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25 Jun 2009 : Column 1107W—continued
Eco-towns
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the responses received relating to the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) stage one financial viability study of the eco-towns programme have been passed to the PwC team; and what provision there is for earlier comments to be taken into account during stage two of the study. [282212]
John Healey: Alongside the final eco-towns planning policy statement, we will publish a Government response to the eco-towns consultation and a summary report of responses received, including those on the Financial Viability Study of the Eco-towns Programme.
Stage 2 of the work undertaken by our external advisers is a separate piece of work to look at generic delivery issues for eco-towns as proposals are pursued.
Empty Housing: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the number of empty dwellings in Milton Keynes. [281682]
Mr. Ian Austin: In October 2008, Milton Keynes council reported there were 2,290 empty dwellings in their area.
Fires: Smoking
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect of trends in levels of smoking in domestic premises on trends in the number of domestic fires since 1988. [281705]
Mr. Malik: Research has been commissioned into factors that relate to the incidence of fires and deaths in dwellings. This research, undertaken in early spring 2009, found that statistically smoking is one of a number of factors associated with the fall in dwelling fire deaths. The research will published in the autumn.
Housing: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated by the Homes and Communities Agency to each local authority in each of the next two years. [282256]
John Healey: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding each local authority has received from the Homes and Communities Agency since its establishment. [282257]
John Healey: Information on Homes and Communities Agency expenditure including by local authority area, will be published in the Agency’s annual report and accounts later this year.
Housing: Low Incomes
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in each local authority area registered with HomeBuy agents in each of the last three years. [282258]
Mr. Ian Austin: The information is not collected centrally.
Local Government: Termination of Employment
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what dates the monitoring group established under the Local Government (Early Termination of Employment) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 has met; whether minutes of the meetings of that group are published; and what the names of the members of that group are. [282198]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Compensation Regulations Monitoring Group met on four occasions, 21 December 2006; 1 March 2007; 19 April 2007; and 18 June 2007. The minutes of meetings were not published. The group is chaired by an official from Communities and Local Government and membership of the group is made up of representatives from the Local Government Employers Organisation, the Public Sector People’s Managers Association, Unison, Unite the Union, GMB and the TUC.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have (a) applied for and (b) been refused assistance through the Mortgage Rescue Scheme in (i) England and (ii) Milton Keynes in each month since the Scheme’s inception. [281681]
John Healey: The mortgage rescue scheme has been operational across England since January 2009. As part of the monitoring arrangements for the scheme, headline data for January-April 2009, provided by local authorities operating the scheme and broken down by Government office region, are available on the Department’s website. The figures can be assessed using the following link:
Figures reported by local authorities from January to April 2009 are provided in a table, which has been placed in the Library.
In the current economic conditions, we have acted rapidly to put in place help and support for households struggling with their mortgage at every stage: from free debt advice when problems start, to free support for cases that reach court. Advice is available to all households struggling with their mortgage, with targeted schemes for those in most need.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be assisted by the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme in (a) Peterborough and (b) England in the next 12 months. [281954]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins) on 24 June 2009, Official Report, column 691W.
Non-Domestic Rates: Cambridgeshire
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in (a) Peterborough and (b) Cambridgeshire which qualify for small business rate relief and do not claim it. [281721]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We have not made an estimate of the number of businesses in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire which qualify for small business rate relief but do not claim it.
Police: Council Tax
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date his Department first informed Surrey Police Authority that it intended to use (a) a 2008-09 notional budget requirement and (b) a 2008-09 notional Band D council tax rate when deciding whether to cap Surrey Police Authority’s precept. [281617]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, North (Sarah McCarthy-Fry) on 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 210W.
Regional Planning and Development: Finance
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the role of (a) regional planning bodies and (b) regional development agencies is regarding decisions on regional funding allocations. [282407]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Each English region outside London provides regional funding advice to Ministers. The advice is based on work led by the regional development agency and regional assembly (or leaders’ board, where such a body has replaced the assembly), supported by the Government office. However, final decisions on regional funding allocations are a matter for Ministers.
Regional Planning and Development: Transport
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirement there is for regional planning bodies to develop regional transport strategies. [282409]
Mr. Ian Austin: All regional spatial strategies are required to include a regional transport strategy. Details are set out in planning policy statement 11: Regional Spatial Strategies.
Right to Buy Scheme
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date he expects to publish his Department’s most recent figures on Right to Buy (a) receipts, (b) sales and (c) levels of discount. [282613]
Mr. Ian Austin: The 2008-09 figures on right-to-buy sales, receipts and levels of discount will be published in a Statistical Release and in the “Live Tables” section of the CLG website in August 2009.
