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13 Oct 2008 : Column 963W—continued
Uganda: Politics and Government
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the expected date of completion of the trial of Uganda opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye; and if he will make a statement. [224249]
Gillian Merron: There has been no date set for the completion of Dr. Besigye’s trial. It was put on hold pending the outcome of a petition to the Constitutional Court, made by Dr. Besigye’s lawyers in May 2007.
We continue to follow the case closely and remain in contact with the defence team. In the course of our regular dialogue with the Government of Uganda, we continue to press them on all aspects of good governance and the rule of law.
Visits Abroad
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have not received an official visit from a Minister since the last general election. [224822]
Gillian Merron: There are no centrally held records of ministerial overseas visits, therefore this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Western Sahara: Human Rights
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask the UN Human Rights Commissioner to release the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights' report on the visit of its mission to Rabat, Laayoune, and Tindouf between 15th and 23rd May 2006 and Algiers on 19th June 2006. [224173]
Gillian Merron:
The office of the high commissioner for human rights visited Morocco, Western Sahara, refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria), and Algiers in May to June 2006 to gather information on the human rights situation. The office of the high commissioner for human rights shared its report privately with Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario on 8 September 2006, but did not
publish it, in line with terms of reference agreed by all parties prior to the visit. The UN high commissioner for human rights continues to maintain the position that the report should remain an internal document, not for official publication, and the UK respects this decision.
Communities and Local Government
Businesses: Fees and Charges
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will assess the likely effect on businesses of the imposition by local authorities of (a) infrastructure levies, (b) congestion charges and (c) workplace parking taxes over each of the next three years. [225655]
Mr. Iain Wright: Decisions as to whether to introduce congestion charging and work place parking taxes schemes are for local authorities to take. No work place parking taxes schemes are operative at present. It is not possible for the Government to predict what level of charges might be imposed on business by these schemes over the next three years as potential revenues are subject to too many variables to be able to offer the House a meaningful estimate.
The Government are in the process of legislating for the introduction of a new community infrastructure levy (CIL) through clauses in the Planning Bill, now before Parliament. The Bill empowers, but does not require, authorities to introduce a CIL. Again, as a discretionary tool, it will be for individual authorities to decide whether to adopt CIL and the level of CIL that should apply in their local areas.
Canatxx: Natural Gas
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Ministers and officials from her Department have met representatives of Canatxx Ltd to discuss gas storage facilities in the UK. [225406]
Mr. Iain Wright: Ministers meet many people as part of the process of policy development. Details of meetings between Ministers and outside interest groups are provided on the Department's website at:
After the Secretary of State issued her decision to refuse planning permission for development of a natural gas storage facility at Preesall Saltfield, Fleetwood, Lancashire on 16 October 2007, policy officials met with representatives of Canatxx Ltd on 6 December 2007 to discuss general policy on gas storage facilities.
Council Housing: Private Finance Initiative
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the economic situation on the delivery of private finance initiative housing projects; and if she will make a statement. [226569]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department is monitoring the situation and working closely with all PFI schemes to help support them in finding solutions where difficulties arise.
Council Tax: Concessions
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities may demand internal inspections of domestic dwellings as a condition of applying a single person's council tax discount. [226373]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst on 10 September 2008, Official Report, columns 1987-88W.
Departmental Accountancy
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department spent under general ledger account numbers 40017 and 60002 in the latest year for which figures are available. [225651]
Mr. Khan: General Ledger account number 40017 is titled “Furniture and fittings” and expenditure in 2007-08 was £3,182,099. This expenditure was largely on projects to rationalise and improve utilisation of the Department’s headquarters office accommodation. Account code 60002 is not used and there was no expenditure recorded against it in 2007-08.
Departmental Consultations
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to hold online consultations in the next two years. [225015]
Mr. Khan: All public consultations that the Department undertake are available online. As the new Code of Practice on Consultation makes clear, consultation exercises are designed to be accessible to, and clearly targeted at, those people the exercise is aimed to reach. Therefore due consideration is given to this issue before deciding on how we actually consult. However, we would always make hard copies available of our public consultations on request.
The Department is aware of the opportunities that technology offers to improve the effectiveness of our consultations. Communities and Local Government have used online surveys as part of public consultation and will continue to do so when appropriate to inform the policy making process. The following list sets out examples of consultations where we have used online technology from November 2007 to October 2008.
Local Petitions/Community Calls for Action;
Empowerment White Paper;
Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities Statutory Guidance;
The Future of Building Controls; and
The New Place Survey Consultation.
Departmental Contracts
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on subscriptions to overseas bodies under general ledger account number 40104 in the latest year for which figures are available. [225559]
Mr. Khan: There was no expenditure recorded against this code in 2007-08.
Departmental Manpower
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on agency staff under general ledger account number 40002 in the latest year for which figures are available. [225446]
Mr. Khan: The Department spent £21,666,709 on temporary or agency staff in the financial year 2007-08.
Departmental Pay
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in her Department in the last 12 months; and at what total cost. [226414]
Mr. Khan: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 2 June 2008, Official Report, column 538W.
Departmental Telephone Services
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what agencies or units for which her Department is responsible require the public to make telephone calls to them on numbers which charge more than the national call rate; and how much income each such agency derived from such charges in each of the last three years. [225719]
Mr. Khan: Communities and Local Government does not require the public to make telephone calls on numbers which charge more than the national rate. The Department does not derive revenue from callers dialling its contact numbers.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day her Department has answered on the due date in the current session of Parliament to date. [226901]
Mr. Khan:
In the period 6 November 2007 to 10 October 2008, Communities and Local Government received 4,445 written parliamentary questions, including 716 for answer on a named day. Of the 716,389 (54 per
cent.) were answered on the due date and a further 209 (29 per cent.) were answered within a working week of the date for answer.
Eco-Towns: Greenfield Sites
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hectares of greenfield land she estimates to be developed in each eco-town. [225642]
Mr. Iain Wright: We are still consulting on the shortlisted locations for eco-towns and decisions on locations with potential to become eco-towns will be taken early in 2009, and updated information was included on the sites in “Eco-towns—living a greener future: progress report”, published on 24 July 2008. The Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS) will shortly be published for consultation, and in the SA there will be more details about each of the shortlisted locations, including development on greenfield land. Copies of the SA and draft PPS will be placed in the House Library.
Eco-Towns: Planning
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether full planning inquiries will be held into eco-town proposals which are not already allocated in local authority structure plans, local development frameworks or regional spatial strategies. [225643]
Mr. Iain Wright: The processes for the preparation of a regional spatial strategy and for development plan documents, which form part of the local development framework, provide for an independent examination to be held. Where proposals for eco-towns are identified in either the regional spatial strategy or in development plan documents, these would form part of the considerations at independent examination.
As is the case with any other proposal, planning applications for eco-towns will be decided on their merits, firstly by the local planning authority. If the application is refused planning consent and subsequently appealed by the applicant, the appeal would be handled by the Planning Inspectorate. One of the ways of hearing the appeal would be through a planning inquiry.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will publish the draft Planning Policy Statement on eco-towns. [225051]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Cotswold on 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 309W.
Eco-Towns: Public Participation
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many responses have been received on eco-towns consultations; and what the deadlines are for responses to such consultations. [225649]
Mr. Iain Wright: We have completed the first stage of consultation on “Eco-towns—living a greener future”, which sought views on the principles of eco-towns and the shortlisted locations. This ran from April to the end of June and we will shortly be publishing a summary report of the responses received, including numbers of responses. The second stage of consultation will begin shortly and this will be on the draft Planning Policy Statement and Sustainability Appraisal, and will be a public consultation running for three months.
Eco-Towns: Sustainable Development
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the minimum Code for Sustainable Homes level will be that homes in eco-towns built before 2016 will have to meet. [225448]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave her on 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 306W.
Electoral Register
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the outcome of neighbourhood management pathfinders against objectives to increase electoral registration. [224823]
John Healey: The 35 neighbourhood management pathfinders aim to help deprived communities and local service providers work together at the neighbourhood level to improve and join up local services. No assessment has been made of the pathfinders' contribution to increasing electoral registration rates as this does not form one of their objectives.
Environment Protection
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether tree safety inspections required by her Department will require homeowners to pay a specialist to examine regularly their garden trees. [225447]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department does not require safety inspections to be carried out on trees in private gardens. We have no proposals to make such inspections compulsory.
Fire Services: Manpower
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters there were per 100,000 residents in (a) England, (b) Derbyshire and (c) Chesterfield in each year since 1997. [225897]
Mr. Khan: Information on the number of firefighters per 100,000 population in Derbyshire and England is set out in the table. Information for UK and Chesterfield is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Table: Firefighters per 100,000 population | ||
| Derbyshire | England | |
| Source: Annual returns to Communities and local government. | ||
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