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24 Apr 2009 : Column 911W—continued
Government Office for the North-West
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the Government Office for the North West is of (a) moving to new offices and (b) renting those offices in the first 12 months after moving. [270248]
Mr. Khan: The Government office for the north-west’s lease on its current accommodation in City Tower, Piccadilly Plaza expired on 14 December 2008. The lease has been extended until the Government office moves to an existing civil estate building that is being refurbished.
The estimated cost of the move of the Government office for the north-west from its current accommodation to Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester in spring 2010 is £1.9 million, which includes removals, security, IT services, new furniture and disposal of old furniture.
In 2008-09 the City Tower rent was £1,212,000. The cost of the annual rental for Piccadilly Gate has not yet been agreed, but is likely to be approximately £750,000.
Home Information Packs
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the likely effect on the retail price of an average home information pack for a (a) leasehold and (b) freehold property of the April 2009 changes to rules on such packs. [268750]
Margaret Beckett: The Home Information Pack (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 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.
Homes and Communities Agency
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies spent on publicity in each of the last three years; [266194]
(2) how much (a) the Tenants Service Authority and (b) Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies spent on public relations in each of the last three years. [266196]
Margaret Beckett: Final audited information for the HCA and the TSA for the year ending 31 March 2009 will be available after the end of the financial year.
The predecessor bodies of the HCA were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of programmes previously delivered by Communities and Local Government (CLG) also transferred to the Agency. The remainder of the Housing Corporation transferred to the Tenants Service Authority.
The following table shows the amount spent on publicity and public relations by English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation in the last three years:
| £000 | ||||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | ||||
| Publicity | Public relations | Publicity | Public relations | Publicity | Public relations | |
| (1) The Housing Corporation does not have specific budget codes for PR and Publicity, we have instead determined these costs as: expenditure against PR companies, Publicity, and Events. HC expenditure against Web Hosting and Publications cannot be disaggregated between internal and external communications costs, and is therefore excluded from the above figures. (2) While these have been identified as PR companies, it is probable that some of these costs may account for ‘public affairs consultancy’. | ||||||
The publicity and public relations costs for the Academy for Sustainable Communities could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost. The spend related to CLG programmes that transferred to the Homes and Communities Agency cannot be disaggregated.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what office space is (a) owned and (b) rented by (i) the Homes and Communities Agency and (ii) the Tenants Service Authority; and what recent estimate has been made of the monetary value of these holdings. [266197]
Margaret Beckett: The following table provides details of the buildings owned by the HCA and their open market values at 31 March 2008, which represents the last audited position.
| £000 | |
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 March 2009, Official Report, column 740W-42W, to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) that listed the HCA’s regional offices. In addition, two corporate centres are located in London (at Buckingham Palace Road and Maple House) and the HCA Academy is located in Leeds (at Foundry Street).
HCA is currently undertaking a review of its accommodation. The agreed future structure will reflect business need and will unlock as many efficiency savings as possible.
The Tenant Services Authority does not own any office space. The TSA rents office space on the 6(th) floor of Maple House in London, and the 4(th) floor of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester.
No valuation is made against rented accommodation.
Housing: Construction
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Government Office regions of the Homes and Communities Agency have not met their targets for new homes (a) started and (b) completed for the beginning of 2008-09. [268832]
Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) came into being on December 1, 2008. National targets for housing starts and completions were inherited from both the Housing Corporation (National Affordable Housing Programme—NAHP) and from English Partnerships (Property and Regeneration Programme— P and R). The Department for Communities and Local Government does not publish regional targets for these programmes. The HCA's recent press release provides preliminary national outturn figures for both the NAHP and P and R programmes.
A full table of figures for both NAHP and P&R is available at:
Housing: Low Incomes
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average amount of a mortgage taken out by a buyer purchasing property under HomeBuy schemes in each region was in the latest period for which figures are available. [268815]
Margaret Beckett: The following table shows the average monetary value of a mortgage taken out by a buyer purchasing a property under HomeBuy schemes in England in 2007-08, by region.
| Region | Average mortgage value (£) |
| Source: CORE (Continuous Recording) returns from Registered Social Landlords to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). | |
The size of the mortgage and the deposit can vary according to the size of the equity share of the property.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average sum provided as a deposit by buyers purchasing a property under HomeBuy schemes in each region was in the latest period for which information is available. [268817]
Margaret Beckett: The following table shows the average sum provided as a deposit by buyers purchasing a property under HomeBuy schemes in England in 2007-08, by region.
| Region | Average deposit (£) |
| Source: CORE (Continuous Recording) returns from Registered Social Landlords to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) | |
The size of the mortgage and the deposit can vary according to the size of the equity share of the property.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average (a) service charge and (b) ground rent paid on properties bought through HomeBuy schemes in each region is. [268818]
Margaret Beckett: The following table shows the average monthly service charge and monthly ground rent paid on properties purchased under HomeBuy schemes in England in 2007-08, by region.
| £ (per month) | ||
| Region | Average service charge | Average ground rent |
| Source: CORE (Continuous Recording) returns from Registered Social Landlords to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) | ||
Housing: Standards
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate how long it will take for 50 per cent. of homes to be at Standard Assessment Procedure 81 efficiency level or above. [270822]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge) on 23 April 2009, Official Report, column 886W.
Housing: Valuation
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average change in property value was in each region of England between 1991 and March 2009. [270825]
Margaret Beckett: The average change in property value in each region of England between 1991 and February 2009 are presented as follows:
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