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19 May 2009 : Column 1337W—continued
Young Offenders: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many young people were in young offender institutions in Essex in each of the last five years. [274240]
Mr. Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
Available information provided in the following table shows the number of 15-17 year olds and young adults under sentence in prison establishments in Essex as at the end of June 2003 to June 2007 (latest available).
Young adults are those aged 18-20 and those 21 year olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.
| Population in prison establishments in Essex, under sentence, by age group 15-20, 2003-07 | |||||
| As at 30 June each year | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006( 1) | 2007 | |
| (1) HMP Bullwood Hall previously a female prison was re-roled to take male Category C inmates only. The young offender institution unit and the female juvenile institution unit at HMP Bullwood Hall closed and stopped taking inmates. | |||||
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Communities and Local Government
Armed Forces: Housing
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the merits of allowing members of the armed forces to claim single household council tax rebate for married quarters when posted to other military establishments in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [276158]
John Healey: A dwelling (including married quarters) of which the Secretary of State for Defence is the owner, held for the purposes of armed forces accommodation, is exempt from council tax under Class O of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 (SI. 1992/558). A local authority therefore cannot issue a council tax demand notice in respect of such a property, and the question of single person discount does not arise.
The Ministry of Defence pays a contribution in lieu of council tax to local authorities in respect of the totality of the dwellings on each of its estates, in an amount broadly equivalent to the amount of tax that would otherwise be due. As part of the terms and conditions under which service personnel occupy such quarters, an amount is recovered by the Ministry from the occupiers. The detail of those arrangements is determined by the Secretary of State for Defence.
Community Relations: Islam
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the Government plans to promote the UK as a standard setter for Islamic studies outside the Islamic world, as referred to on page 4 of the report Preventing Violent Extremism: A Strategy for Delivery. [245558]
Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
Since the Government designated Islamic studies as a strategically important subject in 2007, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), following a period of research and consultation, has been working with other funding agencies in the UK to develop a programme of work designed to address its strategic importance and to provide additional support for it as a subject in UK higher education.
HEFCE research and consultation showed that Islamic studies scholars are often relatively isolated experts affiliated to different departments, with weak links to scholars doing related work at other institutions.
HEFCE is, for this reason, funding a national network to bring the community of Islamic studies scholars closer together.
This network aims to provide information on courses and staff, facilitate events, seminars and exchange of ideas, and enable academics to connect. The network will be managed through a website and complemented by a programme to digitise Islamic studies resources developed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
The Higher Education Academy has been funded for a short development phase to plan and develop the national network, which we expect to be operational from the autumn.
Although a national network, the web facility and international links within the UK academic community should further enrich this work and strengthen the UK’s position as a leading centre for the study of the subject.
Further details can be found on HEFCE’s website at
UK network and digitisation programme
In January 2009, HEFCE awarded £95,000 to the Higher Education Academy to work with the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) on the development of a full business case for an Islamic studies UK network. We expect that this work will inform a further three-year implementation phase.
HEFCE has awarded £350,000 to the JISC Digitisation Programme to support two specific strands of work relating to the digitisation of resources for use in Islamic studies research and teaching. This is based on recommendations in Exeter University’s 2008 “Review of User Requirements for Digitised Resources in Islamic Studies”.
Departmental Buildings
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessors spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [274554]
John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors incurred the following expenditure on building maintenance across the headquarters estate during the last five financial years:
| Financial year | Cost (£) |
The Department and its predecessors had not maintained records of their agencies’ and arms length bodies’ maintenance spend. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Contracts
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which services her Department and its predecessor have outsourced in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [274452]
John Healey: The Department has outsourced its information technology and payroll services in the last five years.
Departmental ICT
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many and what proportion of computers in her Department malware was detected in 2008. [275394]
John Healey: It is not in the interests of the UK’s national security for Departments to confirm information on the number of malicious attacks against their IT systems.
Communities and Local Government complies with Mandatory Requirement 39 of the Security Policy Framework which requires a policy on managing risks posed by all forms of malicious software (‘malware’).
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) her Department and (b) its agencies paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made. [275259]
John Healey: The Communities and Local Government total pay bill was £93,582,821, of which 0.63 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments to staff. For the 2008-09 financial year non-consolidated performance payments of £428,157 were made to staff and £856,392 to senior civil servants.
All non-consolidated payments above are funded within existing pay bill controls and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
The non-consolidated performance pay pot made to senior civil servants is based on the recommendations by the independent senior salaries review body. The Government has responded to current economic conditions by freezing the size of the SCS non-consolidated pot.
Communities and Local Government do not hold information centrally on non-consolidated payments made to staff within its agencies.
Derelict Land
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies spent on acquiring surplus public sector land in each of the last five years; and what estimate has been made of the monetary value of such land. [274829]
Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies have spent about £612 million on acquiring surplus public sector land sites since 2004. A number of the sites have since been sold and the estimated current value of the remaining sites purchased since 2004 that remain in HCA ownership is estimated to be £207 million as at March 2009. More detailed information cannot be provided without disproportionate costs.
Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many surplus public sector land sites were purchased by the
Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; and how many hectares of land on each site were purchased. [274834]
Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies have purchased around 134 sites covering approximately 2,400 hectares from the public sector over the last five years.
Derelict Land: Property Development
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many of the sites currently on the Homes and Communities Agency's Register of Surplus Public Sector Land have been assessed as suitable for residential property development; and if she will make a statement; [274830]
(2) how many sites on the Homes and Communities Agency's Register of Surplus Public Sector Land have been on the register for more than (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years. [274833]
Margaret Beckett: Nearly 200 sites of the 704 currently on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land have been assessed as suitable for residential development subject to planning approval being granted. Sites are assessed for their development potential when their details are first entered onto the Register.
The Register is a snapshot of current activity and sites are continually being added and removed by the responsible landowning department. Sites are often added to the Register a number of years before they become vacant and available for sale so that prospective buyers have early notification of their availability. Currently there are 704 sites on the Register. Of those 704 sites (a) 46 have been on the Register for less than six months (b) 89 sites between six months and one year (c) 164 sites between one and two years and (d) 405 sites longer than two years.
Economic Situation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield 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 Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme workshop on 5 February 2009. [273457]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 7 May 2009, Official Report, column 387W.
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 complaints have been received from prospective tenants of (a) social and (b) private accommodation about a landlord failing to provide an energy performance certificate in each month since the entry into force of the provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. [274795]
Margaret Beckett: Enforcement of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) England and Wales) Regulations 2007 is the responsibility of local weights and measures authorities. There is no requirement for the Department to be informed when they receive a complaint.
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 for failure to supply an energy performance certificate have been issued to landlords in the (a) private and (b) social sector. [274796]
Margaret Beckett: 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.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to review the fees charged for adding an entry to the register of energy display certificates. [275659]
Margaret Beckett: The contract between CLG and Landmark Information Group Limited for operating the non-domestic energy performance certificate (EPC) and display energy certificate (DEC) register makes provision for the lodgement fees to be reviewed at prescribed intervals. The first opportunity to review the fee structure for lodging EPCs and DECs on the non-domestic register arose in March of this year, at which time it was agreed that there was no need for a change in the fee. The next opportunity to review fees for the non-domestic register will arise in March 2012 and subsequently every three years thereafter.
Home Information Packs
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many accredited providers of home information packs there were in each of the last three years. [274837]
Margaret Beckett: There are no accreditation schemes for providers of home information packs.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the completion date was of the most recent independent research commissioned by her Department to evaluate the effect of home information packs on the housing market. [274902]
Margaret Beckett: Independent research into the impact of home information packs (HIPs) was undertaken by Europe Economics and published on 22 November 2007.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to limit the maximum cost to consumers of home information packs. [275816]
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