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5 May 2009 : Column 140W—continued
New Deal for Communities
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the extent to which (a) the provision of guidance and (b) sharing good practice has contributed to the development of local sustainability plans in New Deal for Communities areas. [271639]
John Healey: It is too early to make an assessment of the contribution that guidance and shared good practice from the New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme is making to the development of local sustainability plans in NDC areas.
It was always the intention that the improvements to NDC residents would be delivered in a way that could be sustained beyond Government funding and into the long term. The Department has issued various guidance notes which relate to succession throughout the programme, most recently comprehensive succession guidance on 4 December 2008. This was launched at a conference attended by NDCs and local authorities, which was designed to assist them with preparing long term succession strategies to ensure that the benefits and improvements made to the areas can be sustained.
Non-Domestic Rates
Peter Luff:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department has had with the Treasury and
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the implementation of measures to introduce automatic rate relief for small businesses. [271532]
John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government has had a number of discussions with the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Treasury on making small business rate relief automatic.
The Government are keen to explore ways in which we can promote, and improve the administration of, the existing small business rate relief scheme and increase its take up, including through automatic options. CLG officials will work with Treasury officials to see how the take up of the scheme can be improved.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to make payment of small business rate relief automatic for eligible businesses; and if she will make a statement. [272624]
John Healey: The Government are keen to explore ways in which we can promote, and improve the administration of, the existing small business rate relief scheme and increase its take up. CLG officials will work with Treasury officials to see how the take up of the scheme can be improved.
Planning Permission
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for each local planning authority to complete its core strategy; and what penalties will apply in the case of late completion. [272440]
Mr. Iain Wright: The individual timetable for the completion of each local authority core strategy is contained in its local development scheme, published on each local authority’s website, which sets out all development plan documents and has been agreed by the Secretary of State. According to these local development schemes, all core strategies should be adopted by August 2012.
Although there are no direct penalties, local authorities will fail to receive the full grant allocation from the Government’s Housing and Planning Delivery Grant if priority development plan documents set out in the local development scheme are not prepared in accordance with their agreed time scale.
Without up to date development plan documents, local authorities reduce their ability to direct the right type of development to the right place within their areas.
Regional Planning and Development
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress has been made in her Department's Growth Points programme; and if she will make a statement. [271579]
Margaret Beckett: Through the Growth Points initiative the Government are responding positively to local partners who are keen to pursue sustainable growth. Allocations to growth point locations, announced in December 2008:
were based on their programmes of development and we encourage these documents to be made available through the local authorities concerned. We are now asking local authorities to work closely with CLG and the Homes and Communities Agency to implement their programmes of development and effective partnership working will be particularly important during the current economic conditions.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009, Official Report, column 76W, on regional planning and development, what timetable has been agreed for delivery of each of the remaining core strategies. [272335]
Mr. Iain Wright: Core strategies form part of the Local Development Framework and part of the development plan for each local planning authority in conjunction with the regional spatial strategy.
The individual timetable for the completion of each local authority core strategy is contained in its Local Development Scheme, published on each local authority’s website, which sets out all development plan documents and has been agreed by the Secretary of State. According to these local development schemes, all core strategies should be adopted by August 2012.
Rented Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much was spent on maintaining (a) local authority and (b) registered social landlord properties which are (i) newer than 10 years, (ii) older than 10 years and (iii) older than 20 years in the last 12 months; [270623]
(2) what estimate she has made of the costs of maintaining housing owned by (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords which is (i) up to 10, (ii) between 11 and 20 and (iii) over 20 years old; and if she will make a statement. [272514]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information for local authorities is not available in the format requested.
The Tenant Services Authority only hold information in relation to registered social landlords. The information for England in the Global Accounts for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, show:
Routine repairs—£1,422 million
Planned and major repairs—£2,701 million (this includes capitalised major repairs)
Total repairs—£4,123 million
Management cost spend—£1,913 million
The Tenant Services Authority do not hold or collect any data by property age.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what guidance is given to (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords on reducing the numbers of properties illegally sublet by tenants; [272205]
(2) what incentives are provided for (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords to reduce the numbers of properties illegally sublet by tenants; [272206]
(3) what estimate has been made of the number of social homes which were illegally sublet in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [272207]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department has not issued guidance to social landlords on unlawful sub-letting. Robust procedures to tackle unlawful sub-letting are a part of effective stock management. Successful possession action against unlawful sub-letters frees up stock and, therefore, enables social landlords to house more of those in greatest need.
The Department does not collect data on the numbers of social homes unlawfully sub-let.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information her Department has on the age profile of housing owned by (a) registered social landlords and (b) local authorities; and if she will make a statement. [272512]
Mr. Iain Wright: The English House Condition Survey includes an assessment of the age of dwellings that are owned by local authorities and registered social landlords. Table 1 provides estimates for 2006, the latest available from the survey.
| Table 1: Dwellings owned by local authorities and registered social landlords by age, 2006 | |||
| Number (thousand) | |||
| Dwelling age | Local authorities | Registered social landlords | All social landlords |
| Source: English House Condition Survey, 2006 | |||
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average length of tenure for a tenant leaving a property in (a) the registered social landlord sector and (b) local authority housing was prior to departure in each year since 1997. [272515]
Mr. Iain Wright: Data on the average length of tenure for tenants leaving a property are not available.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average cost was of maintaining a domestic dwelling owned by (a) a local authority and (b) a registered social landlord in each of the last five years. [272566]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information for local authorities is not available in the format requested.
The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) only hold information in relation to registered social landlords. The information for England in the global accounts from 2005 to 2008 is shown in the table.
| Average costs per unit, England | ||||
| £ | ||||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| Note: Figures exclude RSLs with less than a 1,000 units. Source: TSA Global Accounts | ||||
Information for 2004 is not provided because it is not directly comparable.
Repossession Orders: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic properties in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire have been repossessed in the last five years. [272156]
Mr. Iain Wright: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest press release on this is on their website at:
The CML data on repossessions are no longer freely available from their website. For detailed time series information members of the public can request to subscribe to CML to obtain access to a restricted website.
The Financial Services Authority data are available on their website at:
The CML and FSA release slightly different figures. The CML data are for repossessions on first-charge mortgages only, including Buy-to-Let mortgages, as issued by their members. CML estimate that their lenders currently account for 98 per cent. of mortgage lending. The FSA data, as well as covering possessions on first-charge mortgages, cover possessions on second-charge loans by regulated firms (many second charge lenders are not regulated) but do not cover possessions as comprehensively on Buy-to-Let mortgages, as some of these are from unregulated firms. The overall effect of the differences is that the FSA's statistics on possessions are slightly higher.
Roads: Floods
Mr. Heald:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government's plans are for storm drainage standards
for future road adoptions; what account those plans take of Environment Agency guidelines of a 100 year return-period storm standard; and if she will make a statement. [271534]
Paul Clark: I have been asked to reply.
Adoption of highways is a matter for each highway authority. The Government have no plans to set design and construction standards in relation to adoptions.
Tenant Services Authority
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords; and if she will make a statement. [271583]
Margaret Beckett: The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords, also called Tenant Services Authority (TSA), has issued a corporate plan with high level targets, agreed by Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government, and which should be reported on in its annual report. As the TSA has only been operational since December 2008, no formal performance review has yet taken place, but there have been several meetings between TSA and myself.
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