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18 Mar 2008 : Column 963W—continued
Wirral
Worcester
Local Authorities with housing transfer schemes that are likely to involve payment of overhanging debt
Liverpool CC
LB Lambeth
Ribble Valley
LB Lewisham (two partial schemes)
LB Tower Hamlets (seven partial schemes)
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Salford
Manchester CC (two partial schemes)
LB Havering
Council Tax
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much council tax was written off by local authorities in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (a) region and (b) local authority. [194348]
John Healey: A table has been deposited in the Library of the House giving details, by both region and local authority, of the amount of council tax written off by each billing authority in England in 2006-07. The data are reported annually by all billing authorities.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many liability orders for non-payment of council tax bills were handed over to bailiffs by local authorities for collection of council tax in each of the last two years for which figures are available; and how much was successfully recovered by bailiffs, broken down by (a) region and (b) local authority in each year. [194350]
John Healey: Communities and Local Government does not hold this information.
Council Tax: Tax Rates and Bands
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) her Department’s and (b) the Valuation Office Agency’s most recent estimate is of the number and proportion of domestic dwellings in England which are in incorrect council tax bands. [194817]
John Healey: Neither this Department nor the Valuation Office Agency estimate the proportion of domestic dwellings in England which are in incorrect council tax bands. Valuation Officers have a duty to maintain the valuation lists for council tax, and will always take action to correct assessments they consider to be incorrect.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 613W, on council tax: valuation, if she will place in the Library a copy of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's strategy towards future revaluations referred to in the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation programme board minutes. [193916]
John Healey: No such document exists.
Cumbria County Council: Equal Pay
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been (a) provided and (b) spent providing assistance to Cumbria County Council to enable it to meet outstanding equal pay claims; and when this assistance was provided. [194602]
John Healey [holding answer 17 March 2008]: In 2007-08, Communities and Local Government allocated £500 million of capitalisation directions to 46 local authorities, including Cumbria county council, to aid them in managing their equal pay back pay costs. The details of capitalisation used by each authority in 2007-08 will be published on the Department’s website by September 2008. Details of amounts sought or directions issued have not been published in order to avoid prejudicing ongoing negotiations.
No estimates are available of the cost of specific legal actions undertaken by individual authorities.
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of Cumbria county council’s legal actions contesting the national equal pay claim; [194584]
(2) how much Cumbria county council has spent on legal costs in contesting equal pay claims. [194585]
John Healey [holding answer 17 March 2008]: In 2007-08, Communities and Local Government allocated £500 million of capitalisation directions to 46 local authorities, including Cumbria county council, to aid them in managing their equal pay back pay costs. The details of capitalisation used by each authority in 2007-08 will be published on the Department’s website by September 2008. Details of amounts sought or directions issued have not been published in order to avoid prejudicing ongoing negotiations.
No estimates are available of the cost of specific legal actions undertaken by individual authorities.
Departmental Data Protection
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data for which her Department and its agencies are responsible are (a) stored and (b) processed overseas. [191637]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department (including its agencies) does not store or process any data overseas.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of her Department's civil servants were (a) suspended and (b) dismissed for accessing (i) obscene and (ii) other prohibited material on work computers in each of the last five years. [188790]
Mr. Dhanda: No civil servant in the Department for Communities and Local Government has been suspended or dismissed for accessing obscene or any other prohibited material on work computers in each of the last five years.
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 February 2008, Official Report, columns 12-16WS, on departmental expenditure limits, what the cost has been of the National Register of Social Housing to date. [194363]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 25 June 2007, Official Report, columns 151-52W.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Swire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if her Department will (a) follow the Internet Content
Rating Association (ICRA) guidelines and (b) display ICRA's label on the websites for which it is responsible. [191781]
Mr. Dhanda: The Government are committed to safety online for all users, including children. The Central Office for Information is preparing a new set of guidance for many aspects of the Government web estate and we will look to implement this guidance when it becomes available, taking account of the needs of all users.
Departmental Manpower
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff are employed by her Department, including on the Government Office network. [195129]
Mr. Dhanda: On 30 September 2007 the Department employed the equivalent of 2,990 full-time staff. This is the latest published figure from the Office for National Statistics. It includes Communities and Local Government staff working in the Government office network and excludes staff in the Department’s Executive agencies.
