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27 Jan 2009 : Column 350W—continued
Housing
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 28 October 2008, Official Report, column 955W, on housing, when she plans to publish the Housing Reform Green Paper. [251960]
Margaret Beckett: As per my answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 28 October 2008, Official Report, column 955W, I am currently considering the content and timing of the Green Paper.
Housing: Low Incomes
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many homes have been bought in each region through the National Clearing House; [250193]
(2) how much has been spent by the National Clearing House on purchasing unsold homes for affordable housing; [250194]
(3) whether (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities are able to purchase empty land using the National Clearing House. [250195]
Mr. Iain Wright: In May, the Government announced a plan to take advantage of market opportunities to bring private sector developer stock into the affordable housing sector by providing £200 million of funding through the Housing Corporation's national affordable housing programme (AHP) for the purchase of homes from house builders. These funds are not being used to purchase empty land.
To help facilitate this, the Housing Corporation set up the National Clearing House to streamline initial assessment of national packages of at least 250 units from private sector house builders. Housing Corporation investment partners, mainly registered social landlords, wishing to buy smaller numbers of units from developers could bid for funding directly to the corporation in the normal way.
To the end of December over £160 million had been allocated from the initial £200 million. The following table shows the distribution of these allocations by region and social rent and low cost home ownership.
| Social rent | LCHO | |||
| Region | Total grant (£ million) | Number of homes | Total grant (£ million) | Number of homes |
Local Government Finance
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the data contained on the second advance subsidy form submitted to her Department by each local authority in each year since 1997. [250650]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Local Government Services
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the contribution of the Minister for Local Government of 15 October 2008, Official Report, column 841W, on local government, what the timetable is for the production of the forthcoming Green Paper on local government provision of social care. [251906]
Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
The Government will publish a Green Paper on care and support reform in spring 2009.
The reaction from stakeholders and the public to various key questions was tested during an engagement process from May until November 2008. The comments received then will help inform the Green Paper and a report of the findings will be published with it.
Planning Permission: Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date it was decided that determination of the three wind farm planning appeals in the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed would be made by the Secretary of State; and when community groups with rule six status were notified of this change. [250773]
Mr. Iain Wright: The decision to link and recover these appeals for the Secretary of State's decision was made on 26 August 2008. The recovery letters are sent only to the local planning authority and the appellants, rule 6 parties were not notified. It is not normally general practice to send recovery letters to other interested parties, as the fact that the decision will be made by the Secretary of State does not affect their case in any way.
Repossession Orders
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home repossessions there were in (a) England, (b) the Greater London area, (c) the London Borough of Hillingdon and (d) Uxbridge constituency in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008 to date. [250779]
Mr. Iain Wright: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Financial Services Authority. However both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest press release on this subject is on their website at:
The Financial Services Authority data is available on their website at:
Supporting People Programme
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much is being spent on the Supporting People initiative in 2008-09. [250473]
Mr. Iain Wright: The indicative national budget allocation for the Supporting People programme is £1.686 billion, £1.666 billion, £1.636 billion for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 financial years respectively.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the criteria for eligibility for assistance under the Supporting People initiative are. [250474]
Mr. Iain Wright: While the Government set the national framework for the provision of Supporting People services, administering authorities have responsibility for developing, delivering and monitoring the programme locally, based on local needs and priorities in relation to the provision of housing support, which develops and sustains an individual's capacity to live independently in their accommodation, as set out in each local authority's Supporting People five-year strategy.
Each local authority is responsible for setting their own eligibility criteria based on local needs and priorities, which then determines who can access services that are funded from the Supporting People Grant (SPG).
Yorkshire and Humber Regional Assembly
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes are planned in the governance arrangements of the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Assembly from March 2009. [251794]
Mr. Khan: The Yorkshire and Humber Assembly will cease to exist from 1 April 2009.
The Assembly, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber and Yorkshire Forward responded positively to the Sub-National Review and took the decision to move to new streamlined governance structures by April 2009.
From 1 April, a Joint Regional Board made up of eight LA leaders and eight Yorkshire Forward Board members will be supported by five thematic, advisory boards (Work and Skills, Transport, Planning, Regeneration and Housing and Independent/Challenge). The exact membership and remit of each board is still being worked up.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts Council England: Internet
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Arts Council England has spent on its website in each of the last five years. [249814]
Barbara Follett: Arts Council England has advised that it has spent the following amounts on hosting and administrative support costs for the Arts Council England and Own Art websites as well as media streaming costs for the Arts Council England website:
| £ | |
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many (a) hits and (b) unique visitors Arts Council England’s website received in each of the last five years; [249815]
(2) how many (a) hits and (b) unique visitors the Arts Council England’s website received in each of the last five years. [250264]
Barbara Follett: Arts Council England has advised that its website has received the following hits and unique visitors in each of the last five years.
| Hits | Unique visitors | |
Casinos: Licensing
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to put into effect the conclusions of the availability to play consultation in respect of the casino licence tendering process for casino operators and local authorities. [250849]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 26 January 2009]: The consultation on ‘availability to play' regulations, formerly known as the ‘casino premises licence regulations’ under section 172(6) of the Gambling Act 2005, has not yet taken place.
I am considering proposals for the consultation document and the public consultation process will follow in due course.
Casinos: Newham
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the process of procuring a casino in Newham. [250850]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 26 January 2009]: In inviting and determining applications for casino premises licences, licensing authorities must comply with the statutory provisions in the Gambling Act 2005 and related secondary legislation.
In February 2008, the Secretary of State also published a code of practice on the procedure to be followed by a licensing authority in respect of inviting and determining applications for casino premises licences. Although the Secretary of State maintains an overview of the legislative framework governing the casino premises licence process, he has not made an assessment of the process of procuring a casino licence in Newham.
Convergence Think Tank
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) total and (b) staffing cost of the Convergence Think Tank and its seminars was. [247438]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 14 January 2009]: The estimated total cost of the Convergence Think Tank, including seminars, was £375,800, of which staff costs for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform were approximately £249,300.
Estimated staff costs include employer’s national insurance and pension contributions. The figures exclude preparatory work carried out by DCMS staff prior to the commencement of the project, as this was not recorded separately.
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