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18 Mar 2008 : Column 978W—continued
Ordnance Survey
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she had with other Government Departments on Ordnance Survey's new Public Task before approving it. [193686]
Mr. Iain Wright: Shareholder Executive conducted discussions with senior officials in Ordnance Survey and Communities and Local Government before submitting the Public Task document to Ministers. Ministers approved the Public Task document in July 2007.
Planning Permission
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's policy is on whether use of a property as a second home should require planning permission. [194295]
Mr. Iain Wright: The planning system is concerned with the use of land, and decisions on planning applications can be made only on the basis of land-use planning considerations. Whether a person purchasing a property already has a main residence elsewhere is not a land-use planning consideration. To take into account factors and information that had no relevance to a decision on a planning matter would be ultra vires.
Planning Permission: Greater London
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers the Mayor of London has in relation to the negotiation of section 106 agreements for planning applications in London; and if she will make a statement. [194590]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Mayor has no powers in relation to the negotiation of section 106 agreements for planning applications determined by London boroughs acting as local planning authorities. In future, under powers in the Greater London Authority Act 2007 which come into force on 6 April 2008, the Mayor will have power to determine certain strategically important planning applications in place of the local planning authority and, as a consequence, the Act grants the Mayor power to agree any section 106 agreements related to those applications.
Referendums
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will encourage the use of referendums to promote community engagement in the forthcoming White Paper. [194835]
Mr. Dhanda: The forthcoming Empowerment White Paper will explore a range of ways to unlock talent in local communities and give people a real say on improving local services and promoting active citizenship. More specific details will be set out in the final version, scheduled for publication in the summer.
Regional Government: Brussels
Mr. Pickles:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007, Official Report,
column 1344W, on regional government: Brussels, what guidance has been given to the European regional offices on whether they are public authorities for the purposes of (a) the Environmental Information Regulations and (b) the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [195003]
Mr. Dhanda: The offices in Brussels are facilities used by the regional assemblies and their partners. They are not separate organisations for the purposes of either the Environmental Information Regulations or the Freedom of Information Act, so no guidance is necessary.
Regional Planning and Development: East Midlands
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 15 January 2008, Official Report, columns 1168-69W, and of 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 51W, on Regional Planning and Development: East Midlands, if she will place in the Library a copy of each formal submission on each regional spatial strategy made by Labour hon. Members. [194364]
Mr. Dhanda: Formal submissions made by individuals and bodies on the draft RSSs are in the public domain and can be viewed via accessing the websites for each of the English regions in the following list.
http://www.yhassembly.gov.uk/News/2007/Assembly%20welcomes%20publication%20of%20RSS%20 panel%20report/
Regional Resilience Forums: Finance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the budget of each regional resilience forum is for the financial year 2007-08. [194814]
Mr. Dhanda: Regional resilience forums do not have a dedicated budget. The forum is a process by which the organisations with an interest in regional civil protection issues co-operate with each other. It is not a statutory body as such, nor does it have powers to direct its members.
Squatting
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to (a) police and (b) local authorities on managing squatters in the last three years. [193939]
Mr. Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government has not issued any guidance to the police and/or local authorities on the specific issue of managing squatters, in this period.
Temporary Accommodation: Eastbourne
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many families in Eastbourne constituency were (a) on temporary housing waiting lists and (b) placed in temporary housing in each year since 1997. [192087]
Mr. Iain Wright: Housing waiting lists (housing registers) are for permanent, social housing. The numbers recorded on the housing register in Eastbourne were as follows:
| As at 1 April each year( 1) | Households | Requiring 3 or 3+ bedrooms( 2) |
| (1) Data prior to 2001 not readily available. (2) Households registering state number of bedrooms required, from 1-2, 3, or 3+. Source: CLG HSSA and HIP annual returns from local authorities. | ||
Local authorities place some homeless households in temporary accommodation while permanent housing solutions can be found. The number of people being accepted as owed the main homelessness duty has fallen significantly in recent years, with fewer households going into temporary accommodation.
In Eastbourne, the number of households in temporary accommodation were as follows:
| As at 1 April each year( 1) | Households | Families with children( 2) | Percentage of families( 2) |
| (1) Data prior to 1999 not readily available. (2) Data prior to 2004 not readily available. Source: CLG P1E quarterly returns from local authorities. | |||
All local authorities have been set a target of reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation by 50 per cent. by 2010. This is from a baseline of numbers at end December 2004. Eastbourne was set a target of 143 households, and that target has been achieved in four separate quarters over the last three years, though not sustained. At the last reported quarter (end of September 2007) Eastbourne was just above the target at 145 households.
Terrorism: Crime Prevention
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable for the publication of the counter-terrorism supplement on planning is; and what plans there are for a consultation to be held on the document. [195000]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government intend to publish during the summer of 2008 the counter-terrorism supplement which will accompany planning policy guidance “Safer Places”. In drafting this supplement the Home Office will be consulting with key stakeholders both within Government, with industry and with professional bodies involved in planning and design.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the sum of financial contributions made under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by developers which remains unspent. [193995]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government have not made an estimate of contributions yet to be spent by local planning authorities. Authorities entering into planning obligations are responsible for their implementation and enforcement to ensure that developer contributions are spent on their intended purpose.
Wind Power: Planning Permission
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to which wind farm proposals her Department has lodged objection in each of the last three years; and for what reasons in each case. [191113]
Mr. Iain Wright: No such objections have been lodged.
Working Neighbourhood Fund: Grants
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date her Department informed local authorities of the most recent Working Neighbourhood Fund Grant allocations. [194020]
John Healey:
I confirmed allocations of Working Neighbourhood Fund allocations on 5 February 2008.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Actinide and Alpha Emitting Research Facilities
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what work has been undertaken at Harwell to upgrade the actinide and alpha emitting research facilities since 1990. [193611]
Malcolm Wicks: There are no facilities at UKAEA Harwell that currently perform research on alpha emitting or actinide radioactive materials. The B220 Radiochemistry Laboratory housed research of this type in the past; however, that facility is undergoing decommissioning.
During the 1990s B220 was upgraded to modern standards in anticipation of receiving a licence from NII. Those upgrades included modifications to the ventilation system, electrical system, fire protection system, and radiological alarm system. In the mid-1990s a suite of shielded cells was commissioned for work on highly radioactive materials. Laboratory modifications were also made to support metallurgical analyses. These facilities are now abandoned and undergoing decommissioning.
The decommissioning process began in 1993 and has resulted in the removal of redundant glove box facilities, laboratory areas, and pressurised suit facilities. Packaging of radium contaminated wastes is proceeding in an area of the facility which contains shielded cells as a part of the Harwell site decommissioning activities.
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