Previous Section Index Home Page

1 Apr 2008 : Column 829W—continued


Fires: Motor Vehicles

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many malicious vehicle fires there have been in each year since 1997. [198060]

Mr. Dhanda: The number of deliberate vehicle fires, in England, attended by fire and rescue services, in each year since 1997 is displayed in the following table. Figures for 2006 are provisional and may be subject to change.

Deliberate fires( 1) in road vehicles, England, 1997-2006( 2)
Road vehicles

1997

35,162

1998

40,090

1999

51,888

2000

58,979

2001

67,158

2002

66,018

2003

61,088

2004

46,660

2005

40,335

2006(2)

34,893

(1) Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003
(2) Provisional

Fires: Schools

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fires there were in schools in England in each month in each of the last five years. [198058]

Mr. Dhanda: Information on the number of fires, in schools, attended by fire and rescue services, in England, in each month from 2002 to 2006 is available in the following table. Data for 2006 are provisional and subject to change.


1 Apr 2008 : Column 830W
Fires( 1) in schools by month of call, England, 2002 to 2006( 2)
Month of call 2002 2003 2004 2005( 2) 2006

Total

1,249

1,232

1,229

1,102

1,068

January

83

86

122

102

106

February

82

103

82

98

92

March

108

140

178

95

117

April

120

96

94

86

85

May

124

120

108

98

95

June

101

96

100

105

103

July

118

82

81

107

87

August

72

94

65

63

51

September

154

125

88

79

68

October

117

110

66

92

72

November

102

93

158

120

110

December

67

87

88

57

82

(1 )Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003.
(2) Provisional.

Government Offices for the Regions: Manpower

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of her Department's staff are allocated to manage the Government office network. [195118]

Mr. Dhanda: On 30 September 2007 this Department employed the equivalent of 690 full-time staff in the Government office network, of which 22 worked in the Regional Co-ordination Unit, which is the corporate centre for the Government office network.

Land Use: Thames Gateway

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much previously developed land which could be used for new development lies within the (a) Thames Gateway and (b) Thames Gateway Interim Plan area. [197243]

Caroline Flint: There is no distinction between the area defined as the Thames Gateway and the area covered by the Thames Gateway Interim Plan. The Thames Gateway Interim Plan notes that some 3,800 hectares of brownfield sites were available in November 2006.

Local Government: Complaints

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints were (a) received, (b) investigated and (c) upheld by the Local Government Ombudsman for England in each year since 1990, broken down by local authority in relation to which the complaint was filed. [194349]

Mr. Dhanda: Information for years 1990-96 has been placed in the Library of the House. For information 1997 to 2007 I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 6 March, Official Report, column 2780W.

Minister for the West Midlands

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2008, Official Report, column 850W, on the Minister for the West Midlands, what the date of each listed visit was. [195909]

Mr. Dhanda: The date of each of the visits made by the Regional Minister for the West Midlands since his appointment up to 11 February 2008 are given in the following table:


1 Apr 2008 : Column 831W
Organisation visited Date of visit (2007)

South Shropshire district council

16 July

A flood-damaged Newbridge nursery/farm at Cleobury Mortimer

16 July

BMW plant at Hams Hall in Coleshill, North Warwickshire

17 September

The Regional Partnership Centre

17 September

The West Midlands Business Council

17 September

The West Midlands Regional Assembly

17 September

The Science City Partnership

17 September

Birmingham city council

29 October

Blitz Games in Leamington Spa

5 November

Telford and Wrekin council

12 November

Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage

12 November

The Ricoh factory

12 November

Keele Science and Business Park

19 November

North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership

19 November

Waterside housing development

19 November

University Quarter in Stoke-on-Trent

3 December

Stoke city council

3 December

Wolverhampton University Science Park

3 December

Wolverhampton Urban Regeneration Company

3 December

Walsall Art Gallery

3 December

Dudley Limestone Caverns

3 December

Business leaders at the West Bromwich Building Society

3 December

The Innovation Centre at Longbridge

10 December

The Guild/Pridmore Estate

10 December

Whitefriars Housing Association

10 December


The following planned visits were included in the answer of 4( )February and subsequently took place on 11 February:

Organisation visited Date of visit (2008)

Government Office West Midlands

11 February

Jobcentre Plus

11 February

Learning and Skills Centre

11 February

West Midlands strategic health authority

11 February

Advantage West Midlands

11 February


Navigation: Thames Estuary

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will commission research on the effect of the availability of pilots on shipping movements in the Thames estuary; and if she will make a statement. [197244]

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.

No; pilotage services on the Thames are a matter for the Port of London Authority as the relevant competent harbour authority.

Planning: Retail Trade

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 10 December 2007, Official Report, column 149W, on planning: retail trade, when she plans to publish a consultation document on proposals to revise Planning Policy Statement 6. [197387]

Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 31 March 2008]: We intend to take forward our Planning White Paper commitment, to replace the need and impact tests with
1 Apr 2008 : Column 832W
a new test which has a strong focus on our town centre first policy, and which promotes competition and improves consumer choice, avoiding the unintended effects of the current need test. We will consult on revisions to Planning Policy Statement 6 shortly.

Regeneration: North East

Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government have taken to promote regeneration in the North East since 1997. [197265]

John Healey: The last 10 years have seen significant progress in ensuring that no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live. In 2001 we set out a radical vision of transformation in our New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal. In the north-east we have promoted regeneration through: Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF); New Deal for Communities (NDC); Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders; and Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders. 17 areas in the region have benefited from these programmes. From this April 14 local authority areas in the region will also benefit from the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund.


Next Section Index Home Page