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2 Jun 2008 : Column 538W—continued
Reviews resulting in (b) a lower band could apply at any time and are not linked to a “point of sale”.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have commissioned on council tax revaluation in the last 12 months from (i) within her Department and its agencies and (ii) external bodies. [207562]
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (a) all staff and (b) staff at senior civil service level in (i) her Department and (ii) its agencies in the 2007-08 financial year; and how many payments were made. [207468]
Mr. Dhanda: The numbers of bonuses paid to all staff and the cost of these in the 2007-08 financial year are given in the following table:
| Number of bonuses | Cost of bonuses (£) | |
In Communities and Local Government, bonus payments are made to those members of staff who are found to have made a significant contribution towards the achievement of the teams, and/or Department’s objectives. Individuals are expected to show that they have exceeded the requirements set for the achievement of the objective and have demonstrated exemplary behaviour in doing so. Our senior civil service staff members are also assessed against a range of factors, such as:
The achievement of their Prime Objective which focuses on the way in which they lead, manage and develop their staff;
Degree to which business objectives are met;
Delivery for Ministers;
Demonstration of skills such as judgement, leadership and the PSG skills;
Effective resource management
Details of bonuses paid in the Department’s agencies is not held centrally.
Departmental Procurement
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 15 May 2008, Official Report, column 1685W, on departmental procurement, when the purchase order department became operational; and whether the database covers expenditure by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. [207599]
Mr. Dhanda: All purchase orders raised by the Department and its predecessor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which was formed in May 2002, are recorded on the Department's financial system.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 15 May 2008, Official Report, column 1685W, on departmental procurement, what the financial trigger for a purchase order being required for expenditure is. [207600]
Mr. Dhanda: All purchase orders require prior financial approval from a budget holder.
Departmental Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) surveys, (b) questionnaires and (c) other services were provided by polling companies for her Department in financial year 2007-08, broken down by company. [Official Report, 9 July 2008, Vol. 478, c. 9MC.] [200017]
Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 29 November 2007, Official Report, column 681W.
Between then and the end of the financial year, the Department has undertaken the following work from polling companies.
Quantitative survey on the Code for Sustainable Homes
Pre and post tracking research on the effectiveness of the ‘Pull your Finger out’ fire safety campaign
Fire Safety Research into the Holiday Accommodation Sector
Fire fighting careers research and recommendations
Fire Kills Literature Review
Fire Kills campaign recognition omnibus survey
Workshops on the importance of the English language to building communities
Survey of planning professionals about whether Planning Portal services met their needs
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive research
Housing related research
HIPs consumer awareness, qualitative, and omnibus research
Accountability of local council services—omnibus survey
Telephone survey of tenant activists on their awareness etc. of landlords work in terms of the Respect agenda.
Third tranche of 2007 employee survey and the production of aggregated results from the full 2007 employee survey
Senior Civil Service survey
Employee engagement workshops
Stewart Hosie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultants
have been contracted by her Department to conduct public participation activities in the last three years; and how much expenditure her Department has incurred on each such contract to date. [206213]
Mr. Dhanda: This information is not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Disabled Facilities Grants
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much she has allocated to disability facility grants for each of the (a) last and (b) next five years; what estimate she has made of the average local authority contribution to such grants over the same periods; and what estimate she has made of the overall cost to the public purse of disability facility grants over the same periods; [207459]
(2) what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the removal of the obligation on local authorities to contribute 40 per cent. of disability facility grant awards on the (a) level and (b) effectiveness of such awards; and if she will make a statement. [207460]
Mr. Dhanda: The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a mandatory grant used to provide adaptations to the homes of disabled people. Local authorities in England report to the Department their annual DFG expenditure through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix. The 2006-07 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix report is the latest available data and is available at:
Communities and Local Government do not hold information on how much local authorities plan to spend on DFG in the next five years.
The following table details funding for the past five years and Communities and Local Government funding for the current Comprehensive Spending Review period.
| £ | ||||||||
| DFG | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| Note: 2007-08 and 2008-09 are estimated returns provided by the 2006-07 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix. | ||||||||
Prior to 2008-09 Communities and Local Government contributed 60 per cent. of the value of the DFG to local authorities up to an agreed allocation with the local authority funding the remaining 40 per cent. Many local authorities have been spending considerably more than the 40 per cent. match funding element of the DFG on providing adaptations. The mandatory nature of the DFG remains in place with the legal responsibility for delivering the scheme resting with local authorities. It is therefore expected that the removal of the 60:40 split will have no impact on the level of local authority investment.
Relaxing the ring fence will enable local authorities to bring together different funding streams, allowing greater flexibility and freedom in administering the programme. It will also empower local authorities to design services which fit with local delivery arrangements and the needs of individuals. Local authorities will, for example, be able to use DFG funding to cover the costs of moving home, where this is a more appropriate solution to adaptation.
Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to review the granting of funds under the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund to the New Kadampa Tradition; and if she will make a statement. [207497]
Mr. Dhanda: The Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund covered the period August 2006 to March 2008. The fund has now finished and all monies have been distributed. The Government will not be reviewing the allocation of funding.
Fire Services
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) on what date the new networked fire control rooms provided by EADS will be in operational use; [207524]
(2) what liability fire and rescue authorities will have for the costs of each regional control centre (RCC) company (a) before and (b) after each RCC becomes operational; [207528]
(3) if she will publish the FiReControl project timetable for each (a) Government Office region and (b) fire authority; and on what anticipated dates fire and rescue authorities will become responsible for the operating costs of each regional control centre. [207529]
Mr. Dhanda: A Regional Control Centre (RCC) becomes operational when the first Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) transfer calls to that RCC. Within a region, FRAs will then cut-over sequentially. The programme is detailed in the following table. All FRAs should have transferred its calls to the RCC network by September 2011.
Prior to cut-over, CLG will meet the running costs. As each FRA cuts over it will meet its share of the costs of running the RCC. How costs are apportioned between FRAs within a region is a matter for each region to decide.
| Fire and Rescue Authority | Control room functions cut-over |
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