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16 July 2008 : Column 481W—continued
| Table B | ||
| Lead authorities for improvement partnerships | Area | Amount (£) |
| £ | |
Community Relations: Finance
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) administrative, (b) staffing and (c) other costs of the Preventing Violent Extremism programme have been since its inception. [218538]
Mr. Dhanda
[holding answer 14 July 2008]: Although work on the Preventing Violent Extremism programme began in late 2006, the preventing extremism division in CLG did not become a separate financially accountable unit until April 2007. Therefore, between 1 April 2007 and June 2008, £466,352.48 has been spent on administration costs and £1,324,811.14 has been spent
on staffing. In total, £20,372,055.43 has been spent on programme costs. This includes national project delivery and research as well as grant funding to local authorities and other organisations to run projects to tackle violent extremism.
Council Tax: Floods
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the maximum period is that a house made inhabitable by flooding may be exempt from council tax. [218399]
John Healey: Properties which are vacant and undergoing major repair work to make them habitable may be exempt from council tax, for a maximum of 12 months, under Class A of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 (SI 1992/558).
The Government have recently announced that they will provide financial support to those local authorities who exercise their right under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to grant discounts to owners of properties on which the 12 month exemption period has lapsed but which are still uninhabitable due to the June and July 2007 floods.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in her Department and its agencies have been (a) dismissed and (b) disciplined for their conduct in the last two years. [217411]
Mr. Dhanda: During the last two years our records show that the Department for Communities and Local Government has (a) dismissed one and (b) disciplined two members of the Department.
Departmental Retirement
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many employees in her Department and its predecessor have been asked to retire on reaching 65 years of age in each year since 2000. [218403]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department has a flexible retirement age, which allows employees below the senior civil service, to work until 70 if they wish. Prior to its introduction, there is no record of staff being asked to leave once they reached 65.
Departmental Sick Leave
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many sick days were taken by employees in (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of sick days taken this represented in each case; and if she will make a statement; [216087]
(2) how many staff in (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility have taken sick days due to
(i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of staff of each body this represented in each year; and if she will make a statement; [216095]
(3) what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility who gave (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders as the reason for their absence was in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement; [216096]
(4) how many staff in (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility have received sick pay for sick leave due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what the average length of time was for which sick pay was paid in these cases; and if she will make a statement. [216098]
Mr. Dhanda: Information for 2004, 2005, 2006-07 for the Department for Communities and Local Government and its agencies can be found on the civil service website:
All three illnesses are grouped together as ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders’.
Data for 2007-08 are not yet available but will be published later in the year. For years prior to 2004 data are not held electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility was in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [216097]
Mr. Dhanda: Data for 2004, 2005, 2006-07 for the Department for Communities and Local Government and its agencies can be found on the civil service website:
Information relating to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Planning Inspectorate, Fire Service College and QEII Conference Centre for 2008-09 is not yet available but will be published later in the year. For years prior to 2004 data are not held electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many staff in her Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last five years; [218963]
(2) how many and what percentage of staff in her Department have had more than two periods of sickness absence of less than five days in each of the last three years. [218725]
Mr. Dhanda: Information on sickness absence for 2004, 2005, 2006-07 for the Department for Communities and Local Government can be found on the civil service website:
Data for 2007-08 are not yet available but will be published later in the year. For years prior to 2004 data are not held electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Eco-towns: Curborough
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Curborough remains on her Department’s list of potential locations for eco-towns following the Curborough Consortium’s decision to withdraw its application to build an eco-town. [217516]
Caroline Flint: I can confirm that the Curborough Consortium has withdrawn its eco-town proposal and the site is no longer on the long list of potential locations. We had to expect that some developers would and will decide to remove themselves from the long list, while others will not meet the high standards needed to make it through to our final shortlist.
However, where eco-towns proposals are withdrawn, the local authorities will have to face up to the challenge of increasing housing supply and find another way to address the need for housing, and in particular affordable housing.
Eco-towns: Staffordshire
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what location for the proposed eco-town at Curborough, Staffordshire is indicated in the promotional materials published by her Department; what the location of the proposed site is; and what steps she plans to take to correct the promotional materials. [210209]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 12 June 2008]: As part of the first stage of consultation the proposed location for the eco-town at Curborough was set out in the consultation document “Eco-towns—Living a greener future”. Through promotional material we have said that more information is available on our website, and this includes links to the initial expressions of interest by the promoter for the shortlisted locations, including Curborough. These provide further details about the location. The proposal for an eco-town at Curborough has since been withdrawn by the promoter.
Essex Police Authority: Council Tax
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the police precept was on Band (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E and (f) F bills for Essex Police Authority in each year since 2000. [217737]
John Healey: Details of the council tax precept for the Essex police authority in each year since 2000-01 are shown in the following table.
| £ | ||||||||
| Band A | Band B | Band C | Band D | Band E | Band F | Band G | Band H | |
| Valuation band ranges | Under £40,000 | £40,001 to £52,000 | £52,001 to £68,000 | £68,001 to £88,000 | £88,001 to £120,000 | £120,001 to £160,000 | £160,001 to £320,000 | Over £320,000 |
| (1) Within an authority, the council tax for each valuation band is a fixed ratio to that for band D. For example, a band A dwelling will pay 6/9 the band D amount, and a band H dwelling will pay twice the band D amount. | ||||||||
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