Departmental Official Cars
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what make and model of car (a) she and (b) each Minister in her Department selected as their official ministerial car; and what criteria were applied when making the decision in each case. [192440]
Mr. Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend, the hon. Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Jim Fitzpatrick) on 10 March 2008, Official Report, column 8W.
Departmental Retirement
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of her Department's staff retired on the grounds of stress-related illness in each of the last three years. [187884]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department does not record any underlying reason for normal age retirement or voluntary early retirement. No one has been medically retired on the grounds of a stress-related illness in the past three years.
The Department provides confidential access to counsellors for any staff with a stress-related illness. The Department has introduced a stress risk assessment tool to deal with any stress-related illness as soon as identified.
Economic and Monetary Union
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department’s euro changeover plan was last updated. [194587]
Mr. Dhanda: The Communities and Local Government’s euro changeover plan was last updated in June 2007.
Eco-towns: Leicester
Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many objections her Department has received by (a) email, (b) post and (c) other means to the proposed Pennbury eco-town project near Leicester. [193584]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 14 March 2008]: We are aware that some promoters or other commentators have publicised particular proposals for eco-towns. In some instances this has resulted in letters and other representations being received by the Department in relation to these statements.
We expect to publish the shortlist of schemes identified by the preliminary sift in the near future for extensive consultation with the public, wider stakeholders and local authorities.
Empty Property: Rates and Rating
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the amount of unoccupied property rate liability due to be paid by private finance initiative (PFI) contractors in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09; and what allowances have been made for these liabilities in the relevant PFI contracts. [193762]
Mr. Dhanda: All of Communities and Local Government's PFI projects are procured and managed by local authorities. Communities and Local Government supports these projects by providing PFI credits through which a support grant is provided to help authorities meet the capital elements of PFI payments. Communities and Local Government does not have any direct responsibility for the management of local authority PFI contracts; the responsibility for this rests with the relevant local authorities.
The information requested is not held centrally and cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
For a list of local authority PFI projects sponsored by CLG please refer to the HM Treasury signed deals list which can be found on the following address:
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the sums to be paid by her Department in unoccupied property rates in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09. [193772]
Mr. Dhanda: Communities and Local Government expect to receive approximately £335,000 in empty rates relief in respect of 2007-08 relating to properties temporarily partly unoccupied.
No applications for rate relief have yet been identified for 2008-09.
Energy Performance Certificates: Construction
Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for amendments to the RdSAP software used to prepare energy performance certificates to take account of traditional building materials. [193043]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 10 March 2008]: Possible amendments to RdSAP are currently being considered by a SAP/RdSAP working group convened by CLG. This will include whether software changes related to traditional buildings are needed.
Energy: Conservation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made towards an inter-departmental review on the energy performance of existing building stock. [194016]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department continues to work very closely with other Departments on measures to improve energy efficiency in existing homes and, for example, submitted a joint memorandum with the Departments for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; and Innovation, Universities and Skills for the Communities and Local Government Select Committee inquiry into existing homes and climate change. The Department is currently working on an analysis of the energy performance of existing non domestic buildings which will be discussed with other Departments in the normal manner.
Greater London
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2008, Official Report, column 2778W, on Greater London, what receipts have been received from other building occupants in her Department’s central London offices in 2007-08; and what they are expected to be in each of the next four years. [195113]
Mr. Dhanda: The receipts received by Communities and Local Government from other building occupants, in its central London offices in 2007-08, is forecast to be approximately £8.7 million. At present the planned receipts for 2008-09 are £10.2 million.
Housing: Armed Forces
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether homes (a) owned and (b) rented by the Ministry of Defence are covered by the provisions of public requests to order disposal. [194828]
Mr. Dhanda: Part 10 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 makes provision for the disposal of public land, including the specific public request to order disposal (PROD) power. Schedule 16 of the Act lists the specific bodies to whom Part 10 of the Act applies.
As the Ministry of Defence is a Government Department and Government Departments are not listed in Schedule 16 of the Act, public requests to order disposal cannot be applied to any land owned by the Department.
For a PROD to apply, the body concerned or a subsidiary of it must own a freehold or leasehold interest in the property, so any property that is rented would be excluded.
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