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19 Jun 2008 : Column 1132W—continued
Young Offenders: Reoffenders
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Government have taken to reduce re-offending by young offenders. [211936]
Mr. Hanson: Between 2000 and 2005 youth re-offending has reduced by 2.5 per cent. The same period has also seen the frequency of juvenile re-offending reduce by 17.4 per cent. and a reduction in the rate of re-offending of 0.7 per cent. for those offences classified as serious. This means that those young people that do re-offend are re-offending less often.
We will be building on this work and we are developing a cross-government youth crime action plan which will set out work to further reduce offending and re-offending by young people.
Communities and Local Government
Castle Point Borough Council: Consultants
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid for consultancy services by (a) Castle Point Borough Council and (b) Essex County Council in each of the last 10 years. [212064]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally.
Community Development
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) terms of reference, (b) membership, (c) programme of work and (d) opportunities for input from the public and others are for the review team on disadvantaged communities chaired by Stephen Houghton announced on 28 May 2008. [212247]
Mr. Dhanda: The Tackling Worklessness Review will:
Examine how local authorities and their partners are using the Working Neighbourhoods Fund to tackle worklessness within their worst performing neighbourhoods;
Identify what more central Government departments can do to support local partners to deliver better employment and skills services for their residents and employers;
Consider how the private sector, social enterprises and third sector groups, and the Regional Development Agencies can help local partners to improve employment in Working Neighbourhood Fund areas and through the new Local Performance Framework; and
Report the group's findings to the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) and the Minister for Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth (John Healey) by October 2008, to be followed by the publication of the group's final report.
Councillor Stephen Houghton will chair the review. He will be joined by representatives from social enterprise (Claire Dove) and the private sector (Steve Olive) as well as senior Government officials.
As the first meeting scoping the group has yet to take place (scheduled for 25 June) information on the programme of work and opportunities for input from the public and others is not yet available.
Community Infrastructure Levy
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether regional development agencies will be charging authorities under the new community infrastructure levy. [212723]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the Official Report, 1 February 2008, column 606, where I stated, during the Commons Committee stage of the Planning Bill, that
“we have no intention of empowering regional planning bodies, whether in their current form or as regional development agencies, as CIL charging authorities”.
Council House Transfers: Greater London
Sarah Teather:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council tenants in each London borough applied for a housing
transfer to (a) another London borough and (b) elsewhere in the UK in each of the last five years. [210272]
Mr. Iain Wright: This information is not collected centrally. Information is held centrally on households on council housing waiting lists but not on council tenants specifically seeking housing transfers.
Council Tax
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of council tax and non-domestic rates not collected in 2007-08 was in each billing authority in England. [211388]
John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House a table giving details of the amount and the proportion of (a) council tax and (b) non-domestic rates in respect of 2007-08 that remained uncollected by each billing authority by 31 March 2008. The in year collection rates for council tax in 2007-08 rose for the 8th successive year and are now at 97.1 per cent. Collection of council tax and non-domestic rates continues once the financial year to which they relate has ended.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) subject and (b) cost was of each research contract her Department and its predecessor has commissioned since 2003. [212785]
Mr. Dhanda: Details of research projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government and its predecessors are available from our Research Database (RD) at
The database provides information on projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government and predecessor Departments going back to 30 November 2001. This includes the subject and cost of each research contract.
Departmental Inquiries
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what independent inquiries have been commissioned by her Department in the last five years; what the (a) purpose and (b) cost was of each; and what steps were taken following each. [211122]
Hazel Blears: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not commissioned any independent public inquiries in the last five years.
Departmental Television
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to what premium Sky, digital terrestrial or cable television channels (a) her Department, (b) each of its agencies and (c) the Audit Commission subscribes; and at what cost in the most recent year for which figures are available. [210884]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department does not subscribe to any Sky, digital terrestrial, or cable television channels that attract a regular payment. The Department (including the Government offices) receives television channels on a Freeview basis.
The Department’s agencies report the following:
The Planning Inspectorate does not subscribe to any Sky, digital terrestrial, or cable television channels.
The Queen Elizabeth 2nd Conference Centre does not subscribe to any Sky, digital terrestrial, or cable television channels.
The Fire Service College subscribes to the basic Sky TV package with Sky Sports and Asian channels added. This was at a cost of £957.69 in the 2007-08 financial year.
The Ordnance Survey does not subscribe to these channels
The Audit Commission does not have a subscription for premium Sky, digital terrestrial or cable television channels. The channels they do receive form part of a Freeview package.
Eco-towns: Land
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the area in hectares of the proposed Ford eco-town site is; and what proportion is (a) brownfield and (b) greenfield land. [212264]
Caroline Flint: The Ford eco-town is a site of 368.8 hectares. 30 per cent. of the site, 108.36 hectares, is brownfield and the remaining 70 per cent., 260.33 hectares, is classified greenfield. Details about this site and the other shortlisted eco-towns are available through our website. A summary of the Ford proposal and all the shortlisted locations is also available in the consultation document, “Eco-towns—Living a greener future”.
Eco-towns: Staffordshire
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will make a decision on whether to allow the commencement of construction of the proposed new eco-town at Curborough. [210377]
Caroline Flint: We are currently consulting on the shortlisted locations in “Eco-towns—Living a greener future” and this includes Curborough. In addition we expect to publish in July—for further consultation—a draft sustainability appraisal on the locations and a draft planning policy statement which will set out more detail for each location.
Later in the year, and only after this second consultation will we decide which sites have potential to be an eco-town and which schemes we will support as they go forward into the local planning process, where they will undergo further testing and consultation.
Essex County Council: Expenditure
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by Essex County Council on promotion of (a) tourism, (b) enterprise and (c) sport in each of the last 10 years. [212075]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally.
Floods: Planning Permission
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will issue guidance to local planning authorities on the account to be taken of the contribution that permeable paving may make to flood defences in decisions on planning applications. [211215]
Mr. Iain Wright: Planning Policy Statement 25 “Development and Flood Risk”, (PPS25), already advises applicants to include an assessment of surface water and drainage from proposed developments, as part of their Flood Risk Assessments. Local planning authorities should take account of these when deciding planning applications which include paving. A Practice Guide to PPS25 has just been published and this includes advice on sustainable drainage. We do not think that any further guidance is necessary.
We intend to amend current permitted development rights that allow householders to pave over their front gardens so as to require that the paving will not lead to the front garden area being impermeable. We intend this change to come into force on 1 October this year and we will publish guidance to explain how householders can comply with this requirement.
Homelessness: Chelmsford
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) women, (b) men and (c) adolescents she estimates are currently living on the streets in West Chelmsford constituency. [211984]
Mr. Iain Wright: Local authorities measure rough sleeping by conducting single night street counts where there is a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem. Chelmsford council have not conducted a street count, which signifies that they believe that the area does not have a rough sleeping problem.
There has been considerable progress in tackling rough sleeping as the most visible form of homelessness. The target of a two-thirds reduction from the 1998 baseline of 1,850 people sleeping rough on the streets on any single night was met early in 2001 and has been sustained.
Housing Market
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the speaking notes prepared for the Minister for Housing on the state of the housing market on 13 May 2008. [211390]
Caroline Flint: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet and Cabinet committees is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Housing: Construction
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of the downturn in the housing market on the Government’s target to build 3 million homes. [211380]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing on 12 June 2008, Official Report, column 497W to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Julia Goldsworthy).
Housing: Floods
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment her Department has made of skill shortages in relation to repairs needed to houses affected by the summer 2007 floods; [211428]
(2) what assessment she has made of the availability of (a) plumbers, (b) electricians, (c) plasterers and (d) other essential workers necessary to complete repairs due to flood damage from summer 2007. [211910]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 1405W.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many households remain in temporary accommodation following the summer 2007 floods, broken down by local authority area; [211429]
(2) how many households are still displaced following the summer floods of 2007, broken down by local government area. [211837]
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households which were flooded in summer 2007 remain empty. [211670]
John Healey: As at 30 May, we estimate that approximately 4,700 households remain wholly or partially displaced from their homes following the floods of summer 2007. Around one in six of those not back in their homes at the end of April had returned by the end of May. A breakdown of the figures by local authority area is available at:
Housing: Lincolnshire
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were built in (a) Cleethorpes, (b) Grimsby, (c) Brigg and Goole, (d) North East Lincolnshire and (e) North Lincolnshire in each year since 1997. [211976]
Mr. Iain Wright: Data for the parliamentary constituencies of Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Brigg and Goole are not available. These constituencies are sections of North East Lincolnshire and East Riding of Yorkshire unitary authorities.
The following table shows the number of homes built in North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and East Riding of Yorkshire unitary authorities from 1997-98 to 2007-08.
| North East Lincolnshire | North Lincolnshire | East riding of Yorkshire | |
| Source: P2Q returns from local authorities to Communities and Local Government. | |||
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