Previous Section Index Home Page

13 July 2009 : Column 120W—continued

Parliamentary Session

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information her Department holds on the average length of a working week in each of the last 30 years. [285685]

Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated July 2009:


13 July 2009 : Column 121W
Average actual weekly hours of work, three-month periods ending April, 1980 to 2009, United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted
Average weekly hours( 1, 2)

1980

34.6

1981

33.7

1982

33.6

1983

33.5

1984

33.5

1985

33.7

1986

33.5

1987

33.6

1988

33.7

1989

33.8

1990

33.7

1991

33.2

1992

33.0

1993

32.9

1994

33.2

1995

33.4

1996

33.2

1997

33.3

1998

33.3

1999

32.9

2000

32.8

2001

32.7

2002

32.5

2003

32.2

2004

32.1

2005

32.1

2006

32.0

2007

32.0

2008

32.0

2009

31.6

(1) Average hours actually worked in the reference week, which includes hours worked in second jobs.
(2) Figures include both paid and unpaid overtime.
Note:
The above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.)
Source:
Labour Force Survey.

Public Houses: Closures

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate her Department has made of the number of public houses which have ceased trading in each of the last 30 years. [285687]

Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated July 2009:

Table showing counts of Enterprise 'deaths' within Public Houses SICs for the years 2002-07
Standard industrial c lassification 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

55402-Independent public houses and bars

5,530

6,775

6,875

6,175

5,300

5,260

55403-Tenanted public houses and bars

2,150

2,610

2,950

2,590

2,310

2,340

55404-Managed public houses and bars

130

200

255

315

345

350

Total

7,810

9,585

10,080

9,080

7,955

7,950


Unemployment: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her most recent estimate is of the number of children in a household in which no adult is in work in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point. [285961]

Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated July 2009:


13 July 2009 : Column 122W
Number of children( 1) in workless( 2) households in Essex, 2007, January to December 2007
Thousand
Estimate Lower bound( 3) Upper bound( 3)

Essex

32

23

42

(1 )Children under 16.
(2) Workless household is a working-age household where no one aged 16 or over is working.
(3) 95 per cent. confidence interval which means that from all samples possible there would be 95 per cent. certainty that the true estimate would lie within the lower and upper bounds.
Source:
Annual Population Survey Household data sets

Communities and Local Government

Audit Commission: Public Appointments

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to make appointments of Audit Commissioners to replace those commissioners who retired at the end of March 2009. [284696]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Three audit commissioners left the board at the end of April 2009. The statutory size of the board is being reduced from 1 August and in the light of this, we are not replacing all three members.

Interviews took place in June 2009, to appoint one new member to the Audit Commission board and we expect to announce a decision shortly.

Chorley Borough Council: Bank Services

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 199W, on Chorley Borough Council: bank services, what steps his Department has taken to assist Chorley Borough Council in recovering its deposits in Icelandic banks; and if he will make a statement. [285574]

Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 9 July 2009, Official Report, column 958W.

Council Housing: Construction

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether new council houses to be built under the proposals in Building Britain's Future will be allowed to be sold under right to buy provisions. [284800]


13 July 2009 : Column 123W

John Healey: Tenants in new council houses will have the same rights as other council tenants. However, I announced last month that we will exclude all new build council housing from the HRA subsidy system, which means that councils will retain in full the rent and capital receipts from these homes.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Prime Minister's statement of 29 June 2009, Official Report, columns 21-24, on Building Britain's Future, what steps he is taking to inform councils of the new opportunities for them to build homes; and how he plans to encourage them to do so. [284913]

John Healey: We have encouraged local authorities by making up to £350 million available to support the provision of new council housing, and by changing the rules governing the financing of such housing. The Homes and Communities Agency issued guidance to local authorities on accessing the funding available on 8 May, and will encourage delivery through its continuing dialogue with each authority.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Prime Minister's statement of 29 June 2009, Official Report, columns 21-24, on Building Britain's Future, when he expects the local authority house building programme to start. [284915]

John Healey: I expect the first building starts of new homes in the last quarter of 2009.

Council Housing: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date he expects his Department to launch its consultation on the future of the Housing Revenue Account. [286009]

Mr. Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 8 July 2009, Official Report, columns 898-99W.

Departmental Procurement

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to his Department's (a) office equipment and (b) stationery purchasing policy in the last six months. [285308]

Mr. Malik: No changes have been made to the Department's (a) office equipment and (b) stationery purchasing policy in the last six months.

Departmental Responsibilities

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Minister in his Department has lead policy responsibility for the Audit Commission. [284697]


13 July 2009 : Column 124W

Ms Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is responsible for all areas of policy, including those relating to the Audit Commission. I as Minister of State with responsibility for local government, lead on oversight of the Audit Commission on his behalf.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers local authorities have to charge households for the provision of wheelie bins. [284290]

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.

Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 sets out the provisions under which an authority can seek payment for waste receptacles, which include wheelie bins.


Next Section Index Home Page