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11 Mar 2009 : Column 496W—continued
National Community Forum
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the National Community Forum’s board in the last 12 months. [262101]
Mr. Khan: In the past 12 months the National Community Forum has held three meetings. The meetings were held in April 2008 (quarterly meeting), October 2008(annual residential meeting) and January 2009 (sub-groups meeting). I have placed copies of the minutes in the Library.
Non-Domestic Rates: Business
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 20 January 2009, Official Report, column 1277W, on non-domestic rates: business, whether the business rate multiplier will be reduced in April 2010 if retail price index inflation in September 2009 is negative. [262035]
John Healey: If the retail price index inflation in September 2009 is negative it will have a reducing impact on the multiplier for 2010-11.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what additional levy there is on top of the standard business rates bill in each business improvement district which has been established. [262037]
John Healey: The Department does not collect this information, as businesses within the BID area decide on the amount of the levy and vote in a ballot on whether the scheme should go ahead. The size and calculation of the BID levy varies widely between BIDs. The levy is collected by the billing authority and held in a separate BIDs Revenue Account where it is ring-fenced and can only be used for the BID.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much she estimates will be raised from business rates in (a) England and (b) Wales in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10. [262608]
John Healey: For England, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 19 January 2009, Official Report, column 1081W.
Business rates in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government.
Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 3 November 2008, Official Report, column 132W, on small business: tax allowances, whether empty property below the appropriate rateable value threshold is automatically billed at the small business rate multiplier rate. [261835]
John Healey: No, small business rate relief applies to occupied properties only.
Non-Domestic Rates: Greater London
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 14 January 2009, Official Report, column 1278W, on non-domestic rates: Greater London, when such sub-location codes were first used in a rates revaluation. [262156]
Non-Domestic Rates: Ports
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the effect of changes to business rates in ports on (a) yacht clubs and (b) fishing companies located within the curtilages of ports. [261994]
John Healey: There has not been a specific assessment of the impact of the review of business rates in ports on yacht clubs or fishing companies.
Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what each of the classifications is of the codes used by the Valuation Office Agency to group properties for sub-locations. [262036]
John Healey: There is no classification of the codes used by the VOA to group properties for sub-locations. The sub-location codes are simply unique labels for a particular category of property having similar characteristics.
Owner Occupation
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many householders were owner occupiers owning their home (a) outright and (b) with a mortgage in each of the last 30 years. [262604]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not readily available for the United Kingdom.
Estimates of the number of owner occupying households in England who were (a) outright owners and (b) buying with a mortgage are set out in the following table. Estimates are available for 1981, 1984, 1988 and all years from 1991 onwards.
| Households in owner occupation: England 1981—2008 | |||
| Thousands of households | |||
| Owner occupiers | |||
| Own outright | Buying with a mortgage | All owner occupiers | |
| Sources: 1981 to 1991: DOE Labour Force Survey Housing Trailer 1992 to 2008: ONS Labour Force Survey. | |||
Planning Permission
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has provided to local authorities on (a) predetermination and (b) predisposition in respect of planning decisions. [262372]
Mr. Iain Wright: Every local authority is required to adopt a code of conduct that sets out rules governing the behaviour of its members. The Standards Board for England, sponsored by Communities and Local Government, is responsible for promoting and improving the ethical behaviour of local authorities and their members. It publishes a range of guidance documents to help local authorities and their members interpret the code of conduct, including the revised “Code of Conduct—A Guide for Members”, published in May 2007. In August 2007, the Board published an Occasional Paper, “Predisposition, Pre-determination and the Code”, to help clarify the issues of predetermination and bias.
In October 2008, Communities and Local Government issued “Guidance on Planning and Propriety Issues”, which deals with the propriety issues that can arise in connection with the Secretary of State exercising decision-making functions under the Town and Country Planning Acts.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to the period before expiry of planning permissions since 1997; and what representations her Department has received on extending this period in the last six months. [262382]
Mr. Iain Wright: Since 2005, under a provision in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the default period for the implementation of a planning permission has been three years. The Act also amended primary legislation so that a planning permission could no longer be extended by an application to vary a condition. The Department has received representations in the last six months on extending the period before the expiry of planning permissions from the Local Government Association, the Confederation of British Industry and the British Property Federation.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what use her Department and its predecessors have made of special development orders since May 1997. [262603]
Mr. Iain Wright: There have been two special development orders made in England since 1997. These were the Town and Country Planning (London Borough of Camden) Special Development Order 2004 (SI 2004/1231) and the Town and Country Planning (London Borough of Camden) Special Development (Amendment) Order 2004 (SI 2004/2355). The first order made provision for publicity for some planning applications (within the designated area) to be advertised on the internet. The amending order made an alteration as to compliance within the 21 day period for the display of notices, where notices are removed, obscured or defaced.
Planning Permission: Fees and Charges
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the construction of fishing lakes is classified as mineral extraction for the purposes of planning fees and charges. [262145]
Mr. Iain Wright: Where the proposed fishing lake to be constructed is part of an aftercare condition attached to a permission for mineral extraction, a planning application fee would be charged under Category 9 (a) (fees category for mineral extraction) of Schedule 1, Part 2 of the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2008). The mineral planning authority may also charge a fee for site visits to monitor the mineral permission during the aftercare period.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration she has given to the sale to the private sector of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; and if she will make a statement. [262321]
Mr. Khan: As was announced in the November 2008 pre-Budget report, Ministers concluded that there was no public policy rationale for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre to remain in Government ownership. Alternatives to public ownership are under consideration, and an update will be provided in the 2009 Budget report.
Recycling
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether recyclable materials collected from street recycling bins are counted towards local authorities' national indicator set recycling figures and targets. [262657]
Mr. Khan: Yes. National Indicator 192—Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting—does include materials collected from street recycling bins. Full definitions of the National Indicator set are set out in the “National Indicators for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships: Handbook of Definitions”, available on the CLG website at:
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