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18 Mar 2008 : Column 972W—continued
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department's target for 240,000 dwellings to be built annually includes a target for each region. [194412]
Mr. Iain Wright: Detailed housing targets are not directly set by government, but are set out in regional and local plans which are developed through regional and local planning processes.
The Housing Green Paper, “Homes for the Future: more affordable, more sustainable” (CM 7191), published in July 2007, set out a target to increase housing supply to 240,000 additional homes per annum by 2016.
The Green Paper included a commitment to early reviews of housing provision in Regional Spatial Strategies, where appropriate, completed by 2011, to reflect these plans for homes.
Ipsos MORI
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2008, Official Report, column 117W, on Ipsos MORI, what payments her Department's agencies have made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. [193900]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department's agencies have no record of any payments made to Ipsos Mori in the last 24 months.
Leisure: Facilities
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what guidance her Department issues to local authorities which opt to use a leisure trust model for the management of local leisure facilities; [193005]
(2) what the basis is for her Department's statement that local leisure trust-managed facilities' exemption from VAT payment benefits the local community; [193006]
(3) what safeguards her Department requires local authorities to put in place in circumstances where a local leisure management system is unable to continue to operate; [193007]
(4) whether it is mandatory for local authorities to conduct a tendering process for the management of local leisure facilities; [193008]
(5) which leisure trust-managed local leisure facilities have ceased to operate in England since 1997. [193009]
Mr. Dhanda: Subject to their legal duties, including the duty of best value and public procurement law, local authorities are responsible for taking their own procurement decisions. Communities and Local Government have not issued guidance to local authorities which opt to use a leisure trust model for the management of local leisure facilities. However, every local authority is under a statutory duty to establish an adequate and effective system of financial management and arrangements for the management of risk. The authority's chief finance officer also has duties to report to the council on proposed decisions or actions that would be unlawful or likely to cause a loss.
Queries about the VAT affairs of arrangements made by a leisure trust should be referred to HM Revenue and Customs. Where a chosen local leisure management system is unable to operate it would be for the local authority to make decisions about future arrangements.
The duty of best value, as laid down in legislation, requires authorities to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which they exercise their functions, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. It is for them to decide, in the first place, whether the duty of best value can only be met by conducting a tendering exercise. Following the recent consultation exercise, current best value guidance set out in ODPM Circular 03/2003 will be replaced by the new ‘Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities’ guidance. The draft consultation guidance made clear that local authorities should adopt practices that are fair and open, that is, neutral between different types of providers and should ensure that any procurement decision, including retaining services in-house, is undertaken and justified in an open and transparent way. Any specific complaints that best value is not being met in a particular set of circumstances would need to be addressed in the first instance to the authority’s external auditor.
Information on which leisure trust-managed local leisure facilities have ceased to operate in England since 1997 is not held centrally.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to require all new local authority leisure centre contracts to be subject to external tender. [193215]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 11 March 2008]: Subject to their legal duties, including the duty of best value and public procurement law, local authorities are responsible for taking their own procurement decisions. Communities and Local Government have not issued guidance to local authorities which opt to use a leisure trust model for the management of local leisure facilities. However, every local authority is under a statutory duty to establish an adequate and effective system of financial management and arrangements for the management of risk. The authority's chief finance officer also has duties to report to the council on proposed decisions or actions that would be unlawful or likely to cause a loss.
Queries about the VAT affairs of arrangements made by a leisure trust should be referred to HM Revenue and Customs. Where a chosen local leisure management system is unable to operate it would be for the local authority to make decisions about future arrangements.
The duty of best value, as laid down in legislation, requires authorities to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which they exercise their functions, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. It is for them to decide, in the first place, whether the duty of best value can only be met by conducting a tendering exercise. Following the recent consultation exercise, current best value guidance set out in ODPM Circular 03/2003 will be replaced by the new ‘Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities’ guidance. The draft consultation guidance made clear that local authorities should adopt practices that are fair and open, that is, neutral between different types of providers and should ensure that any procurement decision, including retaining services in-house, is undertaken and justified in an open and transparent way. Any specific complaints that best value is not being met in a particular set of circumstances would need to be addressed in the first instance to the authority's external auditor.
Information on which leisure trust-managed local leisure facilities have ceased to operate in England since 1997 is not held centrally.
