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3 Apr 2008 : Column 1246W—continued
Communities and Local Government
Aggregates: South East
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how the amounts set out in the regional guidelines for land-won sand and gravel production for the South East set out in the National and Regional Guidelines for Aggregates Provision in England 2001 to 2016 are allocated between each local authority in the region; and if she will make a statement; [196456]
(2) what estimate she has made of the proportion of demand for aggregates in London which will be met from sources within London in the next (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 20 years. [196457]
(3) pursuant to the answer of 18 February 2008, Official Report, columns 31-2W, on gravel, what steps she plans to take to increase the proportion of aggregates extracted from marine sources in the South East region. [196513]
Mr. Iain Wright: The regional guidelines for provision of land-won sand and gravel in south east England for 2001 to 2016 are set out in the National and Regional Guidelines for Aggregates Provision in England, published in 2003. The regional guidelines are apportioned to mineral planning authorities in the region by the Regional Planning Body, taking into account advice from the mineral planning authorities and the South East of England Regional Aggregates Working Party. The guidelines make provision for the very limited available sources in London to supply 19 million tonnes of land-won sand and gravel over the guidelines period, (8 per cent. of forecast demand).
Minerals Policy Statement 1 “Planning and Minerals” encourages the environmentally acceptable supply of marine-dredged sand and gravel. The proportion of the supply of aggregates in the south east region which comes from this source is largely determined by the market and the capacity of the marine aggregates dredging industry.
Allotments
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will (a) collate information on allotment provision held at a local level, (b) encourage local authorities to devote more resources to providing and maintaining allotments and (c) increase funding for allotment sites. [198682]
Mr. Iain Wright:
Government recognise the significant benefits that allotments provide. The Government do not hold information on allotment provision in local authorities, although we do collate information on the disposal of allotments. To improve information available on green spaces, including allotments, we have commissioned the development of a green space database. This will be an interactive mapping tool which will bring together several datasets and provide the opportunity for local authorities, and other users, to access and input information on quality and provision of green space, including allotments. The newly revised good practice guide, Growing in the community, published by the Local Government
Association in March 2008, includes information on how local authorities can better maintain allotment sites and provide extra resources to do so. Local authorities have the freedom to manage their own resources. It is up to them to determine their spending priorities within the resources available to them.
Audit Commission: Pensions
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the rate of employer contributions is to the pension scheme of which employees at the Audit Commission for England and Wales are members. [198493]
John Healey: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member directly.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 3 April 2008:
Parliamentary Question on what the rate of employer contributions is to the pension scheme of which employees at the Audit Commission for England and Wales are members.
Your Parliamentary Question on what the rate of employer contributions is to the pension scheme of which employees at the Audit Commission for England and Wales are members has been passed to me to reply.
The Audit Commission Pension Scheme (ACPS) is a funded, self-administered defined benefit pension scheme which was established with the inception of the Audit Commission in 1983. The ACPS is subject to the requirements of Scheme Specific Funding as introduced in the Pensions Act 2004.
The current employers' contribution rate to the Audit Commission Pension Scheme is 17% whilst employees contribute 6% of their salary.
From 1 April 2005 the Wales Audit Office (WAO) took over responsibility for auditing and inspecting Welsh public services. Employees of the WAO are now members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.
The text of this letter will be placed in Hansard.
Carbon Emissions
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition her Department uses of (a) zero-carbon and (b) carbon neutral. [198671]
Mr. Iain Wright: Zero carbon homes mean that over a year, the net carbon emissions from all energy use in the home are zero. This would include energy use from cooking, washing and electronic appliances as well as space heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and hot water. This was set out in the policy statement ‘Building A Greener Future’ published in July 2007 which confirmed the Government’s commitment to zero carbon homes from 2016.
The term “carbon neutral” can be used to describe organisations, events, goods or services which act to prevent as much carbon emissions as they produce.
Casinos: Planning Permission
Mr. Pickles:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2008, Official Report, column 545W, on casinos: planning permission, if she will place in the Library a copy of the document held by
the Planning Inspectorate and provided as part of the appeal statement by the appellant in the case of Blue Chip Casino against the decision of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, ref: APP/G4620/A/06/2007910. [194830]
Mr. Iain Wright: The appeal documents can be viewed on the local planning authority’s website at:
Civil Service Appeal Board
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of (a) her Department and (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement. [192519]
Mr. Dhanda: The only appeal upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years for this Department occurred in 2006-07. In view of this, the Department considers it would be inappropriate to give further details which might allow the appellant to be identified.
Community Relations: Elderly
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) support and (b) guidance her Department gives to local projects to support the social interaction of elderly people living alone. [195621]
Mr. Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government contributes to local projects to support the social interaction of elderly people living alone in a variety of ways, including through housing and related support services. For example, the Supporting People Programme, created in 2003, which is a grant programme administered through top tier local authorities, helps over 840,000 older people through housing support services to live independently in their home and community. Together, local authorities spent over £300 million on housing support services for older people in 2006-07.
We recently published “Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods—A National Strategy? for Housing in an Ageing Society” which promotes improved social inclusion and participation of older people through better housing in age friendly communities. This includes the promotion of Lifetime Homes and Neighbourhoods, better home repairs and adaptations services. Additional funding of £33 million between 2008-10 will go to support local agencies, such as Home Improvement Agencies, to help older people with minor repairs and adaptations. Good practice examples included in this strategy show how these and other agencies can provide a vital link to help people to access other support services to increase participation in the community.
Council Tax
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2008, Official Report, columns 963-4W, on council tax, when the table will be deposited in the Library; what the reasons are for the time taken to do so; and if she will make a statement. [198772]
Mr. Dhanda: The table has now been deposited in the Library of the House.
Departmental Consultants
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many consultants were employed by her Department in each month since January 2007; and what the total cost of such employment was. [199120]
Mr. Dhanda: This information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contracts were awarded by her Department to (a) KPMG, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) McKinsey, (e) Deloitte and (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts. [196589]
Mr. Dhanda: Contracts awarded to the five named companies in the last 12 months are detailed as follows.
(i) Independent audit advice to the Supporting People Programme.
(ii) £67,000
(i) Consultancy support to Internal Audit Service
(ii) £600,000
(i) Economic support to Communities’ Capability Review Commitments.
(ii) £28,630
(i) No Contracts awarded
(ii) £0
(i) Support for Communities’ High Level Seminar.
(ii) £125,000
(i) No Contracts awarded
(ii) £0
Costs exclude VAT. Details of contracts awarded to other consultancy firms could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what audits her Department and its agencies have carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years. [176483]
Mr. Dhanda: Communities and Local Government’s security team has a rolling programme of security checks and reviews that check that protectively marked material, including personal information, is handled and stored correctly, and that portable ICT equipment is adequately secured when not in use. They also verify that the department's Government offices and agencies meet the appropriate standards.
As part of the review of data handling carried out by the Cabinet Office in 2007, Communities and Local Government did go through an exercise of identifying major business systems which held personal data. This has confirmed that many areas of this Department already have appropriate processes and controls in place. Communities and Local Government will be implementing the recommendations of the report of this review. New systems involving the storage and processing of data have to be formally accredited by the departmental IT security officer regarding data safeguards, and regularly reaccredited thereafter.
Departmental Domestic Visits
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what visits she made to (a) Harrogate International Centre, (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham, (c) Manchester Central, (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow, (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre, (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre, (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton, (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay, (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London, (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events she attended at each. [197154]
Mr. Dhanda: Records are only held centrally back to June 2006. This list is therefore not comprehensive, as it would require a detailed audit of records held off site, which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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