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9 Feb 2009 : Column 1683W—continued
Textiles: Overseas Trade
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what services his Department provides to the textile sector to enable companies to pursue business opportunities overseas. [253389]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment provides a wide range of support measures to companies seeking to do business in overseas markets, including financial assistance, through the Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP), to companies wishing to market their products or services at overseas exhibitions.
In financial year 2007-08 the TAP scheme supported 93 businesses at a cost of £240,000 in the Textiles sector. In the current financial year, 2008-09, we forecast supporting 106 businesses at a cost of £268,000.
The textile sector has also received £29,000 of support this year from UKTI’s Regional Challenge Fund, for activities such as enhancing the UK textile sector’s international media profile. The fund will be operating again in financial year 2009-10 and the textile sector will again be able to apply for support for suitable projects.
Trade: International Cooperation
Mr. Soames: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the EU's proposals for Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services include numerical limits in regard to the number of workers who could be granted entry to the UK. [253505]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 2 February 2009]: The current EU services offer in the DDA negotiations proposes a system of numerical ceilings for the temporary entry of highly-skilled foreign professionals in the categories of contractual service suppliers and independent professionals in a limited number of services sub-sectors.
For the UK, the current offer retains the option of a numerical ceiling for contractual service suppliers and independent professionals for only one sub-sector—computer and related services.
The offer, setting out the strict criteria for entry in all categories and in all services sub-sectors committed, is in the public domain and can be found on the WTO website. However, the offer remains incomplete. It does not yet contain either numbers or modalities. These remain to be worked out in the negotiations.
Communities and Local Government
Aerials: Planning Permission
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Answer of 4 February 2008, Official Report, column 890W, on aerials: planning permission, when she expects to publish the conclusions of the review of planning procedures for new base stations; and if she will make a statement. [252496]
Mr. Iain Wright: We are still undertaking our review of the planning procedures relating to applications for new base stations.
We are currently considering whether the two reviews published on 24 November—the ‘Killian and Pretty Review: Planning applications—a faster and more responsive system: Final Report’ and the ‘Final report into Non householder minor development consent review’ by White Young Green Planning—have any implications for the work on telecommunications.
Should we decide that the telecommunication regulations need changing we will consult publicly on any options.
Building alterations: Planning permission
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local authorities on the use of section 106 agreements to levy lump-sum charges on household extensions. [255295]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Government's guidance on the use of planning obligations (also known as section 106 agreements) is set out in Circular 05/05. This is available in the House Library.
Community Development: Referendums
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria her Department plans to apply for deciding on the use of referendums to promote community empowerment. [254770]
Mr. Khan: The use of local referendums to promote community empowerment is a matter for local authorities to decide.
Council Tax: Lincolnshire
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average Band D council tax in each billing authority in Lincolnshire was in 2008-09 (a) before and (b) after the designation of the Lincolnshire police authority and the issuing of new bills. [253887]
John Healey: Details of the average Band D council tax in each billing authority in Lincolnshire in 2008-09 before the designation of the Lincolnshire police authority were published in a statistical release on 27 March 2008 and available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
Details of the average Band D council tax in each billing authority in Lincolnshire in 2008-09 after the designation of the Lincolnshire police authority were published in a statistical release on 21 August 2008 and available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
Council Tax: Overpayments
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procedures apply to refunding by local authorities of overpayments of council tax in cases where a domestic property has been incorrectly banded by the Valuation Office Agency. [253868]
John Healey: The administration of council tax, including refunds of overpayments, is a matter for local authorities.
Departmental Contracts
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 18 November 2008, Official Report, columns 376-9W, on departmental contracts, what the timetable is for the completion of the Contact Point for the North West Territorial Co-operation Programme; to whom the contract was awarded and at what cost; and what the full project specification is. [255189]
Mr. Khan: This contract was for the provision of UK Contact Points for the North West Europe Territorial Cooperation Programme. The timetable for completion of the programme is 31 March 2011 and the contract was awarded to two individuals at an overall cost of £318,000. A copy of the specification has been lodged in the Library of the House.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to my hon Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 18 November 2008, Official Report, columns 376-9W, on departmental contracts, what the timetable is for the completion of the Enabling Most Efficient Information Sharing Across Government Project; to whom the contract was awarded and at what cost; and what the full project specification of the research is. [255194]
Mr. Khan: The timetable for the completion of the Enabling more efficient information sharing across Government project is 28 February 2009. The contract was awarded to Xantura Limited and the maximum approved cost of the contract is £89,800.00. A copy of the full specification of the project has been deposited in the Library of the House.
Departmental Legal Proceedings
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many legal proceedings naming her Department as a defending party have been (a) filed, (b) concluded and (c) dismissed in each of the last five years. [255251]
Mr. Khan: Legal proceedings involving the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government are handled on behalf of the Secretary of State by the Treasury Solicitors Department, which has supplied the information requested in the following table.
The upper part of the table (‘client group DCLG’) shows the cases in which the Department was directly involved. The lower part of the table (‘client group
PINS’) shows cases where, although the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government was cited as the respondent, the challenged decisions had been delegated by the Secretary of State to a Planning Inspector, and so in practical terms the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) and not the Department was the respondent.
This right hand column shows the number of cases filed in the calendar years 2006, 2007, 2008. The number of cases filed, and in which the Department was directly involved were, respectively 2006: 162, 2007: 135, 2008: 99. The corresponding figures for cases handled by the Planning Inspectorate were 2006: 172, 2007: 181, 2008: 212.
The table also shows the number of cases closed per year. For example, of the 162 cases directly involving
the Department which were opened in 2006, 17 were closed in 2006, 56 were closed in 2007, 47 were closed in 2008, one has been closed in 2009, and 41 still remain open. The table shows the equivalent figures for cases opened in 2007 and 2008, and the figures for cases handled by the Planning Inspectorate.
The Department of Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006, so no legal proceedings naming the Department were filed before that date. The figures for 2006 in the table do however include cases opened between 1 January 2006 and 5 May 2006 involving the predecessor Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
| Year closed | |||||||
| Client group | Year opened | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Still open | Grand total |
Departmental Lobbying
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Ministers in her Department received representations from (a) Lord Moonie, (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn, (c) Lord Snape and (d) Lord Truscott in the last seven months. [255226]
Mr. Khan: The only representations received from the Noble Lords referred to in the question are as follows.
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, Lord Taylor of Blackburn asked my noble Friend Baroness Andrews whether representatives of Canatxx Ltd. could meet officials. Representatives of Canatxx met policy officials on 6 December 2007 to discuss general policy on gas storage facilities.
In the summer of 2008 Lord Taylor of Blackburn requested information from my noble Friend Baroness Andrews about Newark as a growth point and related planning cases.
Departmental Mass Media
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Surrey (Mr Hunt) of 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1491W, on departmental mass media, for what reasons her Department is monitoring the media for the keywords of ‘civil unrest’. [255190]
Mr. Khan: ‘Civil unrest’ is included as a keyword search term for CLG’s contracted media monitoring provider in order to ensure relevant coverage relating to community cohesion and resilience issues, for which the Department is responsible, is captured.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Surrey (Mr Hunt) of 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1491W, on departmental mass media, on what date Durrants was instructed by her Department to monitor the keywords 'Haringey Social Services'. [255191]
Mr. Khan: The Department asked for this search term to be added to Durrants' list of key words on 17 November 2008.
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