Local Authorities: Regional Planning and Development
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what her Department’s policy is on local authorities which set building targets in their local development frameworks which differ from those in a regional spatial strategy; [194261]
(2) in what respects the new regional spatial strategies are binding on local planning authorities. [194263]
Mr. Dhanda: The regional spatial strategy provides a spatial framework that informs Development Plan Documents, which must be in general conformity with the regional spatial strategy.
Development Plan Documents are tested for general conformity with the regional spatial strategy as part the examination of their soundness. If a Local Development Document is found to be unsound it cannot be adopted.
Local Authority Business Growth Incentives Scheme
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding her Department will allocate to local authorities under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive scheme in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [194818]
John Healey:
To allow us to take a detailed look at the lessons learnt from the original scheme, and to consult widely and introduce the best possible outcomes from a reformed scheme, the Government plan to introduce
a reformed Local Authority Business Growth Incentives (LABGI) scheme from 2009-10, with resources of £50 million doubling to £100 million in its second year, as the scheme becomes incorporated into the mainstream system of funding.
Just under £400 million remains to be allocated under the original three-year LABGI scheme. An announcement about the allocation of this funding will be made shortly.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what datasets are used in the calculation of the allocation of formula grant to local authorities. [194290]
John Healey: Annex D of the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2008-09 (HC 262) contains the description of each of the indicators used in the calculation of the allocation of formula grant.
More detailed definitions are available as supporting material on the Local Government Finance website at:
Local Government Finance: Newcastle-Under-Lyme
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will initiate an investigation into the misallocation of local authority business growth incentive funds to Newcastle-under-Lyme and report the results to Parliament. [194260]
John Healey: The circumstances which led to the overpayment of Local Authority Business Growth Incentives scheme funding to Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council have already been reviewed. The error was identified by officials in the course of checking the underlying calculations. It came about as a result of mis-transposition of data relating to Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council and Newcastle city council. We are taking steps to minimise the risk of similar errors being made in the future.
Local Government Finance: Planning
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of housing and planning delivery grant will be allocated towards a local authority planning department's costs. [194294]
Mr. Iain Wright:
The Government published draft allocation criteria for the housing and planning delivery grant (HPDG) for consultation in October 2007, which closed on 17 January. We will set out final allocation criteria in due course taking account of the views
expressed in the consultation. HPDG amounts to £510 million over three years. As set out in the consultation, HPDG allocations will be unringfenced, so local authorities in receipt of the grant will themselves be able to decide how best to use their allocations, according to local priorities.
Local Government: Public Participation
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps her Department is taking to encourage local authorities to allow the public to (a) present petitions and (b) speak at sessions of full council meetings; [194870]
(2) whether she has had recent discussions on steps to encourage public participation in full local authority council meetings. [194871]
Mr. Dhanda: On 27 December 2007 Communities and Local Government published the ‘Local Petitions and Calls for Action Consultation’, which seeks views on a proposed duty on local authorities to respond to local petitions. The consultation will close on 20 March.
Encouraging public participation in local authority full council meetings is not current Government policy, and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has not had any recent discussions on this matter.
Maps: EC Law
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what new responsibilities implementation of EU Directive 2007/2/EC (INSPIRE) will place upon (a) her Department, (b) local authorities and (c) Ordnance Survey. [194023]
Mr. Iain Wright: Responsibilities will depend on the specific, yet to be agreed, requirements of the INSPIRE directive and their transposition into UK legislation. However, we do not anticipate any new responsibilities for (a) the Department, (b) local authorities or (c) Ordnance Survey.
New Local Government Network
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answers to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 47W, on New Local Government Network, if she will (a) list the value and purpose of each of the 10 payments and (b) the research which the department commissioned. [194365]
John Healey: The information is as follows.
Non-Domestic Rates: Tax Rates and Bands
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the revenue foregone from national non-domestic rates in the last three financial years from (a) small business rate, (b) empty property, (c) charity and non-profit-making, (d) rural business and (e) severe hardship rate relief. [193245]
John Healey: Details of the level of relief granted from national non-domestic rates in England in the last three financial years for 2004-05 to 2006-07 were published in the statistical release of 26 September 2007 and are available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 1154W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, what geographical, spatial or geo-demographic indicators or datasets the agency is using to assist its analysis of the role of location in the proposed automated valuation model. [193911]
John Healey: On the assumption that the “agency” referred to in the hon. Member’s question is the Valuation Office Agency I can confirm that the geographical, spatial and geo-demographic indicators or datasets in use to assist its analysis of the role of location are:
1. Property address including postcode
2. Sublocation.
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