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30 Apr 2009 : Column 1402W—continued
More recently, the Planning Act 2008 provides for the creation of a more efficient, effective and transparent development consent regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects. It provides for ministers to set out the national need for infrastructure in National
Policy Statements, a new single consent regime to replace the eight existing development consent regimes for nationally significant infrastructure projects, and the establishment of an independent Infrastructure Planning Commission to examine and (where a relevant National Policy Statement is in force) determine applications made under this new regime, at the same time locking more meaningful public involvement into each stage of the process. The aim is to reduce the time taken from application to decision to under a year in the majority of cases, saving up to an estimated £300 million a year. Under the Act, Ministers must, when preparing National Policy Statements, do so with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development, and all NPSs will be subject to an appraisal of sustainability, ensuring that sustainable development is at the heart of the new regime.
In late 2008, we introduced changes to permitted development for certain householder extensions and loft conversions, which is expected to remove about 80,000 applications a year from the system.
The process of planning reform is continuing. In March this year, the Government set out their response to the Killian Pretty review, which sets out an ambitious programme of further improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning application process.
In addition, the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill introduces a clear duty for responsible regional authorities, when preparing their new integrated regional strategies, to exercise their functions with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. There is also a requirement for regional strategies to include policies designed to contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change.
Regeneration: Preston
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received from hon. Members on the redevelopment of Preston city centre. [271307]
Mr. Iain Wright: While other objectors have raised issues on the redevelopment of Preston city centre Tithebarn scheme, no representations have been received from hon. Members on this scheme.
Regional Planning and Development
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding for infrastructure was allocated by her Department to the Milton Keynes/South Midlands Growth Area in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08 and (c) 2008-09. [271630]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department for Communities and Local Government provides funding to support local infrastructure in growth areas and growth points through the Growth Fund and the Community Infrastructure Fund, which is a joint fund with the Department for Transport. The Growth Fund and Community Infrastructure Fund are additional to mainstream departmental funding in areas such as health, education and national transport networks.
Funding is allocated to local authorities, and to transport authorities for the Community Infrastructure Fund, rather than on a growth area-wide basis. The funding allocated to growth locations through the Growth Fund and Community Infrastructure Fund in 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09 is shown in table 1. The total funding allocated to locations across the Milton Keynes South Midlands (MKSM) growth area over this period was £298.2 million.
In addition, funding allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11, and the second round of the Community Infrastructure Fund, have now been announced, and are shown in table 2. A further £128.08 million funding has been allocated to growth locations across the Milton Keynes South Midlands growth area over this period.
| Table 1: funding across the MKSM growth area 2006-09 | |||||
| £ million | |||||
| Growth f unds | Community Infrastructure Fund, round 1 | ||||
| Places | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008 -09( 1) | Total | 2006- 07 to 200 7- 08 |
| Note: £17.7 million from the CIF1 allocation was carried forward into 2008-09 to support seven projects whose timetable had slipped. (1) 2008-09—figures show the first of three year unringfenced block funding allocations covering the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. (2) Northamptonshire County—figures include strategic projects to support the county as a whole. | |||||
| Table 2: funding across the MKSM growth area 2009-11 | ||||
| £ million | ||||
| Growth funds | Community Infrastructure Fund, round 2 | |||
| Places | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | Total | 2009-10 to 2010-11 |
Rented Housing: Public Consultation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009, Official Report, column 79W, on tenant services authority, how many people attended each National Conversation event for (a) landlords and (b) tenants. [272202]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, South (Margaret Moran) on 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 732W.
Temporary Accommodation
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were in temporary accommodation in England in (a) 2004, (b) 2005, (c) 2006, (d) 2007 and (e) 2008. [271577]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information about English local housing authorities’ actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level, about households rather than individuals.
Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes so.
Information on the numbers of households housed in temporary accommodation is reported quarterly by local authorities as at the last day of each quarter. The figure includes: those households which have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which enquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority, and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.
The number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter is published in table 7 of the Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness. Quarter
four within this table is based on 31 December, which represents the end of calendar year figure. This is available on the web and in the Library:
Please see the following table:
| Households in temporary accommodation on 31st December each year from 2004 to 2008 | |
| Households in temporary accommodation | |
Zero Carbon Hub
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 23 April 2009, Official Report, column 892W, on the zero carbon hub, if she will place in the Library a copy of each regular report made to date. [272243]
Mr. Iain Wright: The reports referred to are being made available on the Zero Carbon Hub’s website:
Defence
Armed Forces: Rescue Services
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many military helicopters have been available to provide search and rescue cover in each of the last 12 months; [271461]
(2) how many search and rescue helicopters were available on average to provide cover for such activities in each year since 2003. [271462]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The average number of UK based Search and Rescue Royal Navy and RAF helicopters available for tasking in each year since 2003 is shown in the following table:
| Average number of helicopters | |
Helicopter availability in each of the last 12 months is shown in the following table:
| Average number of helicopters | |
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