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29 Oct 2008 : Column 1142W—continued
Mr. Iain Wright: We have no plans to do so. I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by the then Minister for Housing and Planning on 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 162WS, about the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s report “Towards a Compulsory Purchase Code”.
The “Greenweb v. Wandsworth” case is unfortunate, but it is also exceptional. The response to the Law Commission’s report has to be viewed against the background of the range of planning reforms that the Government have introduced since 2004, which have streamlined the planning system and ensured that the majority of individual applications are dealt with much more swiftly.
Housing: Low Incomes
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average number is of data items held for each property on the National Register of Social Housing. [230457]
Mr. Iain Wright: As of 18 September 2008 the average number of data items held on each dwelling recorded in the National Register of Social Housing was 39.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households are expected to be supported by the HomeBuy Direct scheme in each of the next three years; and at what cost to the public purse. [230700]
Mr. Iain Wright: HomeBuy Direct is expected to provide the opportunity for up to 10,000 households to access affordable home ownership over financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10. It is difficult to give an accurate estimate of delivery in each year before the conclusion of the competition to select suitable schemes and properties from house builders. This competition opened on 1 October and is expected to conclude by the end of the 2008-09 financial year. However, we have published indicative figures that suggest that there could be up to 8,333 HomeBuy Direct completions in 2009-10.
The scheme has been allocated £300 million of Communities and Local Government funding.
Housing: Prices
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has undertaken, commissioned or evaluated on the relative changes of the prices of houses and flats in the last 12 months. [230347]
Mr. Iain Wright: Data on house price changes by dwelling type are available from the monthly CLG house price index available at:
CLG uses data from the Regulated Mortgage Survey (RMS), carried out by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, to calculate mix-adjusted house prices for the CLG house price index. The RMS includes mortgage completions data which cover approximately 60 per cent. of the UK mortgage market in 2007.
Housing: Repairs and Maintenance
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of tenant satisfaction with each registered social landlord’s performance on repairs and maintenance was in each of the last five years. [229282]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Housing Corporation requires registered social landlords (RSLs) to survey their tenants at least every three years in a form consistent with the National Housing Federation’s STATUS (Standard Tenant Satisfaction Survey) methodology. Since 2007, the Housing Corporation has collected information from RSLs’ general needs tenant surveys on satisfaction with repairs, which is published as the performance indicator ‘Tenant satisfaction with repairs and maintenance service’. In accordance with its published performance indicator criteria, the Corporation publishes the results on this performance indicator for associations with greater than 1,000 dwellings in total and that manage at least 250 general needs dwellings.
This information is not available for years before 2007. The information for 2007 is available through the Housing Corporation’s website at:
The information for 2008 will be published on the website shortly.
Housing: Sustainable Development
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account was taken of British Standard BS 5906:2005 on waste management in buildings in the development of the Code for Sustainable Homes. [230658]
Mr. Iain Wright: The guidance in British Standard 5906:2005 is used as the basis of the methodology for calculating the volume of waste storage space required for the mandatory recycling element in the Code for Sustainable Homes.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties have been granted a zero star rating under the Code for Sustainable Homes in each month since the code's inception. [231247]
Mr. Iain Wright: A property can be awarded a zero star rating under the Code for Sustainable Homes if it does not meet the credits required to achieve a specific level (1-6). There have been no properties awarded a zero star certificate to date. If a zero star certificate was issued it would be accompanied by a report that explained what elements of the code were achieved.
A nil rated certificate is a self-declaration by a builder that they have built their dwelling to meet the standards set down in Building Regulations rather than building to a specific level of the code. A nil rated certificate can be freely downloaded from the internet and included in a home information pack for a new home. We do not collect data on the number of nil rated certificates.
Interreg Programme
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what projects are being considered under the Interreg IVC programme which relate to the United Kingdom. [229669]
John Healey: Five projects have been approved with UK lead partners in the first call for projects on Interreg IVC programme, which has now closed.
1. Power—where the South East RDA is the lead partner
2. SEE—where Design Wales is the lead partner
3. PIMMS Transfer—where the London Borough of Bromley is the lead partner
4. GRaBS—where the Town and Country Planning Association is the lead partner
5. RAPIDE—where the South West Regional Development Agency is the lead partner.
Local Authorities
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the terms of reference are of the review by Land Data cic of local authorities; what the cost is to the public purse for the work; and when it will report. [230698]
Mr. Iain Wright: Land Data cic were commissioned to develop a database on local authority performance, and state of preparedness following guidance issued by the Department, on access to property search information and forthcoming guidance on charging for property search information
The total costs were £53,439.77 (inclusive of VAT). We received a report on 3 October 2008 which we are currently considering.