The 2007-08 right-to-buy figures were released in the “Live Tables” section of the CLG website in August 2008 at:
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Sequestration: Algae
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's policy is on the use of artificial measures to create algae bloom for the purposes of carbon capture; and if he will make a statement. [281113]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
While the priorities for tackling climate change should continue to be overwhelmingly focussed on greenhouse gas emission reductions, and adaptation to unavoidable climate change, we should not rule out any climate change mitigation technologies at an early stage.
Ocean fertilisation involves adding nutrients, usually iron, nitrogen or phosphorus compounds, to nutrient depleted areas of the open ocean, with the aim of increasing phytoplankton production to absorb additional amounts of carbon dioxide and storing a proportion of the additional carbon production below the surface layers of the ocean when the plankton dies. Further research into both the effectiveness of this practice as a carbon sequestration measure and the impact that this practice may have on the marine environment would be required before this technique is considered for use as a climate change mitigation technology.
Any research into ocean fertilisation should follow the precautionary approach and comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the London Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter.
Coal Health Compensation Scheme
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the net present value of the Coal Health Compensation Scheme is; and if he will make a statement. [267760]
Mr. Kidney: There are two Coal Health Compensation Schemes. The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Scheme (COPD) and the Vibration White Finger Scheme (VWF). The Department received over 760,000 claims in total.
The total amount paid in compensation to former miners and their families is £4 billion as at May 2009.
This breaks down to £2.3 billion paid in compensation under the COPD Scheme and £1.7 billion under VWF Scheme.
These values are actual compensation costs paid. The net present value is an accounting term which was not used to calculate the coal health compensation.
Energy: Billing
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned on the effect on progress towards energy consumption reduction targets of the structure of energy (i) bills and (ii) tariffs. [280903]
Mr. Kidney: DECC considers analysis from a range of sources on factors affecting energy use, in order to inform policy development.
DECC is co-funding the Energy Demand Research Project, which is enabling the Government, energy suppliers and others to test through a variety of interventions how electricity and gas customers respond to better information about their consumption. Interventions include smart metering, real-time display devices, additional billing information, energy efficiency information and community engagement, along with combinations of these interventions.
Ofgem has recently held a public consultation on proposals for new obligations on suppliers relating to consumer information and engagement. We look forward to seeing Ofgem's further proposals in order to get the best results in terms of providing consumers with the information they need and can use.
Ofgem is also undertaking exploratory work on potential interactions between tariff structures and the incentives for energy efficiency.
Energy: Prices
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage energy suppliers to simplify (a) tariffs and (b) bill format for domestic customers. [279071]
Mr. Kidney: DECC firmly believes that tariff structures and information to consumers should be accessible and easier to understand, enabling consumers to make the right decisions about energy use, tariffs and suppliers.
The regulator Ofgem has recently closed a public consultation on a number of proposals to improve the consumer energy supply markets, including proposals seeking to end confusion over tariffs, to improve information overall to consumers, and to give added protection to consumers when they switch supplier.
We support Ofgem's work and look forward to seeing results from that process, in order to get the best results for consumers.
River Severn: Tidal Power
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how the review of tidal energy in the River Severn plans to take into account the views of people resident beside the river. [281349]
Mr. Kidney: The Severn tidal power feasibility study will include two public consultations. The first of these was held earlier this year when my Department sought views on the scope of the work, including a recommended shortlist of schemes for further analysis. Details of public engagement were set out in the answer to PQ 2660. The Government response to this consultation will be published shortly on the DECC website.
The second consultation will be held at the end of the feasibility study (probably in 2010) to seek views on whether Government should support a Severn tidal power scheme and if so on what terms. During this consultation, we plan to hold public meetings on both sides of the Severn estuary.
Prior to this second consultation, we hope to be working with the Sciencewise Expert Resource Centre to hold a small scale public meeting for invited members of the public (particularly members of the public near the Severn estuary). This work is intended to provide a representative view on Severn tidal power at this point, the priority issues for people and how best to communicate information in the consultation. (Sciencewise-ERC supports public dialogue through funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills).
We will also continue working with stakeholders (including representatives of local communities, such as local authorities and Members of Parliament) over the course of the feasibility study. There are a number of groups and events for stakeholders to participate in, as also described in the answer given to the hon. Member on 14 May 2009, Official Report, column 957W, if they wish to contribute to evidence gathering and analysis. Information on these events and regular updates on progress are available on our website at:
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