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15 Oct 2008 : Column 1307W—continued
Eco-Towns
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of proposals that the first eco-towns should go ahead in those sites which are urban extensions; how she expects eco-towns to provide sustainable community development models for future urban communities; and if she will make a statement. [226868]
Mr. Iain Wright: We want eco-towns to be exemplars in tackling the challenges of housing growth and climate change, and they will make an important contribution to the development of new technologies and practices, as well as promoting excellent new design. As such they will help inform the development of towns, cities, suburbs and urban extensions. More details about the standards that eco-towns must meet will be set out in the draft eco-towns Planning Policy Statement, which we will be publishing shortly for consultation.
Some of the schemes we are considering are close to urban areas, but an eco-town needs to have the critical mass to develop its own identity, standards and scope for innovation.
Fire Services
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library the minutes of meetings of the FiReControl Project Business Case Assumptions Review Group held in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [226670]
Mr. Khan: I have placed copies of the summary notes for the three meetings held of the Business Case Assumptions Review Group in the House library. We published the Business Case Part 1: “The Regional Case” on the 8 July and a copy has been placed in the House Library. The Business Case Part 2: “The National Case” will be published later in the year and a copy placed in the Library.
Fire Services: Consultants
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department paid PA Consulting for work related to the FiReControl project in each quarter from 1 April 2005 to 30 September 2008; and if she will make a statement. [226637]
Mr. Khan: Total paid to PA Consulting for work relating to the FiReControl project from 1 April 2005 is £21.7 million broken down by quarter as follows:
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
Fire Services: Data Protection
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to safeguard sensitive data during transfer between fire and rescue services to central databases at data centres identified under the FiReControl project; and if she will make a statement. [226636]
Mr. Khan: The FiReControl project will ensure that all data transfers between Fire and Rescue Services and the FiReControl central database will be fully protected and encrypted, commensurate with the type of data being transferred, in alignment with HMG standards and good practice guidance written by CESG, the information assurance arm of GCHQ. In line with CESG guidance, technical measures are complemented with physical, personnel and procedural measures. These will be fully tested and assured, and subject to ongoing review to ensure a comprehensive approach to safeguard all information.
Fire Services: Expenditure
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on agency staff employed in respect of the FiReControl project since 1 April 2005, broken down by regional management board; and if she will make a statement. [226638]
Mr. Khan: The information requested is not held centrally.
Homelessness
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households registered as homeless there were in each of the last eight quarters, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) age of applicant. [226460]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information about English local housing authorities’ actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level. Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). These households are known as ‘accepted’ households.
Data on accepted households are provided in our quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, which is published on our website and placed in the Library each quarter. This includes acceptances by local authority, and acceptances by age band of applicant.
Acceptances by local authority are published in each quarter's Statistical Release, in the Supplementary Tables. In addition, a table showing these data for the last eight quarters has been placed in the Library.
Data on the age band of accepted applicants, for the last eight quarters, can be found in Table 10b of the most recent quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available in the Library. For ease, this table can be found as follows:
| Acceptances by age of applicant | |||||||||||||
| Total number of households accepted during period | 16-24 | % of total | 25-44 | % of total | 45-59 | % of total | 60-64 | % of total | 65-74 | % of total | 75 and over | % of total | |
Housing: Construction
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of reductions in land values for the Government's housebuilding targets. [226869]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government do not publish forecasts for private house building.
Housing: Heating
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received on building regulations for domestic heating pumps; and if she will make a statement. [226881]
Mr. Iain Wright: There are different technologies associated with domestic heating pumps. The Department is engaging with a number of industry associations over the role of these technologies in buildings, especially as part of the 2010 review of Part L (energy efficiency) of the Building Regulations and the Code for Sustainable Homes, which set standards in terms of energy efficiency.
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