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2 Apr 2009 : Column 1503W—continued
Housing: Low Incomes
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much she expects her Department to spend on the MyChoiceHomeBuy scheme in 2009-10; [268575]
(2) how much she expects her Department to spend on the OwnHome scheme in 2009-10. [268576]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to him on 23 March 2009, Official Report, column 68W and 24 March 2009, Official Report, column 218W.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average price of a property purchased with assistance from the First Time Buyers Initiative has been; and if she will make a statement. [268577]
Mr. Iain Wright: To date, the average price of a home purchased under the FTBI programme is £186,000. This covers the period from the first purchase in December 2006 up to the end of February 2009.
Local Government Finance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been provided to local authorities to support their work in helping eastern European migrants to return home or to find work in each year since 2004-05. [265487]
Margaret Beckett: In recognition of pressures on homelessness services caused by rough sleeping by Eastern European migrants, there has been additional funding to local authorities since 2004-05 as follows:
£257,000 Home Office Invest to Save funding to Westminster up to March 2006.
2006-07—£240,000 additional CLG Homelessness Grant funding to some London boroughs.
2007-08—£107,000 Home Office funding for Westminster’s continuing work with A8s.
2008-09—£360,000 additional CLG Homelessness grant funding to some London boroughs.
This funding has been used to help tackle destitution among eastern European migrants and includes measures such as helping people return home or to find work. This is an important strand of our work towards ending rough sleeping by 2012 given that destitute A10 nationals are over-represented among rough sleepers.
In addition there has been £200,000 CLG funding to Homeless Link, the national umbrella organisation for the voluntary sector for 2007-08—2008-09, to co-ordinate work around Eastern European rough sleeping in London.
Communities and Local Government is investing £200 million through local authorities and the voluntary sector to tackle homelessness including rough sleeping.
Local Government Finance: Disadvantaged
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the likely effect on local authority expenditure of the proposed new duty for public authorities to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds. [262099]
Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
In the New Opportunities white paper in January, the Government proposed
“a new strategic duty on central departments and key public services to address the inequality that arises from socioeconomic disadvantage”.
In line with that proposal, the Government have since been consulting a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities, to determine how such a duty might be best designed and implemented, and what implementation costs, if any, might be involved.
No decisions have yet been made in regard to the proposed duty, and the discussions with key stakeholders are ongoing.
National Housing and Planning Advice Unit
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 Housing and Planning Advice Unit’s board in the last 12 months. [262100]
Margaret Beckett: The discussions had at NHPAU Board meetings were held in confidence and relate to advice to Ministers. The NHPAU will be publishing summaries of board discussions and outcomes of meetings on its website as a matter of course in the near future.
Non-Domestic Rates: Business
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the Transitional Relief Scheme is not to be renewed; what assessment she has made of the effect on small businesses of the discontinuation of the scheme; and what representations she has received on the matter from representatives of businesses. [268462]
John Healey: The 2005 transitional relief scheme was introduced as part of the 2005 business rate revaluation and was limited in regulations to four years. The reasons for adopting a four year scheme were set out in the consultation document National Non Domestic Rates Transitional Arrangements: Consultation, August 2004. The effect on businesses was set out in a regulatory impact assessment on the regulations published at the same time. We have received a number of representations from businesses and local authorities on rate bills for 2009-10. The next revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2010 and include anew transitional arrangements scheme.
As the Government announced on 31 March, those businesses facing an increase in their business rates bill for 2009-10 as a result of the end of transitional relief will be able to defer payment of 60 per cent. of their increase until 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Railways: East of England
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will have discussions with the Department for Transport on the implications for regional spatial and economic strategies of the proposed East-West rail project. [267680]
Mr. Iain Wright: Officials from the Department of Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport have, and will continue to hold, regular discussions on the development of regional strategies and both the east of England and the south-east of England Government offices will continue to discuss this proposal with relevant Departments and stakeholders.
The Government office for the south-east has engaged in ongoing discussions with the Department for Transport in preparing the proposed changes to the south-east regional spatial strategy.
Regional Spatial Strategies
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers she has in respect of the (a) amendment and (b) revocation of regional spatial strategies. [268839]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004) provides the Secretary of State with powers to [amendments in brackets]:
Section 9 (3) states:
If after proceeding under subsection (1) or (2) the Secretary of State proposes to make any changes to the draft [s]he must publish—
(a) the changes [s]he proposes to make;
(b) [her] his reasons for doing so.
Section 9 (6) states:
The Secretary of State must then publish—
(a) the revision of the RSS incorporating such changes as [s]he thinks fit;
(b) [her]his reasons for making the changes.
Section 10 (5) states:
If the Secretary of State thinks it necessary or expedient to do so [s]he may at any time revoke—
(a) an RSS;
(b) such parts of an RSS as [s]he thinks appropriate.
Rented Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) local authority tenants and (b) housing association tenants there are in each local authority area in England. [266148]
Mr. Iain Wright: Figures are recorded as social housing stock rather than tenants.
Information on local authority (LA) owned housing stock is collected from local authorities on the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) return. This information is recorded as at 1 April and is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 116:
Information on registered social landlord’s (RSL) stock is collected through the Tenant Services Authority’s Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR) and is recorded as at 31 March.
A table showing LA housing stock and RSL housing stock in each local authority area in England has been deposited in the Library. Information is for 2008, the most recent year available.
Figures for RSLs are for social housing stock owned in England only and include general needs, supported housing and housing for older people accommodation. Both self-contained units and bed spaces are included because a split for local authority areas is not available.
Sheltered Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many sheltered housing schemes have employed a (a) full-time and (b) part-time warden in each of the last five years. [268475]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect data on numbers of wardens employed in Sheltered Housing Schemes. The provision of non statutory sheltered housing schemes and the employment of wardens within those schemes is a matter for local authorities and other providers of Sheltered Housing.
Social Rented Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average social housing monthly rent has been in each year since 1997 at 2008-09 prices. [266479]
Mr. Iain Wright: Average rent data are collected as weekly average rent rather than monthly average rent. Average rent data are collected from local authorities on the HRA second advance subsidy form. Stock figures from the HRA second base form are used to calculate weighted averages at county, regional and national level.
Registered social landlord (RSL) average rents data are provided by the Tenants Services Authority collected via the annual Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR). Data are not available for 2008-09. These data are available on the CLG website in live table 703:
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average central government subsidy per social housing tenant was in each region in each year since 1997 at 2008-09 prices. [266490]
Mr. Iain Wright: This information is not held by the Department and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Rented Housing: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of her Department's social rented programme budget for 2010-11 has been brought forward for use in 2008-09 and 2009-10; and if she will make a statement. [268600]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 23 March 2009, Official Report, column 78W.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to answer Question 245558, tabled on 18 December 2008, on Government plans to promote the UK as a standard setter for Islamic studies outside the Islamic world. [268606]
Mr. Khan: Question 245558 was transferred to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 12 January 2009 with the agreement of that Department.
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