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14 July 2009 : Column 314W—continued
Local Government: Apprentices
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) apprenticeships and (b) graduate trainee places offered by local authorities in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08, (iv) 2008-09 and (v) 2009-10. [286766]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We do not hold centrally information about the number of apprenticeships or graduate trainees in local government.
Local Government: Pensions
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what obligations local authorities (a) in and (b) outside London have in relation to providing scheme participants with information on deficits and surpluses in the Local Government Pension Scheme fund administered by their local authority. [286525]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Under Regulation 34(l)(d) of The Local Government Pension Scheme (Administration) Regulations 2008, Scheme administering authorities in England and Wales are required to place in their Pension Fund Annual Report a statement of the level of funding based on the most recent actuarial valuation of their funds.
The first report for the period 2008-09 must be published by 1 December 2009.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme monitoring statistics at local authority level for May 2009. [285147]
John Healey: The mortgage rescue scheme figures for May 2009 as reported by local authorities have been provided in a table placed in the Library of the House.
Non-Domestic Rates
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2009, Official Report, columns 996-97W, on non-domestic rates, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the nine written representations in favour of a five-year transitional business rates relief scheme. [285125]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The responses have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 18 June 2009, Official Report, column 471W, on non-domestic rates, whether his Department takes account of rates of (a) council tax and (b) non-domestic rate collection in determining levels of future funding for (i) local authorities, (ii) police authorities and (iii) fire authorities. [286512]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No collection rates, whether of business rates or council tax, are assumed for the purposes of allocating formula grant.
Non-Domestic Rates: Ports
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2009, Official Report, column 318W, on non-domestic rates: ports, how each port operator has been notified of the new business rate assessment in 2005; how many of the assessments for the 1,800 separate heriditaments were re-assessed before 2009; and for what reasons they were re-assessed. [285010]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ordnance Survey
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the study produced by Ordnance Survey on the cost of a free data model, with commercially confidential elements redacted as necessary. [284566]
Mr. Ian Austin: A redacted copy of "International Comparison of Geographical Information Trading Models: A report for the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the outcomes of different trading models for Geographical Information" is available on the Ordnance Survey website at:
This redacted version is an interim release pending permission from overseas' contributors to release information which they contributed.
Planning and Energy Act 2008
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have used their powers under the Planning and Energy Act 2008 to date. [286725]
Mr. Ian Austin: In developing policies in local plans which set requirements for energy use and energy efficiency, local authorities will have regard to a number of factors including the legislative framework and the expectations placed on them by the planning policy statement on climate change. Local authorities have not been asked to explain the extent to which, in developing such policies, they have relied on the specific powers provided by the Planning and Energy Act 2008.
Planning Permission
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities are able to require the creation of apprenticeship or trainee places as a condition of (a) granting planning permission for new developments and (b) allocating funding to new developments. [286765]
Mr. Ian Austin: It will be for local authorities to decide whether or not it is appropriate to make any funding they provide conditional. Following the Prime Minister's announcement in January to increase the number of apprenticeships by 35,000 by 2010, the Local Government Association committed to double the number of apprentices employed, or managed via contract, by local government from 7,500 to 15,000.
Planning Permission: Fees and Charges
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what fees are payable by businesses seeking to renew a planning application in respect of which planning permission has already been given; and if he will make a statement. [286303]
Mr. Ian Austin: Under current legislation there is not a separate fee to renew a planning permission, the fee payable would be the same as a new planning application.
The Minister for Housing announced on 18 June 2009 the publication of a consultation document entitled 'Greater Flexibility for Planning Permissions' which includes proposals in respect of extensions to the time limits for existing planning permissions.
Regional Planning and Development
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which decisions taken by him in relation to regional spatial strategies in the last 12 months have been the subject of applications for judicial review. [286519]
Mr. Ian Austin: Since May 2008, the Secretary of State has published six regional spatial strategies. High Court challenges have been lodged against the regional spatial strategies for the East of England and the South East of England.
Repossession Orders: Hampshire
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many people in each age group have had their home repossessed in (a) Test Valley borough and (b) Southampton in the last 12 months; [286322]
(2) how many domestic dwellings in (a) Test Valley borough and (b) Southampton were repossessed in each of the last 12 months. [286323]
Mr. Ian Austin: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However, neither source has data by age of borrower or data at the local level.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest press release on repossessions is on their website at:
The Financial Services Authority data is available on their website at:
Social Rented Housing: Hemel Hempstead
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties he expects to be (a) completed and (b) purchased for social rent in Hemel Hempstead in each of the next five years. [283679]
Mr. Ian Austin: The information requested is as follows:
(a) Within Dacorum borough new social rented housing completions are currently projected as follows:
| Number of units | |
| Source: Dacorum Borough Council, Housing Supply Statistical Appendix Returns 2009. Information does not extend beyond 2010-11.) | |
(b) There were seven sales/transfers made through Right to Buy in Dacorum borough in 2008-09. Information on projected sales/transfers through Right to Buy and Right to Acquire is not available as it will depend on applications. Dacorum borough council does not currently purchase empty properties to offer for social rent.
Source:
Dacorum borough council, P1B Statistical Returns 2009.
Temporary Accommodation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households were in temporary accommodation in the last quarter for which figures are available. [286431]
Mr. Ian Austin: This information is published on a quarterly basis and can be found in the Library and also at the following link:
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Prisoners
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Afghan Government on the custodial sentence imposed on journalist Sayed Pervez Kambaksh; [285357]
(2) whether his Department has requested that Afghan President Hamid Karzai grant a presidential pardon to journalist Sayed Pervez Kambaksh. [285358]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We share the hon. Member's concern about the continuing imprisonment of journalism student Sayed Pervez Kambakhsh. We urge the Afghan state to honour the Afghan Constitution and comply with the international human rights standards, to which it is a party, including the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression.
We opposed the death sentence imposed upon Mr. Kambakhsh at his initial trial in January 2008 after his imprisonment in October 2007. While it is positive that he no longer faces the death penalty, we are disappointed by the 20 year prison sentence he received on the 21 October 2008, a decision sadly upheld by the Afghan Supreme Court in early February. We have serious concerns about the fairness of his trials.
In April 2009, as part of the EU, we asked President Karzai to carefully consider the legitimacy of Mr. Kambakhsh's trial. We continue to follow Mr. Kambakhsh's case closely and, in conjunction with our international partners, will continue to raise it with the relevant Afghan authorities, wherever appropriate.
Australia: Diplomatic Service
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the appointment of the next High Commissioner to Australia will be made. [286707]
Chris Bryant: My noble Friend Baroness Amos will take up her post in October 2009.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many non-career diplomats have been appointed to the post of High Commissioner to Australia since 1997. [286789]
Chris Bryant: Since 1997 three non-career diplomats have held the post of high commissioner to Australia.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the term of office of the present High Commissioner to Australia ends. [286850]
Chris Bryant: The current high commissioner to Australia, the right hon. Mrs. Helen Liddell, will leave post at the end of her appointment in September 2009.
My noble Friend Baroness Amos will take up her post in October 2009.
BBC External Services
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what involvement his Department has in the determination by the BBC World Service of the languages in which it broadcasts. [285458]
Chris Bryant: BBC World Service (BBCWS) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) discuss where BBCWS can best operate and which language services are best served to do this.
The BBC Charter and Agreement, section 64 (3) (a) states as follows:
The World Service must be provided:
(a) to such users outside the UK, and in such languages, as are approved by the Foreign Secretary; and
(b) in accordance with any objectives, priorities and targets agreed with him.
This is also referred to in section 10 of the Broadcasting Agreement between the BBC and the FCO for the provision of the BBCWS.
The BBC and FCO discuss the opening or closure of a language service prior to a final decision being taken.
BBC External Services: Meetings
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions he has met the Director of the BBC World Service in the last 12 months. [286857]
Chris Bryant: There have been no meetings between my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the director of the BBC World Service.
There are however, regular meetings between the Minister responsible for the BBC World Service and its director. Most recently, Peter Horrocks met my right hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint), the then Minister for Europe on 7 May 2009.
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