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21 Apr 2009 : Column 535W—continued

Home Information Pack Rules

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make an assessment of the effect of the new home information pack rules on the housing market. [269457]

Mr. Iain Wright: The Home Information Pack (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 2008 were accompanied by a regulatory impact assessment setting out our assessment of the effect of the new rules which came into force on 6 April 2009.

Council Tax

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of unitary authorities which have set their absolute rate of council tax since the establishment of unitary local government arrangements. [268880]

John Healey: All 56 unitary authorities in England have set their absolute rate of council tax in 2009-10. Details of the levels of council tax they set in 2009-10 are given in the statistical release Levels of Council Tax Set by Local Authorities : England 2009-10 that was published on the Communities and Local Government website on Thursday 26 March 2009. It can be found at:

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much revenue was raised in absolute terms through the fire precept on council tax in each precepting authority in the last year for which figures are available. [268924]

John Healey: Information on the council tax requirement of precepting fire authorities in England in 2007-08 is as shown:


21 Apr 2009 : Column 536W
Fire authority Council tax requirement in 2007-08 (£000)

Avon Combined Fire Authority

19,068

Bedfordshire Combined Fire Authority

15,159

Berkshire Combined Fire Authority

16,142

Buckinghamshire Combined Fire Authority

14,924

Cambridgeshire Combined Fire Authority

13,812

Cheshire Combined Fire Authority

22,376

Cleveland Combined Fire Authority

9,377

Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority

19,461

Devon and Somerset Combined Fire Authority

37,856

Dorset Combined Fire Authority

15,413

Durham Combined Fire Authority

14,852

East Sussex Combined Fire Authority

21,864

Essex Combined Fire Authority

37,688

Greater Manchester Fire and CD Authority

37,508

Hampshire Combined Fire Authority

34,567

Hereford and Worcester Combined Fire Authority

17,868

Humberside Combined Fire Authority

19,888

Kent Combined Fire Authority

37,925

Lancashire Combined Fire Authority

26,707

Leicestershire Combined Fire Authority

14,676

Merseyside Fire and CD Authority

24,519

North Yorkshire Combined Fire Authority

16,376

Nottinghamshire Combined Fire Authority

20,601

Shropshire Combined Fire Authority

11,782

South Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority

20,241

Staffordshire Combined Fire Authority

21,227

Tyne and Wear Fire and CD Authority

22,412

West Midlands Fire and CD Authority

34,767

West Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority

31,661

Wiltshire Combined Fire Authority

13,371

Total

664,088

Source:
Communities and Local Government 2007-08 Revenue Outturn Forms.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average percentage change was in the council tax precepts levied by (a) district councils, (b) county councils, (c) London boroughs, (d) unitary authorities, (e) metropolitan boroughs and (f) police authorities since 1997-98. [268926]

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 31 March 2009, Official Report, column 1043W.


21 Apr 2009 : Column 537W

Councillors: Vetting

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance (a) her Department and (b) the Standards Board has issued to local authorities on the undertaking of Criminal Records Bureau checks in respect of councillors who (a) have and (b) do not have responsibility for functions relating to children or vulnerable adults. [268923]

John Healey: While neither my Department, nor the Standards Board for England, has issued such guidance to local authorities about criminal record checks, guidance is available from the Criminal Records Bureau.


21 Apr 2009 : Column 538W

Fires

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were rescued by the Fire and Rescue Service from (a) all fires and (b) dwellings fires in each (i) fire authority area and (ii) region in each of the last three years. [266400]

Mr. Khan: Information on the number of people rescued (uninjured) from fires in England, by the Fire and Rescue Service, over the last three years is available in the table.


21 Apr 2009 : Column 539W

21 Apr 2009 : Column 540W
Rescues from fires in dwellings by FRS personnel( 1) by year, England, 2005-07( 2)
2005 2006 2007
FRS area Total Dwelling Other location Total Dwelling Other location Total Dwelling Other location

England

3,590

3,173

417

3,838

3,366

472

3,504

3,084

420

North East

230

209

21

227

207

20

220

183

37

Cleveland

39

37

2

44

44

0

24

24

0

Durham

30

23

7

51

47

4

52

49

3

Northumberland

13

13

0

13

13

0

5

3

2

Tyne and Wear

148

136

12

119

103

16

139

107

32

North West

681

618

63

644

553

91

585

534

51

Cheshire

63

63

0

75

70

5

40

40

0

Cumbria

27

25

2

27

20

7

30

26

4

Greater Manchester

311

275

36

266

217

49

222

197

25

Lancashire

147

138

9

174

153

21

130

126

4

Merseyside

133

117

16

102

93

9

163

145

18

Yorkshire and The Humber

496

434

62

505

446

59

394

371

23

Humberside

102

97

5

179

153

26

109

100

9

North Yorkshire

48

47

1

41

36

5

26

24

2

South Yorkshire

101

94

7

112

98

14

139

132

7

West Yorkshire

245

196

49

173

159

14

120

115

5

East Midlands

271

240

31

247

215

32

209

194

15

Derbyshire

46

43

3

44

39

5

40

37

3

Leicestershire

42

42

0

43

40

3

48

46

2

Lincolnshire

17

15

2

35

22

13

38

37

1

Northamptonshire

53

47

6

19

18

1

22

21

1

Nottinghamshire

113

93

20

106

96

10

61

53

8

West Midlands

327

297

30

302

277

25

355

313

42

Hereford and Worcester

28

24

4

14

14

0

43

43

0

Shropshire

23

15

8

8

8

0

20

20

0

Staffordshire

53

48

5

67

65

2

107

79

28

Warwickshire

14

14

0

49

43

6

24

24

0

West Midlands

209

196

13

164

147

17

161

147

14

East of England

297

269

28

244

222

22

377

329

48

Bedfordshire

66

62

4

50

46

4

26

26

0

Cambridgeshire

34

32

2

33

33

0

36

30

6

Essex

65

52

13

34

33

1

163

150

13

Hertfordshire

49

47

2

61

49

12

82

80

2

Norfolk

37

30

7

43

39

4

60

34

26

Suffolk

46

46

0

23

22

1

10

9

1

Greater London

544

496

48

692

632

60

571

499

72

South East

469

373

96

534

474

60

439

363

76

Berkshire

41

38

3

62

49

13

56

42

13

Buckinghamshire

20

20

0

40

27

13

34

29

5

East Sussex

86

78

8

47

40

7

118

84

34

Hampshire

95

89

6

149

132

17

84

84

0

Isle of Wight

7

4

3

1

1

0

2

2

0

Kent

115

58

57

144

137

7

48

44

5

Oxfordshire

26

23

3

12

12

0

23

21

2

Surrey

40

31

9

47

47

0

28

16

12

West Sussex

39

32

7

32

29

3

46

41

5

South West

275

237

38

443

340

103

354

298

56

Avon

69

66

3

87

79

8

53

45

8

Cornwall

12

10

2

9

6

3

50

49

1

Devon

106

87

19

81

75

6

95

87

8

Dorset

7

7

0

28

27

1

23

22

1

Gloucestershire

25

23

2

40

28

12

34

18

16

Somerset

22

21

1

122

88

34

55

39

16

Wiltshire

34

23

11

76

37

39

44

38

6

(1) Rescue figures are based on sampled, weighted data
(2) Data for 2007 are provisional and subject to change
Source:
DCLG Ref: 2009021_PM (2005-2007p).sas on 23 March 2009

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