Local Authorities: Public Relations
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department and its predecessors have issued to local authorities on local authority-funded (a) public relations and (b) marketing in each of the last five years. [230342]
John Healey: We have issued no such guidance other than the “Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity”, first issued in 1988 and revised in 2001, which remains in force. In our White Paper “Communities in control: real people, real power”, we have undertaken to consult on potential changes to the publicity code, which we intend to do shortly.
Local Government Services: Sports
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department has taken steps to encourage implementation of the recommendations of the Audit Commission’s 2006 report into Public Sports and Recreation Services. [226616]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
The Government welcomed this important report, which highlighted the need for better, more strategic decision making by local authorities on the procurement and management of leisure facilities. We want to help local authorities to modernise their leisure facilities and to ensure that the right sports facilities are provided in the right location. Sport England has developed a range of strategic planning tools to assist them. These include: the Active Places database, which provides a comprehensive picture of a range of sports facilities across the country; the National Benchmarking Service; a facilities planning model; and a sports facilities demand estimator. In addition, Sport England’s Facilities Improvement Service is working closely with a number of local authorities to improve their strategic planning for community sport at the local level.
On the specific recommendations:
Through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and Free Swimming programmes a range of Government Departments, including the Department of Health, Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are working together to ensure a coordinated approach to investment in sports and recreation facilities;
As part of the BSF programme, local authorities must demonstrate that they have consulted with Sport England, County Sports Partnerships, sports governing bodies and others concerning the strategic development of school sports facilities within their area. Additionally, Partnerships for Schools’ PE and sports advisers help local authority sports stakeholder groups to develop dual school community-use facilities;
In BSF, the local education partnership (LEPS) actively promotes opportunities for local councils to develop strategic capital development proposals to achieve better value for money through joint procurement;
DCMS were not allocated private finance initiative (PFI) credits in CSR07 and will not therefore be directly supporting any leisure PFI projects but continue to work with councils who are currently procuring leisure facilities through PFI and with the public private partnerships programme (4ps) and regional centres of excellence on procurement guidance. Sport England is also working with a number of local authorities on the development of sustainable public private partnerships.
Local Government: Standards
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what impact assessment has been produced by (a) her Department and (b) the Audit Commission on the effect of moving from comprehensive performance assessment to comprehensive area assessment. [230327]
John Healey: A copy of the Regulatory Impact Assessment carried out for the 2006 Local Government White Paper, “Strong and Prosperous Communities”, is available on my Department’s website:
This impact assessment covered all of the policy proposals in the White Paper including the changes to the local assessment and inspection regime.
The inspectorates consulted jointly this summer on the methodology Government have tasked them to develop for the new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA). They have carried out an equalities impact assessment of their methodology proposals, on which a report was appended to the consultation document. This can be accessed via:
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what statutory requirements there are on local authorities to provide information on an authority's activities in the area it serves. [230343]
John Healey: Information listing the statutory requirements placed on local authorities to provide information about their activities in their areas is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because the requirements are contained in various different enactments not all of which are the policy responsibility of DCLG.
Non-Domestic Rates
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the premises of diplomatic missions are (a) valued for non-domestic rates by the Valuation Office Agency and (b) exempt from non-domestic rates. [229715]
John Healey: Premises of diplomatic missions are (a) valued by the Valuation Office Agency, being shown in rating lists, and (b) not exempt from non-domestic rates. Consular premises nevertheless enjoy a statutory immunity contained in the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964, which prevents the enforcement of rate demands.
Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average cost of empty property business rates to local authorities in 2008-09 arising from empty local authority properties. [230182]
John Healey: An impact assessment detailing the impact of the empty property reforms was published by Communities and Local Government in May 2007 accompanying the introduction of the Rating (Empty Properties) Bill and a further assessment was laid before this House on the 26 February accompanying the Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (England) Regulations 2008—No. 386.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the forecast additional revenue arising from empty property business rates will be (a) treated and (b) disposed of. [230196]
John Healey: The forecast additional revenue arising from empty property business rates has been taken into account in the calculation of the distributable amount.
Non-domestic Rates: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 1 September 2008, Official Report, column 1427W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, whether each sub-location is given (a) a name and (b) a unique number. [230126]
John Healey: The information is as follows:
(a) Each sub-location is given a description.
(b) Each sub-location has a unique identifier.
Ordnance Survey
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued to Ordnance Survey on its role as (a) an adviser and (b) a commercial supplier to the Government. [229484]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the fourth paragraph of section 2.2 of Ordnance Survey’s Framework Document, July 2004, available at:
The Department has not issued guidance to Ordnance Survey in its role as a commercial supplier to the Government.
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