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13 Jan 2009 : Column 620W—continued
At March 2008, the Department exceeded the cross-Whitehall targets on women, BME and disabled staff in the SCS, as set out in the Civil Service 10 Point Diversity Plan. The following table shows our final position together
with the new targets required by its successor, ‘Promoting Equality, Valuing Diversity: A strategy for the Civil Service’ (published July 2008).
| Percentage | ||||
| SCS Group | Cross-Government targets 2008 | Cross-Government targets 2011 | Communities targets for March 2011 | Results at 31 March 2008( 1) |
| (1) Results are based on the SCS staff providing information to Personnel Information Management System (PIMS). (2) Percentage differences between BME and disabled staff are caused by disparities in SCS data completion rates. | ||||
Departmental Telephone Services
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many telephone numbers for which callers are charged at the rate applicable to 0845 numbers are used by (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies for public access to services. [246989]
Mr. Khan: Communities and Local Government and its agencies do not require the public to make telephone calls on numbers which charge more than the national rate. The only 0845 number used is the Neighbourhood Renewal helpline (0845 0828383). However, calls to this number are diverted to the main Communities and Local Government switchboard and are charged at a local rate to the caller.
Deprivation Indicators
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the geographical barriers score of each parliamentary constituency in the Indices of Deprivation 2007 was, ranked from highest to lowest. [245903]
Mr. Khan: Statistics from the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007 have not been produced for parliamentary constituencies.
The Indices of Deprivation 2007 (ID 2007) were constructed at lower super output area (LSOA) level. LSOAs are consistent in size and over time, allow identification of small pockets of deprivation. There are 32,482 LSOAs in England. Because parliamentary constituencies are relatively large and subject to boundary change, it is not feasible to produce the Indices at this geographical level.
Six summary measures of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007 have been produced at both local authority district and unitary authority levels. The summary measures at district level focus on different aspects of multiple deprivation in the area. The six measures are ‘Average Score, Average Rank, Extent, Local Concentration, Income Scale, and Employment Scale’.
IMD07 and the local authority summaries can be found at:
Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Answer of 17 November 2008, Official Report, column 97W, on domestic waste: waste disposal, who the (a) managing, (b) certifying and (c) audit authority for each of the EU Interreg programmes listed is. [246942]
Mr. Khan: The information is as follows.
Government Procurement Card
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department holds records of individual transactions made in respect of her Department using the Government Procurement Card. [245906]
Mr. Khan: The Department holds the originals of the monthly paper statements, and copies are held centrally, relating to all Government Procurement Card transactions made by its cardholders. These statements provide details relating to the suppliers being used, when the transaction occurred and how much was spent per transaction.
In addition, the cardholders or their associated finance teams will hold the specific receipts or invoices relating to those purchases which will detail what exactly was purchased in each transaction with the relevant supplier.
Green Belt: York
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the proposed change in the (a) scale and (b) extent of the green belt around York arising from proposal YH9 of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Spatial Strategy. [246008]
Mr. Iain Wright: The principle of land being identified for the purposes of green belt around York has not altered as a result of the recent publication of the Yorkshire and Humber RSS (May 2008). In addition, RSS does not propose that the general extent of the green belt should be altered around York. York city council is however required by Policy YH9 of RSS to consider the setting of the historic city and long term development needs of the local authority area when identifying the inner green belt boundary.
It is the responsibility of local planning authorities to identify detailed green belt boundaries. York city council is currently in the process of preparing a local development framework for the district. This document will for the first time identify detailed green belt boundaries within the city that will determine the precise extent of land identified for the purposes of green belt policy.
Homelessness
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homelessness applications were made in each of the last three years (a) in total, (b) by those aged between 16 and 24 years old and (c) by those aged 24 years old and more in (i) Vale of York constituency, (ii) North Yorkshire and (iii) England. [245678]
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. Districts within North Yorkshire are Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby. In addition, information is provided for the unitary authority of York. Information is not collected at constituency level, and the Vale of York constituency lies within Hambleton, Harrogate and York.
Data collected include all decisions made on applications by eligible applicants, and the number of applicants 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.
A table showing data on applications by eligible households in all age groups for the last three years, as reported by local authorities, has been placed in the Library. The figures for England and North Yorkshire are shown in the following table.
| Decisions taken by local authorities under the 1996 Housing Act on applications from eligible households, England and North Yorkshire | |||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
| (1) Data not reported by local authority | |||
Data on applications by age band are not held centrally.
Housing: Low Incomes
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated for Social Homebuy in each of the next three years. [246718]
Mr. Iain Wright: Social HomeBuy is a demand-led product and as such there is no specific allocation within the Homes and Communities Agency’s Affordable Housing Programme for 2008-11 for this product. Registered Social Landlords who choose to offer Social HomeBuy bid to the Homes and Communities Agency for grant to cover the discount offered to the tenant.
Housing: Sales
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many bids her Department has (a) received and (b) approved for the purchase of unsold private housing, broken down by (i) local authority area, (ii) type of property and (iii) type of purchaser. [246786]
Mr. Iain Wright: As of 22 December 2008 the Homes and Communities Agency had received bids to the value of over £260 million to purchase unsold developer stock. From these bids they have approved a total of around £159 million.
A table has been deposited in the Library showing the total grant provided by local authority broken down by social rent and low cost home ownership and by type of property. All of these properties are being purchased by registered social landlords.
Housing: Standards
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has given to local planning authorities on the application of dwelling space standards. [245905]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government's Planning Policy Statement 3: ‘Housing’ (PPS3) is clear on the need to achieve high quality housing and encourages local planning authorities to draw on relevant guidance including ‘Better Places to Live: By Design (2001)’ which covers aspects such as the internal layout and use of dwelling space. However, the Government have not provided specific guidance to local planning authorities on the application of dwelling space standards.
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