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12 Mar 2009 : Column 738W—continued
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic dwellings in England have been assigned the code CL26 in each of the last three years. [262521]
John Healey: The number of properties, in England, reviewed and cleared with notification change code CL26 is as follows.
| Number | |
Councillors: Allowances
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) regulations and (b) circulars have been issued on rules relating to councillor (i) allowances and (ii) pensions since May 1997. [262041]
John Healey: Since May 1997 the following statutory instruments have been made with regard to local authority members’ allowances:
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (Amendment) Regulations 1998/556 came into force: 1 April 1998
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1998/557 came into force: 1 April 1998
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (Amendment) Regulations 1999/1086 came into force: 30 April 1999
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1999/1087 came into force: 30 April 1999
The Local Government Act 2000 came into force: 28 July 2001
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2001/1280 came into force: 4 May 2001
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003/1021 came into force: 1 May 2003
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2003/1692 came into force: 31 July 2003
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2004/2596 came into force: 3 November 2004
The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 related to pensions as well as allowances.
No circulars have been issued by the Government on this subject since May 1997.
Councillors: Arun
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 19 January 2009, Official Report, column 1072W, on councillors: Arun, for what reasons Arun was chosen by the Audit Commission to ask councillors for their bank account details. [262097]
John Healey: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member directly.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 12 March 2009:I
Your Parliamentary Question on what reasons Arun was chosen by the Audit Commission to ask councillors for their bank account details has been passed to me for reply.
The Audit Commission confirms that there was no particular or additional request for data relating to Arun Council or its councillors in relation to the National Fraud Initiative and that they have been treated in exactly the same way as all other participants in the National Fraud Initiative.
One of the key sets of data matched under the National Fraud Initiative is payroll data. For example, by matching payroll data to Housing Benefit claimants' data we can identify potential fraudulent claims or overpayments. All mandatory participants in the National Fraud Initiative (for example, local councils, police authorities, probation boards, fire and rescue authorities, NHS bodies, etc) are required to provide bank account and sort codes in the payroll file submitted to the Audit Commission. The specific (and relatively limited) fields required for the National
Fraud Initiative are set out in the published ‘data specification’. This requires the payroll data submitted to include all individuals being paid a salary, wage, members' allowance or other remuneration at a particular point in time. It therefore covers all employees, board members and councillors.
A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.
Departmental Training
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's policy is on holding departmental away days outside her Department's buildings. [262028]
Mr. Khan: Communities and Local Government does not have a formal policy covering the arrangements for holding Departmental away days outside the Department's buildings.
Departmental Visits Abroad
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much expenditure was incurred in respect of overseas visits which (a) she, (b) other Ministers in her Department and (c) her Department's senior officials undertook in 2008. [262147]
Mr. Khan: The annual list of overseas travel by Ministers costing over £500 was last published on 22 July 2008, Official Report, column 102WS. Details for the financial year 2008-09 will be published in due course. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the "Ministerial Code".
Expenditure for senior officials is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. All travel by staff employed by Communities and Local Government is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.
Eco-Towns
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 29 January 2009, Official Report, column 769W, on eco-towns, in which publications the Central Office of Information advertorials were placed. [262296]
Mr. Iain Wright: The advertorials commissioned through the Central Office of Information in respect of the first stage consultation were placed in the following publications:
Bedford Times & Citizen
Bicester Advertiser
Cambridge Evening News
Cornish Guardian
Doncaster Free Press
Eastern Daily Press
Farnham Herald Series
Herts & Essex Observer
Leicester Mercury
Lichfield Mercury Series
Louth Leader
Nottingham Evening Post
Oxford Mail
Skegness Standard
Stratford Upon Avon Herald
Worthing Herald Group
Yorkshire Evening Post
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department has had with prospective developers of eco-towns on the desirability of alternate weekly collections in eco-town developments. [262602]
Margaret Beckett: The desirability of alternate weekly collections is something that promoters and local authorities will want to discuss as part of taking individual proposals forward. In the draft Eco-towns Planning Policy Statement we have set out the standards that eco-town proposals must meet, including for waste. It is for each eco-town proposal to demonstrate how they will achieve the standards.
Eco-Towns: Public Consultation
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the consultation process on eco-towns has been extended; and how many consultation responses her Department received prior to the extension. [262377]
Margaret Beckett: The second stage eco-towns consultation has been extended to 30 April 2009 in line with an undertaking that I made prior to the recent legal proceedings, which concluded in the Government’s favour. This will ensure that the public and all stakeholders will have sufficient time to respond to the consultation and consider all the information that has been published on the policy, including the recently published study on the financial viability of the eco-towns programme.
Prior to the extension of the consultation we had received a number of consultation responses. We will issue our response to the consultation in due course following the close of the consultation, and this will include a summary of the numbers of responses and comments received.
Empty Property
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the restoration of long-term empty domestic dwellings for active use may be counted as a contribution towards a local authority's new dwellings target. [262597]
Mr. Iain Wright: The net additional homes target relates to new dwellings and does not include existing properties that have been returned to habitable use.
Energy Performance Certificates
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been provided on the location in a building where a display energy certificate should be displayed. [262663]
Margaret Beckett:
The guidance on Display Energy Certificates (DECs) stipulates that a DEC must be placed in a prominent place clearly visible to the public.
It recommends that the certificate should ideally be placed in the reception area, or entrance, of a building or be clearly visible from it.
European Commission: Financial Corrections
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has paid the European Commission in financial corrections since 1997; and what levies for financial corrections were outstanding at the latest date for which figures are available. [262611]
John Healey: The Department has paid €24.8 million in financial corrections since 1997. There are no confirmed outstanding levies for financial corrections from the European Commission. We have made provision for a further financial correction relating to audits carried out by the European Commission on the closure of the 1997-99 round of structural funds programmes.
HomeBuy Scheme
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what targets she has set for levels of participation in HomeBuy Direct Schemes; and what timetable she has set for meeting these targets. [262371]
Margaret Beckett: No specific participation targets have been set for the HomeBuy Direct scheme.
The Government are making £400 million available in the remainder of 2008-09 and 2009-10 to help up to 18,000 first time buyers into home ownership through this scheme, but the actual number of transactions (and consequently, the actual amount of expenditure incurred by Government) will depend on take-up by first time buyers.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing transactions have been completed under the Homebuy Direct scheme to date. [262533]
Margaret Beckett: The new HomeBuy Direct scheme is in the process of being rolled out. Just under 6,000 HomeBuy Direct properties are now available to purchasers, and further properties will become available very soon. Given that a house purchase typically takes three to six months, no transactions have been completed to date.
Homes and Communities Agency
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government where each regional office of the Homes and Communities Agency is located; and whether each is co-located with the relevant (a) Government Office for the region and (b) regional assembly. [262682]
Margaret Beckett: A list of HCA regional office location is provided:
Kent House
81 Station Road
Ashford
Kent
TN23 1PP
5 St. Philips Place
Colmore Row
Birmingham
B3 2PW
Atrium Court
The Ring
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 IDF
1st Floor
Aztec Centre
Aztec West
Almondsbury
Bristol
BS32 4TD
Westbrook Centre
Block A, Suite 1
Milton Road
Cambridge
CB41YG
Leon House
High Street
Croydon
Surrey
CR91UH
Beaufort House
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