| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 May 2009 : Column 1189W—continued
Mr. Michael Foster: Although the situation is far from ideal the 194,303 internally displaced people registered in camps in Vavuniya, Jaffna and Mannar do have access to humanitarian assistance. The situation is improving slowly. However, the population trapped in the conflict zone in Mullaitivu district is almost entirely isolated from any humanitarian assistance. Only the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has any kind of access and is able only to deliver 25 tonnes of food and other emergency items three times a week to a population of at least 50,000—barely three days of food each week. The UK Government repeatedly press at the highest level for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to enable the ICRC to evacuate the sick and wounded and to deliver sufficient humanitarian aid.
Sri Lanka: Politics and Government
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [275067]
Mr. Michael Foster: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) and the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Peter Luff) on 13 May 2009, Official Report , column 844.
Zimbabwe: Politics and Government
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to meet the need for humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe. [275063]
Mr. Thomas: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer provided to my hon. Friend the Member for Dundee, West (Mr. McGovern) on 13 May 2009, Official Report, column 841W.
Communities and Local Government
Council Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new lets there were by (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords in each year since 1997. [273402]
Mr. Iain Wright: New lets are defined as the number of lets to new social housing tenants.
New lets are reported by local authorities annually, through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA), covering the period 1 April to 31 March. The number of new lets made by local authorities in each year since 1996-97 is provided in Table 1.
New lets by registered social landlords are available via the Continuous Recording of Lettings system (CORE), covering the period 1 April to 31 March. The number of new lets made by registered social landlords in each year since 1996-97 is provided in Table 2.
| Table 2: Number of new lets( 1,2) by registered social landlords since 1996-97, England | |
| Number of new lets ( T housand) | |
| (1) New lets includes both general needs and supported housing. (2) Registered social landlords with less than 250 stock are not required to complete CORE returns. Source: Continuous Recording of Lettings (CORE) | |
Departmental Billing
Mr. Philip Hammond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) her Department and its predecessor and (b) its agencies paid in interest to suppliers under the Late
Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years for which figures are available. [275207]
Mr. Khan: The Department and its agencies have made no payments under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessor has spent on (a) conference services and (b) banqueting services in each of the last five years. [274510]
Mr. Khan: The Department has spent the following amount on (a) conference services for the last three years:
| Conference services (£) | |
Owing to changes to the coding structure on the Department’s finance system, figures for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The cost of any working meals cannot be disaggregated without disproportionate cost. I refer the hon. Member the answer I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 27 October 2008, Official Report, column 717W.
Empty Property: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of properties were vacant in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point in each of the last five years. [275832]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is provided in the following table.
The table shows the number of empty homes for each year between 2003 and 2008 for Essex and Castle Point with the number of those in the private sector empty for more than six months.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |