| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Jun 2008 : Column 822W—continued
Planning Permission: Fees and Charges
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy. [208096]
Mr. Iain Wright: As stated in our publication on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) published on 24 January, subject to Parliament’s decisions on the primary legislation (the Planning Bill), Communities and Local Government aims to formally consult on the draft CIL regulations in autumn 2008, with a view to finalising them in spring 2009.
The 24 January CIL publication “The Community Infrastructure Levy” is available in the Library of the House.
Planning Permission: Gardens
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the requirement for planning permission to pave over a front garden will be retrospective. [207560]
Mr. Iain Wright: There will be no retrospective element. Where work has been commenced before the law is changed it will be able to be completed. Similarly, existing paved gardens will not be affected by the amended regulations.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the estimated average cost of a planning permission application for a typical household is likely to be under the requirement for a planning permission to pave over a front garden; [207566]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of planning applications that will be made each year as a consequence of her proposals to require planning permission to pave over a front garden. [207567]
Mr. Iain Wright: It is expected that most people who want to pave over their front gardens will continue to do so without having to submit a planning application. As long as the area to be paved over remains permeable an application for planning permission will not be required. Where an application is required, the householder will have to pay the normal fee for a planning application, currently £150.
Based on an initial impact assessment, we estimate that between 120 and 1,200 householders a year will opt for impermeable surfacing for which they will require planning permission.
Planning: Public Participation
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the consultation document on Planning Policy Statement 6 will be published; what the timetable for the consultation exercise will be; and if she will make a statement. [207838]
Mr. Iain Wright: We intend to publish a consultation document on revisions to Planning Policy Statement 6 this summer. The consultation will be conducted in accordance with the Department's usual procedures.
Rented Housing
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to bring about convergence in public and private sector rents; and if she will make a statement. [207289]
Mr. Iain Wright: We have no plans to bring about convergence between social sector rents and those of the private rented sector. Government policy is that social sector rents should be at sub-market rates.
Social Rented Housing
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether arm’s-length management organisations will be able to access the fund to purchase unsold new houses and rent them to social tenants. [208152]
Mr. Iain Wright: The £200 million announced on 14 May will be used by the Housing Corporation to fund RSLs and others to purchase new properties from house builders.
We are allowing the Housing Corporation flexibility to take advantage of opportunities offered by the current housing market to fund RSLs and others to buy unsold stock from developers at competitive rates with a view to provision of either social rent or low cost home ownership. This will enable RSLs and others to take advantage of the competitive rates offered by the current market as well as helping developers at a challenging time in the new build market.
Some arm’s-length management organisations are already able to bid to the Housing Corporation for funding in competition with other bidders as part of the regular market engagement process through which the affordable housing programme is being allocated. If ALMOs consider they can take advantage of the availability of grant to purchase new properties, the Housing Corporation would consider their applications.
Tenancy Agreements: Estate Agents
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward proposals to prevent estate agents from retaining the interest arising from tenant deposits over the period of a tenancy; and if she will make a statement. [207140]
Mr. Iain Wright:
We have no plans for further legislation on the holding of tenants’ deposits. The Tenancy Deposit Protection measures introduced by the Housing Act 2004 are designed to safeguard the interests of both landlords and tenants and to promote good practice in deposit handling. There are two types of schemes available to landlords. There is a “custodial” scheme under which the landlord hands over the deposit for the duration of the tenancy. Where the deposit is returned to the tenant at the end of the tenancy interest is paid to the tenant. If the landlord
chooses to use one of the two “insurance-based” schemes, under which the landlord retains the deposit and takes out insurance that will cover repayment to the tenant, the payment of any interest is for negotiation between the tenant and the landlord.
Travelling People: Caravan Sites
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what restrictions exist on building Traveller camps on (a) green belt, (b) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and (c) Sites of Special Scientific Interest. [208095]
Mr. Iain Wright: The same requirements apply to Gypsies and Travellers as to the settled community when seeking to build on the green belt. Planning permission is likely to be needed. Every planning application is decided on its merits in the light of local plan policies, but, under Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 on green belts, there is a general presumption against inappropriate development in the green belt. Inappropriate development should not be approved, except in very special circumstances, and it will be for the applicant to show why permission should be granted.
In Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, planning policies and development control decisions should give great weight to the conservation of the natural beauty of the landscape and countryside. Planning Policy Statement 7, “Sustainable development in rural areas”, states that major developments should not take place in these designated areas, except in exceptional circumstances. Whether a Traveller camp is considered a major development would be a matter for the planning authority.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest are protected by law, and Planning Policy Statement 9, “Biodiversity and Geological Conservation”, requires a high degree of protection to be given to SSSIs under the planning system. Where a proposed development is likely to have an adverse effect on an SSSI, planning permission should normally not be granted. If a particular activity on a site is listed on the SSSI notification as likely to damage features of special interest, the person wishing to carry out that activity must apply to Natural England for consent under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If Natural England has not given consent for such works it is an offence under that Act to carry them out. This protection is enforced.
Children, Schools and Families
Children in Care
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many looked-after children there were on the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by local authority. [208126]
Kevin Brennan: Information on the number of looked-after children at 31 March 2003-07 broken down by local authority has been placed in the House of Commons Library (Table LAA1).
Table LAA1 is taken from the Statistical First Release entitled “Children looked after in England
(including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2007”, which is located at http://www.dcsf. gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000741/index.shtml and table LAA1 can be found within the first set of 10 additional tables supplementing SFR27/2007 on the website.
Children: Disabled
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government have taken to improve the quality of services provided to disabled children. [207423]
Kevin Brennan: In May 2007 the Government announced Aiming High for Disabled Children which is now a joint delivery programme between DCSF and Department of Health. DCSF are investing £430 million over this CSR period to transform short break services, improve accessible childcare for families with disabled children and improve the transition of disabled young people from child to adulthood.
21 short break pathfinder areas announced in January 2008
10 childcare accessibility pilot sites announced on 15 May 2008;
£8.4 million additional funding to enable the Family Fund Trust to provide grants to 16 and 17-year-old severely disabled young people from low income families announced in the Children's Plan in December 2007
Publication on 15 May 2008 of the National Core Offer setting out national expectations of how services are delivered for disabled children, young people and families, and supporting materials to help LAs and PCTs implement the Core Offer locally.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government have taken to assist parents by increasing access to childcare for disabled children. [207425]
Beverley Hughes: The Government’s Aiming High for Disabled Children programme, announced in May 2007, included additional funding of £35 million for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 to develop projects to improve access to childcare for disabled children and young people and to reduce the attitudinal barriers which inhibit the take-up of such childcare. 10 local authorities have been selected as the first wave of pilots in the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare programme, and will begin work in autumn 2008. Emerging best practice identified from these pilots will be rolled out more widely.
Children’s Centres: Warrington
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was allocated to Warrington Borough Council for children’s centres in each year since their inception. [207458]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested is given in the following tables.
| Sure Start local programme and Sure Start children’s centres actual expenditure from 2003-04 to 2006-07 | ||||
| £ | ||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| Notes: 1. The figures are actual audited expenditure. 2. The table includes information on funding for Sure Start local programmes, the precursors to children’s centres. SSLPs have now made the transition into children’s centres. | ||||
| Sure Start local programme and Sure Start children’s centres allocations from 2007-08 to 2010-11 | ||||
| £ | ||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
| Notes: 1. The figures are allocations. Actual audited expenditure is not yet available for 2007-08. 2. The 2007-08 capital allocation comprised blocks for Sure Start children’s centres, extended schools, early years provision, child care and integrated projects. The figures for 2008-09 onwards comprise blocks for Sure Start children’s centres (start-up and maintenance), early years provision (quality and access), and child care and integrated projects. It is for local authorities to decide how they spend the overall capital allocation between blocks. | ||||
Departmental Data Protection
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether any officials in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies were disciplined or dismissed for (i) breaches of data protection requirements and (ii) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [205902]
Kevin Brennan: No officials in the Department were disciplined or dismissed for alleged breaches of data protection requirements or for the inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in 2005, 2006 or 2007.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (a) all staff and (b) staff at senior civil service level in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in the 2007-08 financial year; and how many payments were made. [207467]
Kevin Brennan:
The Department has used delegated powers to introduce more extensive non-consolidated performance pay to reward for the most effective and best performers. Performance bonus rewards are based on a judgement of how well an individual has
performed relative to their peers. The top 20-25 per cent. performers receive the highest bonus payment. During 2007, 50 per cent. of staff received a bonus worth between 2 per cent. and 4 per cent.
The breakdown of bonuses for the senior civil service for the 2007-08 financial year is set out in the following table:
| Number of bonus awards made to senior civil servants in DCSF | Total cost of the bonuses awarded (£) | |
The breakdown of bonuses for all other staff is set out in the following table:
| Number of bonus awards made to all other staff in DCSF | Total cost of the bonuses awarded (£) | |
The Department has no executive agencies.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |