| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
13 May 2009 : Column 818W—continued
Information is not available for the years 1997-98, 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable for the national roll-out of the National Register for Social Housing is. [274817]
Mr. Iain Wright: The National Register of Social Housing (NROSH) data collection was rolled out in 2006.
Housing: Merseyside
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home repossessions initiated by (a) building societies and (b) banks there were in (i) Crosby constituency and (ii) Merseyside in each of the last five years. [273611]
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 is available on their website at
The CML and FSA release slightly different figures. The CML data is 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 95 per cent. of mortgage lending. The FSA data, as well as covering possessions on first-charge mortgages, covers possessions on second-charge loans by regulated firms (many second charge lenders are not regulated) but doesn't 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.
Infrastructure Planning Commission
Mrs. Spelman: 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 20 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1409-10W, on the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), if she will make it her policy to ensure that the IPC’s (a) staff, (b) chief executive officer, (c) commissioners and (d) board members are appointed on terms which provide for a notice period of no more than three months. [274937]
Margaret Beckett: The notice to be given by the CEO, commissioners and board members will be agreed in the normal way when the terms of their specific contracts are agreed following a successful interview process. The notice period applying to other staff will be determined by IPC in the light of its business needs.
Local Government Finance
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local spending reports prepared under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 will include information on budgets. [274764]
Mr. Khan: The first Local Spending Report, under section 6 of the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 was published on 29 April 2009 using outturn data from 2006-07. These are the latest available audited data and are not subject to change as budgeted data may be.
The consultation on Local Spending Reports, with a deadline of 15 May 2009, considers how the reports should develop over time. The Government will consider all the representations submitted and we will publish our response later this year.
Local Government: Cost Effectiveness
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has for implementation in local government of the recommendations of the Operational Efficiency programme. [273572]
John Healey: The local government sector has a strong track record of delivering substantial value for money savings. Both central and local government have identified more scope for increased efficiencies to be driven out in the current 2007 CSR period and beyond as supported by the findings of the Operational Efficiency Programme. Councils are raising their ambition for efficiency and the Government are working with the sector to help authorities deliver that ambition.
Local Government: Pensions
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what her latest estimate is of the size of the deficit of the Local Government Pension Scheme; [273569]
(2) what steps her Department plans to take to reduce the deficit in the Local Government Pension Scheme; [273599]
(3) what proportion of money in the Local Government Pension Scheme is invested in equities. [273601]
John Healey: When Local Government Pension Scheme funds in England and Wales were last valued on 31 March 2007, total assets of £132 billion represented some 83 per cent. of the scheme’s liabilities of £159 billion. Equities totalled 67 per cent. of the scheme’s assets with a market value of £88.4 billion. For the year ending 31 March 2008, expenditure on benefits totalled £5.2 billion compared with an income of £10 billion.
The next triennial valuation exercise takes place on 31 March 2010 to assess the scheme’s funding position, including the effect of recent stock market conditions. Any funding deficit identified will be recovered through locally agreed recovery plans, typically over a 20 year period, and be reflected in contribution rates set for the period 2011-12 to 2013-14 and beyond.
Discussions continue with stakeholders to ensure that the scheme remains affordable, viable and fair to taxpayers.
Local Government: Standards
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many reports the monitoring officer in each local authority has made in each of the last five years; in respect of which authority each report was made, and on what date; and what steps her Department took in each case. [273795]
John Healey: This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) support, (b) advice and (c) training her Department makes available to local authority monitoring officers on the discharge of their duties. [273796]
John Healey: My Department does not offer support, advice or training directly to local authority monitoring officers. Support is provided by the Standards Board for England through its statutory and non-statutory guidance on the code of conduct for members and the local standards framework; its dedicated monitoring officers’ helpline; its seminars and annual assembly. The board is also developing a training manual which will assist monitoring officers when providing training to members on the code of conduct and the standards framework.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost of extending the Mortgage Rescue Scheme to households in negative equity; and if she will make a statement. [271371]
Margaret Beckett: The Mortgage Rescue Scheme was launched nationally on 1 January 2009. In the Budget 2009 it was announced that the scheme would be expanded to include some households in negative equity from 1 May. Following the Budget, an additional £80 million has been made available for the scheme, funded from the Department’s end-year flexibility.
The main costs of including households in negative equity will usually be met by lenders who have agreed to write down levels of negative equity on a case-by-case basis. However, these cases will have a higher than average unit cost as they will be suitable for Government Mortgage to Rent rather than the Shared Equity option.
The extension of the scheme to include households in negative equity was made quickly in direct response to feedback on delivery of the scheme at local level, and will contribute to helping up to 6,000 households through the scheme.
We have also relaxed the regional property price caps for Mortgage Rescue, to enable more households to benefit from this form of support. This means for example in the South West the cap has increased from £195,000 to £205,000, thereby allowing more households to be considered for the scheme.
We have also announced a further £20 million funding for local authorities to enable them to offer households small loans or one off payment to help prevent repossession or eviction. Homelessness prevention work by local authorities is continuing to have a major impact—with the number of households being accepted homeless(1) being reduced by over 60 per cent. since 2003. The use of temporary accommodation also continues to fall—this is a remarkable achievement given the current economic climate.
We are committed to ensuring households at risk of repossession attending court receive support on the day. Court desks provide free, immediate legal advice and representation at County court hearings, and we have worked closely with the Legal Services Commission to review the provision of court desks across the country. During the current financial year we are providing increased funding through local authorities to provide court desk provision in up to 80 County courts—double our commitment in 2008-09.
(1) Owed a main duty under the Homelessness Act.
Mortgages: Repossession Orders
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home repossessions initiated by (a) building societies and (b) banks there were in (i) the London borough of Bexley and (ii) Greater London in each of the last five years. [273701]
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 its 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 its 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 95 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.
National Policy Statements
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the location-specific elements of national policy statements will include statements that development should not take place in specific areas. [274789]
Mr. Iain Wright: The majority of national policy statements (NPSs) are not expected to be locationally specific. Where they are, for example the airports and nuclear NPSs, the intention is primarily to identify suitable or potentially suitable locations for development, rather than to identify locations which are unsuitable for development.
Non-domestic Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how long transitional relief for the 2010 business rates revaluation will last; and what assessment has been made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) equity of the 2005 rates revaluation transitional relief scheme after its implementation. [273568]
John Healey: The 2010 business rates revaluation takes effect from 1 April 2010. We will introduce transitional arrangements to phase in changes in rate bills as a result of the revaluation. We will consult upon the details of the transitional arrangements, including the length of the scheme, later in the summer. The Government continue to keep the rating system under review, including the operation of transitional arrangements.
Property Development: Derelict Land
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hectares of brown field land was developed in each year since 1997. [272637]
Mr. Iain Wright: The area of previously developed land that was developed in each year since 1997 is available in live table P261 on the Department’s website at:
For ease of reference I quote the details as follows:
| Hectares | |
| (1) Not published. Note: The 2006 figure is provisional | |
Justice
Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what evaluation he has made of the effectiveness of use of penalty notices for disorder amongst 10 to 15-year- olds in the six pilot areas. [274153]
Mr. Straw: The evaluation report on penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) for 10 to 15-year-olds in the six pilot areas was published on 5 November 2008. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. We are currently revising the Police Operational Guidance to take into account the recommendations of the evaluation in collaboration with interested groups.
Coroners
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many narrative reports he has received from HM coroners under Coroners Rule 43 since its revision in July 2008; which inquests gave rise to each such report; which coroner presided in each case; in which of those inquests the coroner sat without a jury; and to which Government Department each report was referred. [274095]
Bridget Prentice: Between 17 July 2008 and 7 May 2009 230 Rule 43 reports have been received from HM Coroners. Table A shows details of the coroners, deputy coroners and assistant deputy coroners who submitted the reports. 49 of the reports were directed at Government Departments and details are shown in table B. Information is not held centrally on the specific inquests which gave rise to each report or which of these inquests sat without a jury. The Lord Chancellor will be publishing a summary of rule 43 reports received since 17 July 2008 shortly.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |