateway between 2003 and 2006. This is 87 per cent. of all new dwellings in the Thames Gateway. Data for 2007 and 2008 are not yet available.
This is based on analysis using land use change statistics and housebuilding completions figures.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the terms of reference are of the housing audit to be undertaken by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in respect of the Thames Gateway area; and if she will make a statement. [184836]
Caroline Flint: Between 2004 and 2007 the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), completed a national audit of the design quality of new and private housing development in England. The criteria applied in the audit were based on those used by Building for Life, a joint initiative of the CABE, the House Builders Federation and the Civic Trust.
CLG will be asking CABE to repeat its audit for the Thames Gateway area in 2010 and 2015 to report on progress towards improving design quality. This work has not been formally commissioned from CABE yet.
Intimidation
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cases of bullying have been reported in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last 12 months. [182838]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department for Communities and Local Government have had no cases of bullying reported in the last 12 months. The Department’s agencies have had four cases of bullying reported in this period.
We cannot further disaggregate that number by month or by Executive agency to protect the identity of the individuals concerned.
Kent
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funds in the form of (a) revenue payments, (b) capital grants and (c) supported borrowing for which her Department is responsible have been made available to (i) Kent County Council, (ii) Thanet District Council and (iii) Dover District Council in 2007-08. [183061]
John Healey: The following table sets out the amount of (a) revenue payments and (b) capital grants which this Department plans to make in 2007-08 to (i) Kent county council, (ii) Thanet district council and (iii) Dover district council.
| £ million | ||||
| Kent CC | Thanet DC | Dover DC | Total | |
No supported borrowing has been offered by this Department.
Land: Southlands Hospital, Shoreham-by-Sea
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what discussions her Department has had with developers about the use of surplus land at Southlands hospital in Shoreham-by-Sea; [186799]
(2) what plans she has for the disposal of land at Southlands Hospital, Shoreham-by-Sea, deemed surplus for requirements. [186798]
Caroline Flint: English Partnerships acquired part of the Southlands hospital site (4.4ha) in 2006, one of a portfolio of 96 sites acquired by them from the Department of Health. The remainder of the site did not transfer to English Partnerships and remains in the ownership of the NHS Trust.
Approximately 0.6 ha of the site owned by English Partnerships has been reserved for West Sussex county council to accommodate a new 60-bed care home which is currently under construction. On the remainder of the site English Partnerships has undergone an intensive due diligence and competitive marketing process and is currently negotiating with a developer who will then acquire the site under a building license. A joint planning application will soon be submitted for a minimum of 200 homes with 35 per cent. affordable housing, as required by the local authority, and the subsequent development will achieve both English Partnerships' own quality standards and Level 3 of the code for sustainable homes. Buildings on the site which are deemed of architectural merit and are capable of conversion will be refurbished.
In addition to providing high-quality and affordable homes, English Partnerships is also working with Adur district council to ensure that community facilities are integrated into the overall scheme.
Landlords: Licensing
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have designated areas where landlords must be licensed; and, in each case, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of such designations. [185688]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following local authorities have been granted approval to administer selective licensing schemes under part 3 of the Housing Act 2004.
| Local authority | Designation | Date of commencement |
Implementation of the schemes is conducted at a local level, and local authorities are required to monitor and review the designations under section 84 of the 2004 Act.
Licensed Premises
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 1146W, on licensed premises, what the permitted hours are that the Eland Darts Club may supply alcohol; and how much was spent on the venue in the last year for which figures are available. [182043]
Mr. Dhanda: The Darts Club in Eland House, which is entirely self-financing, is licensed to sell alcohol between the hours of 12.30 pm to 11.00 pm Monday to Friday except bank holidays, although it only opens for a very small proportion of those hours. The club has run a bar since at least 1972. No money was spent on the venue in the last year.
Local Authorities: Public Participation
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she is monitoring the expenditure of local authorities on local involvement networks. [185579]
John Healey: There are no plans to monitor the expenditure of local authorities on Local Involvement Networks (LIN).
LIN funding is part of the Department of Health’s contribution to the Area Based Grant, payment of which is administered by Communities and Local Government.
Area Based Grant is a general (non-ring fenced) grant to local authorities without terms and conditions attached.
Local Authorities: Small Businesses
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities had signed the Small Business Friendly Concordat by 31 January 2008; and what proportion of local authorities in England this represents. [186006]
John Healey: Records maintained by Communities and Local Government indicate that currently 163 local authorities in England have signed up to the Small Business Friendly Concordat, approximately 42 per cent. of councils. A list of local authorities that have adopted the Concordat is available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovemment/efficiency better/nationalprocurementprogramme/nationalprocurement strategy/smallbusinessfriendly/authoritieswhohave/
Local Government Finance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of (a) aggregate external finance and (b) local authority revenue expenditure will be ring-fenced in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09 (A) including and (B) excluding the dedicated schools grant element. [171633]
John Healey: Including dedicated schools grant (DSG), the level of ring-fencing of aggregate external finance (AEF) to local authorities is £36.0 billion or 53.9 per cent. in 2007-08 and will be £36.0 billion or 51.8 per cent. in 2008-09. Excluding DSG, the comparable levels are £7.9 billion or 20.4 per cent. and £6.9 billion or 17.1 per cent. respectively.
Information on local authority revenue expenditure for 2007-08 will not be available until towards the end of 2008 when revenue outturn statistics are published. Similarly local authority revenue expenditure outturn for 2008-09 will not be available until towards the end of 2009.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the real terms change in Government grant for local authorities was (a) excluding ring fenced schools grants and the same proportion of the education standard spending assessment as the schools formula spending share represented in 2003-04 of the educational formula spending share in each of the years 1997-98 to 2002-03, (b) excluding ring fenced school grants and the schools formula spending share in each year from 2003-04 to 2005-06 and (c) (i) including and (ii) excluding ring fenced school grants in (A) 2006-07 and (B) 2007-08; and what the real terms change is expected to be (1) including and (2) excluding ring fenced school grants in (x) 2008-09, (y) 2009-10 and (z) 2010-11. [185385]
John Healey [holding answer 7 February 2008]: Standard spending assessments and formula spending shares were grant distribution mechanisms, and were not elements of Government grant. It is not therefore an appropriate basis on which to calculate grant in the manner suggested in relation to (a) and (b). It is also not possible to calculate the increase for 2006-07 for (c), because there is no comparable figure for 2005-06.
The real terms increase in Government grant for 2007-08 to 2010-11 including ring-fenced schools grants on a like for like basis is as follows:
| Percentage | |
The real terms increase in Government grant excluding ring-fenced schools grants on a like for like basis is as follows:
| Percentage | |
Local Government Finance: Cheshire
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding has been allocated by her Department, its associated agencies and non-departmental bodies to (a) Warrington and (b) Cheshire in each year since 1997; and for what purpose the funds have been allocated in each case. [185587]
John Healey [holding answer 7 February 2008]: The following tables set out the payments made by this Department to (a) Warrington borough council and (b) Cheshire county council since 2002. Information on funding prior to 2002-03 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| (a) Warrington borough council | |||||||
| £ million | |||||||
| Programme | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08( 1) | Total |
| (1) Forecast (2) From 2006-07 Revenue Support Grants were reduced due to the transfer of funding to the Department for Children, Schools and Families for Dedicated School Grant. | |||||||
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