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10 July 2008 : Column 1738W—continued

Public Expenditure

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the factual paper being prepared on the Barnett formula. [216898]

David Cairns: The Treasury's forthcoming Barnett formula paper will be factual in nature, reflecting experience of the operation of the Barnett formula since the formula was introduced.

Communities and Local Government

Allotments

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if she will introduce measures to require local authorities to increase the provision of allotments in their areas; [217560]

(2) whether it is her policy to increase the overall acreage of allotments. [217562]

Mr. Iain Wright: It is the Department's policy that allotments should be provided in relation to local need.

Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 places a duty on local authorities (except for inner London boroughs) to provide a sufficient number of allotments where they consider that there is a demand for them in their area.

Local authorities are best placed to determine the level of provision of allotments and all types of open space within their area, based on detailed audits and assessments of community needs in accordance with ‘Planning Policy Guidance Note 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation, 2002’.

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will consider introducing measures requiring local authorities (a) to keep figures on (i) the number of allotment sites in their areas and (ii) the length of waiting lists for an allotment and (b) to provide an annual return to Parliament incorporating such data. [217561]


10 July 2008 : Column 1739W

Mr. Iain Wright: Local authorities are already responsible for maintaining information about their allotment sites, including figures on the number of sites available and the length of waiting lists.

The Secretary of State does not have any plans to ask local authorities to provide an annual return to Parliament on the number of allotments sites and the length of allotment waiting lists in their area. This would run counter to the commitment the Government have made in the 2006 Local Government White Paper, ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’, to reduce the number of performance indicators against which local authorities must report to central Government under 200.

We are however currently developing a green space database which will provide us with a more comprehensive information base on green spaces, including allotments. The green space database will be available later this month.

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will consider initiating an allotment survey with mandatory participation on the part of local authorities. [217563]

Mr. Iain Wright: There are no plans to initiate an allotment survey.

The Department is developing a green space database which will provide us with a more comprehensive information base on green spaces, including allotments. 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. We believe that this is a better approach for local authorities than asking for mandatory participation in a survey. The green space database will be available later this month.

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to review the formula which determines the number of allotments which local councils are required to provide for the use of local residents. [217564]

Mr. Iain Wright: There is no precise formula to determine the number of allotments which local authorities provide for their residents. Instead, section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 places a duty on local authorities (except for inner London boroughs) to provide a sufficient number of allotments where they consider that there is a demand for them in their area.

Furthermore ‘Planning Policy Guidance Note 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation, 2002’ encourages local authorities to make provision for all types of open space including allotments, and undertake robust assessments of local needs and audits of existing open space and to establish standards for new provision and ascertain what is sufficient for their local area.

Given this framework, provided by statute and guidance, we do not have any plans to review how local authorities determine the number of allotments they provide for their residents.


10 July 2008 : Column 1740W

Council House Transfers

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households lacking (a) one bedroom and (b) two or more bedrooms were registered for a housing transfer in each London local authority in 2007-08. [216666]

Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not available. However information is available on the bedroom requirement of households on local authorities’ waiting lists, excluding existing local authority tenants seeking a transfer. This information is presented in the following table.

Households on the housing waiting list at 1 April 2007: London
Number of households
Bedroom requirement of household
Local authority One Two Three More than three All households( 1)

Barking and Dagenham

4,559

2,501

2,007

118

9,185

Barnet

9,091

5,612

2,622

584

17,909

Bexley

3,619

1,447

904

145

6,115

Brent

9,289

5,535

2,634

1,151

18,609

Bromley

2,438

1,118

621

250

4,427

Camden

7,251

1,616

849

660

10,442

City of London

1,000

207

133

4

1,344

Croydon

4,809

2,784

1,594

589

9,776

Ealing

10,828

5,514

3,003

1,308

20,653

Enfield

3,241

1,773

1,651

319

6,986

Greenwich

7,664

2,938

1,100

476

12,178

Hackney

4,642

2,386

1,184

353

8,565

Hammersmith and Fulham

4,558

2,314

746

414

8,104

Haringey

4,517

3,613

1,662

460

10,252

Harrow

1,688

1,582

1,151

547

4,968

Havering

3,155

1,569

684

72

5,480

Hillingdon

4,206

2,190

1,098

551

8,045

Hounslow

4,486

2,938

1,915

583

9,922

Islington

6,433

2,070

619

278

10,604

Kensington and Chelsea

7,086

2,232

847

177

10,342

Kingston upon Thames

2,984

1,577

774

281

5,616

Lambeth

8,613

3,694

1,740

448

14,495

Lewisham

8,394

5,241

3,153

1,000

19,850

Merton

3,269

1,439

914

263

5,885

Newham

11,636

7,502

3,752

1,269

24,159

Redbridge

5,193

3,748

1,960

501

11,402

Richmond upon Thames

2,699

1,157

597

123

4,576

Southwark

5,921

2,090

643

252

8,987

Sutton

2,126

1,150

705

117

4,121

Tower Hamlets

8,434

2,797

2,333

414

13,978

Waltham Forest

6,056

2,577

1,039

449

10,169

Wandsworth

4,603

2,532

1,087

473

8,695

Westminster

4,411

2,371

983

253

8,018

(1) Includes households with unspecified bedroom requirements.

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