| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12 May 2009 : Column 714W—continued
Derelict Land: Gardens
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by what date she expects her Department to have completed the first stage of its review of the effect of development on gardens. [274824]
Mr. Iain Wright: The deadline for responses from local authorities is 29 May, and we aim to conclude the review by the summer.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many responses from local authorities her Department has received to its review of the effect of development on gardens. [274825]
Mr. Iain Wright: We will make further statements about the review in due course.
Domestic Violence
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contribution her Department has made to the cross-Government consultation, Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Children and to the development of Government policy in this area. [274230]
Mr. Khan: Communities and Local Government has been positively engaged with work on, “Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls” on which the Home Office is leading, since it commenced last year. During the development of the consultation document, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government wrote to the Home Secretary to affirm her support for this important agenda particularly through work on the domestic violence agenda, the Supporting People programme and through the domestic violence virtual unit. The Department’s officials have actively supported the cross-Government working group that has shaped and developed the current consultation document.
Economic Situation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1498-502W, on departmental conferences, if she will place in the Library a copy of the presentations and handouts produced for the Regeneration in Recession seminar on 18 February 2009. [273459]
Mr. Khan: Henry Overman and Ian Gordon of the Spatial Economics Research Centre, London School of Economics, presented their views at the Regeneration in Recession seminar on 18 February 2009. External stakeholders are responsible for their own presentations and handouts.
Energy Performance Certificates
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009, Official Report, column 128W, on energy performance certificates, how many fixed penalties have been imposed on landlords in each month since the provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive took effect in England. [274958]
Mr. Iain Wright: Penalty notices are issued by local weights and measures authorities who are empowered to enforce the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. There is no requirement for the Department to be informed when a penalty charge notice is issued.
EU Grants and Loans
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 12 March 2009, Official Report, column 740W, on the European Commission: financial corrections, what the monetary value is of the provision made for further financial corrections relating to audits carried out on the 1997 to 1999 round of structural fund programmes. [273684]
John Healey: The provision made for further financial corrections relating to audits carried out on the 1997 to 1999 round of structural fund programmes was £25.7 million, as stated in paragraph 1.20.7 of the Department’s 2007-08 resource accounts.
Fire Services
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to give fire authorities the power to promote well-being. [274783]
Mr. Khan: The power to promote well-being is available to local authorities as defined in Section 1 of the Local Government Act 2000 (LGA 2000). That includes those county councils which are also fire and rescue authorities (FRAs).
The possible extension of the power to promote well- being contained within Section 2 of LGA 2000 to all FRAs was considered at the request of consultees in 2003 prior to the introduction of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.
The power to promote well-being is intended to reflect the unique community leadership role of local authorities and consequently it has not been extended to any other form of authority with responsibility for delivery of public services. For this reason, and because we believe the powers available to FRAs are sufficient to enable them to undertake any activities required to fulfil the duties and responsibilities placed on them by legislation and the national framework for the fire and rescue service, it was not considered appropriate to amend the scope of this power more widely.
First Time Buyers
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated to the First Time Buyers Initiative for each of the next three years. [274835]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 23 March 2009, Official Report, columns 67-68W.
Freedom of Information
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 17 March 2009, Official Report, column 1106W, on freedom of information, (1) if she will place in the Library a copy of the substantive reply given to Freedom of Information Act 2000 request reference: F0002744, on the Church of Scientology, redacting the name and address of the recipient; [272326]
(2) if she will place in the Library a copy of the substantive reply given to Freedom of Information Act 2000 request reference: F0002977, on all communications between Lord Taylor of Blackburn and Ministers and senior civil servants at the Department about plans by Canatxx to build a gas storage facility at Preesall from 2005 up to the present date, redacting the name and address of the recipient; [272327]
(3) if she will place in the Library a copy of the substantive reply given to Freedom of Information Act 2000 request reference: F0002967, on organisations or projects that have received funding to date on the Preventing Extremism Together Initiative, redacting the name and address of the recipient. [272328]
Mr. Khan: I have today placed copies of the responses to these three Freedom of Information requests in the Library.
Housing: Construction
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of new dwellings were built on previously residential land in (a) England and (b) each Government Office region in England in the most recent year for which figures are available. [273239]
Mr. Iain Wright: The percentage, and estimated number, of new dwellings built on previously-residential land in 2007 by region and for England are given in the following table:
| New dwellings on previously residential land by Government Office Region 2007 | ||
| Percentage dwellings on residential land | Estimated dwellings on residential land | |
Housing: Low Incomes
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1117W, on housing: low incomes, what the average cash incentive grant was (a) in England and (b) in each region of England in each year since 1997. [272853]
Mr. Iain Wright: This information is not held centrally.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of major works voids in social housing in each (a) region and (b) local authority area in England. [274258]
Mr. Iain Wright: The term social housing has been interpreted as social rented dwellings let by local authorities or registered social landlords.
A table showing the number of vacant dwellings in each region and local authority area undergoing or awaiting works has been placed in the House Library.
Figures for RSL dwellings that are vacant and awaiting major works are not available at regional or local authority level. However, figures are available showing the number of RSL dwellings which are vacant but unavailable for letting at a local authority and regional level. A table showing these figures has been placed in the House Library. Figures for RSLs are for general needs self-contained units only.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the right to acquire discount limit for each local authority is; [274853]
(2) what discount was available to tenants under the right to acquire scheme in each local authority area in each year since 1997. [274868]
Mr. Iain Wright: The discount available to tenants under the right to acquire scheme in each local authority area is set out in The Housing (Right to Acquire) (Discount) Order 2002 (Statutory Instrument 2002 No 1091). This is available on the website of the Office of Public Sector Administration:
Between 1997, when the right to acquire scheme was introduced, and 2002, the available discounts were specified annually in the following statutory instruments:
The Housing (Right to Acquire) (Discount) Order 1998 (SI 1998/2014)
The Housing (Right to Acquire) (Discount) Order 1999 (SI 1999/1135)
The Housing (Right to Acquire) (Discount) (Amendment) Order 1999 (SI 1999/3028)
The Housing (Right to Acquire) (Discount) Order 2000 (SI 2000/1622)
The Housing (Right to Acquire) (Discount) Order 2001 (SI 2001/1501)
These are also available on the website of the Office of Public Sector Administration:
http://search.opsi.gov.uk/search?client=semaphore_front end&btnG=Search&site=SI&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet =opsisearch_semaphore&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&as_q=right%20to% 20acquire%20discount&as_ft=i&as_occt=any
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much her Department and its predecessors received in right to buy clawbacks in each year since 1997; [274864]
(2) over what period a former social tenant is liable for clawback under the right to buy scheme. [274867]
Mr. Iain Wright: Under section 155 of the Housing Act 1985, social landlords which have sold properties under the right to buy scheme may require former social tenants who have bought properties and choose to dispose of them within five years of the right to buy sale to repay all or part of the discount they received.
The decision on whether to require repayment rests solely with the landlord. Neither the Department for Communities and Local Government nor any of its predecessor Departments have received any funds as a result of social landlords deciding to require former tenants to repay right to buy discount.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2009, Official Report, column 245-6W, on housing: low incomes, (1) what the maximum right to buy discount is in each of the local authorities offering cash incentives for their tenants to leave the social rented sector; [274877]
(2) how many local authorities which offer cash incentives for social renters to buy a property are in areas where restricted right to buy discounts apply under the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendment) Order 2003. [274878]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is set out in the following table. As reported by local authorities through the 2007-08 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix, the listed local authorities in England provided cash incentive scheme grants, under section 129 of the Housing Act 1988, to assist tenants to acquire an interest in a new home in 2007-08. Grants under section 129 cannot be used for the purpose of assisting local authority tenants buy their existing council home.
| £ | ||
| Local authority offering cash incentive scheme | Maximum right to buy discount | Changed under Housing (Right to Buy)(Limits on Discount)(Amendment) Order 2003 (previously) |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |