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1 Jun 2009 : Column 189W—continued
Departmental Consultants
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 7 May 2009, Official Report, column 385W, on departmental consultants, if she will place in the Library a copy of the final report produced by McKinsey and Company as part of its review of her Department's communications. [277025]
Mr. Khan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 779W.
Departmental Dismissal
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many members of staff in her Department and its agencies were dismissed (a) for under-performance and (b) in total in each of the last 10 years. [274300]
Mr. Khan: A total of seven staff have been dismissed from this Department, or its predecessors, and its agencies in the last 10 years for poor performance.
As the number of staff dismissed in each of the last 10 years is less then five, we are not able to supply this information on the grounds of confidentiality.
Departmental Reviews
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) review and (b) taskforce projects her Department has commissioned in each of the last five years; what the purpose of each such project is; when each such project (i) began and (ii) was completed; what the cost of each such project was; and if she will make a statement. [275975]
Mr. Khan: Summary information on taskforces and other standing bodies is available in the annual Cabinet Office publication “Public Bodies”. Copies of “Public Bodies 2008” are available in the Libraries of the House. Detailed information on ad hoc advisory bodies is available in the publication “The Department for Communities and Local Government’s Public Bodies 2008”. A copy of this publication can be obtained from the Department’s website at:
Information about reviews commissioned since the Department’s creation is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, I would like to refer the hon. Member to the departmental annual report, which sets out the activities of the Department over the year including information on reviews and taskforces. Copies of the current and previous annual reports for Communities and Local Government are available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Stationery
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessor spent on the purchase of (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years. [274208]
Mr. Khan: The following table shows how much the Department has spent (excluding VAT) with its preferred supplier on the purchase of recycled office supplies in each of the last five years:
| £ | ||
| (a) recycled office supplies | (b) recycled printer cartridges/toners | |
The Department's office supplies were ordered from the supplier's Globe & Tickā"¢ range of sustainable products. Globe & Tickā"¢ assessment criteria are based on a broad range of factors including the supplier's environmental management system, the country of origin, ease of disposal and the method of transportation if imported from overseas.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of office supplies purchased by her Department were recycled products in the latest period for which figures are available. [275350]
Mr. Khan: For the period May 2008 to April 2009, 29 per cent. of the Department’s office supplies were ordered from the supplier’s Globe and Tickā"¢ range of sustainable products. Globe and Tickā"¢ assessment criteria are based on a broad range of factors including the supplier’s environmental management system, the country of origin, ease of disposal and the method of transportation if imported from overseas.
During this period 92 per cent. of our paper came from a recycled source.
Departmental Visits Abroad
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 7 May 2009, Official Report, column 387W, on departmental visits abroad, what the purpose was of each visit to (a) North America, (b) Australia and (c) Asia. [277232]
Mr. Khan: The purpose of each visit to North America, Australia and Asia was to represent the Department and provide expert advice on policy/subject issues.
Records on overseas visits held in Communities and Local Government (CLG) do not identify separately the detailed information on the purpose of each visit.
All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.
Departmental Work Experience
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many work placements her Department and its predecessor offered to (a) school pupils, (b) university students and (c) graduates in each of the last five years. [274490]
Mr. Khan: Over the last five years the Department for Communities and Local Government has taken the following number of university students or graduates on work placements:
| Students | |
The Department does not keep a record of how many individuals have undertaken work placements from school pupils.
Fire Prevention
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has considered the merits of enabling fire services to conduct fire risk assessments for local businesses under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. [277304]
Mr. Khan: The Fire Precautions Act 1971 was abolished in October 2006 with the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Under the Fire Safety Order, those with the responsibility for any non-domestic premises are required to carry out a fire risk assessment and put in place measures which adequately protect lives in the event of a fire. Local fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) are required by the order to enforce the provisions of the order in the majority of premises. While FRAs can support responsible persons to comply with the order through the provision of fire safety advice and guidance, their enforcement duty means it would be inappropriate for them to carry out risk assessments on behalf of the responsible person.
Homes and Communities Agency: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions her Department has received a request from (a) the Tenant Services Authority and (b) the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies to incur expenditure which is potentially (i) novel and (ii) contentious in each of the last three years. [270578]
Margaret Beckett: There have been no formal requests from the Tenants Services Authority or the Homes and Communities Agency to incur expenditure which is potentially novel or contentious.
The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government. The Department has not approved any formal requests on the basis that the proposals were novel or contentious in the last three years for programmes and projects relating to English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation or the Academy for Sustainable Communities.
In practice, the HCA, TSA and their predecessor bodies would normally discuss any potentially novel and contentious expenditure with the Department before submitting a formal request.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenditure made by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies required approval from her Department in each of the last five years; and how many grants of approval were made. [270647]
Margaret Beckett: The framework document for the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) provides that for project-based programmes, prior Community and Local Government (CLG) approval is required for any projects which involve proposed public expenditure of £10 million or over, expenditure that is potentially novel, contentious or repercussive, or an endowment (to support the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of amenity lands). It also provides for CLG approval for any project under the Community Infrastructure Fund, for all PFI projects, and for all novel or major joint venture projects. My Department has given no approvals to the HCA since its inception on 1 December 2008 under the above categories that involved expenditure in 2008-09.
The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government.
Prior to the inception of the HCA, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation was required to seek departmental approval on an annual basis on the investment appraisal criteria to be used for assessing bids on its national affordable housing programme and related sub-programmes.
The financial memorandum for English Partnerships (EP) required that CLG approval was given for spending in excess of £10 million, all endowments, and spending which involved the acquisition of a greenfield site. The following table shows the number of approvals made in each of these categories in each year over the last five years. In addition EP sought CLG approval to enter into an interest in a number of bodies in recent years, many of which would have led to expenditure for revenue support of the body; all such subsidiary undertakings are listed in EP's annual report and accounts.
Finally, the Department has not approved any formal requests on the basis that the proposals were novel, contentious or repercussive in the last five years for programmes and projects relating to English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation or the Academy for Sustainable Communities. In practice, these bodies would normally discuss any potentially novel, contentious or repercussive expenditure with the Department before submitting a formal request.
| Approvals to English Partnerships | |
| Number of approvals | |
Housing Associations: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities on housing asylum seekers in each of the last five years. [266500]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
The Home Office does not record the level of expenditure incurred by local authorities and housing associations in respect of the housing of asylum seekers.
Housing: Construction
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities in the South East provide details of building control commencement and completion notices to the Valuation Office Agency. [277012]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
Valuation Office Agency offices in the South East of England have reported that the following local authorities have provided building control commencement lists and building control completion notices in the last 12 months.
| Commencement lists | Completion notices | |
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