Notes:
RTA—Right to acquire
RTB—Right to buy
PRTB—Preserved right to buy
Housing: Repossession Orders
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking with financial institutions and the Local Government Association to reduce the number of housing repossessions; and if she will make a statement. [212337]
Mr. Iain Wright:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Minister for Housing and Planning hosted meetings with the mortgage and lending industry on 22 April and 10 June to discuss what the industry can do to support borrowers in difficulty during the current period of turbulence in global financial markets.
Further meetings are planned to continue the exchange of information and agree actions.
In monitoring implementation of homelessness prevention strategies, Communities and Local Government has regular contact with all English local authorities including assessment of the effectiveness of measures to minimise homelessness.
Although we appreciate that repossessions have risen slightly in recent months, the rate is around a third of that in 1991, when they reached 75,500—even with two million more homeowners today.
Housing: Sustainable Development
Lembit Öpik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been assessed against the Code for Sustainable Homes since 1 May 2008; and how many of these homes meet Level (a) 3, (b) 4 and (c) 6 of the code, broken down by type of landlord. [211015]
Mr. Iain Wright:
Since the code was launched in April 2007, 25 homes in four developments have reached code level 3 at design stage, with three dwellings in two developments reaching code level 4. Of these assessments, one design stage certificate for a code level 3 home has been issued and two post-construction certificates for homes which reached code level 4 have been issued since 1 May 2008.
It was always anticipated that there would be a time lag from the code's inception to the completion of substantial numbers of new code homes. This is because of the time it takes to incorporate the code standards within the land acquisition and design process. Larger developments will inevitably take longer to reach a construction stage due to the statutory consultation process and negotiations involved.
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Overall since 1 May 2008, 188 developments incorporating approximately 1,050 homes have been registered against the code. Since the code was launched 1,269 developments representing over 45,000 homes have been registered.
The register of code certificates and the data underpinning it is administered by the BRE on behalf of the Government. Reports on the number of assessments and the code level achieved are provided on a monthly basis. Reports on breaking these figures down by local authority area, Government Office region and landlord type is provided on a quarterly basis. We are due to receive the first quarterly report in July 2008.
Leisure: Private Sector
Mr. Holloway:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the role played by commercial leisure groups towards enhancing facilities available to local communities; and how her Department liaises with (a) commercial leisure organisations, (b) licensed bingo clubs and (c) dance schools on such matters. [212089]
Mr. Dhanda:
The Department has made no such assessment. Policy responsibility for enhancing the local leisure facilities lies with DCMS.
Licensing Laws
Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning appeals the Planning Inspectorate has considered in relation to premises selling alcohol in the last 12 months. [213537]
Mr. Iain Wright:
The Planning Inspectorate are able to identify appeals that relate to public houses and wine bars, but this may not identify all appeals relating to premises selling alcohol. During the 12 month period 1 June 2007 to 31 May 2008, the Inspectorate considered 182 planning appeals in respect of public houses and wine bars.
Local Government: Standards
Mr. Pickles:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have received Reward Grant funding from her Department for meeting targets in their (a) local public service agreement and (b) local area agreement to date; what the value was of each payment; and on what date each payment was made. [212734]
John Healey:
The following tables set out payments of Performance Reward Grant (PRG) made to local authorities in respect of performance on targets in local public service agreements. PRG is claimed by local authorities and payable in two instalments; the first in the financial year after the end of the three year agreement, the second in the following year. For the vast majority of authorities payments are made between January and March of the relevant year. The agreements themselves are in the public domain and these explain the amount of reward payable and the basis upon which the reward grant is to be paid.
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The first local area agreements incorporating a 'reward element' started in April 2005 and will run for three years. The first instalment of PRG in relation to these agreements will not therefore be payable until later in the current financial year.
Local government public service agreements—starting 2001, 2002 and 2003
