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21 July 2009 : Column 1646W—continued
Strategic Siting Assessment Programme
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost was of the Strategic Siting Assessment Programme; and what proportion of that cost has been recovered from applicant companies. [288595]
Mr. Kidney: The Government set out in the 2008 Nuclear White Paper that it would conduct a Strategic Siting Assessment ("SSA") to identify sites which are potentially suitable for the deployment of new nuclear power stations by the end of 2025. The sites identified through this process will be listed in the proposed National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power.
The Government consulted on the criteria and process for the SSA in 2008, and set out the process in their Government Response to consultation at:
This process does not include charging nominators for the cost of assessing sites.
Any new nuclear power stations would be proposed, developed, constructed and operated by energy companies. It is Government's role to set the right policy framework to attract investment in energy projects. In the past Government have undertaken strategic siting assessments for offshore renewables and for the licensing of oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. As with those projects, the cost of the SSA will be met by Government as part of their role to set the policy framework for energy investments.
The approximate costs from inception to date are shown in the following table. These are costs of consultancy organisations who have contributed towards delivering the SSA. This does not include DECC staff costs.
Warm Front Scheme
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on each of the Gateway Reviews conducted in relation to the Warm Front scheme. [257476]
Mr. Kidney: I have arranged for copies of the reports to be placed in the House Library.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the last six half-yearly audit reports on the Warm Front scheme produced by White Young Green. [285092]
Mr. Kidney: The Warm Front Scheme is the Government's flagship scheme for eradicating fuel poverty. White Young Green is the independent quality assurance assessor for the Warm Front Scheme. White Young Green normally produces a Quality Assurance Assessor's Report every six months. It is not usual practice to release reports of this nature.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 327W, on the Warm Front scheme, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of each meeting of the Warm Front Scheme Management Board since 2005. [285119]
Mr. Kidney: The Warm Front Scheme is the Government's flagship scheme for eradicating fuel poverty. The Warm Front Scheme Management Board oversees the delivery and performance of the Warm Front Scheme and its contribution to achievement of the Government's fuel poverty and wider targets. It is not usual practice to release board agendas and minutes of this nature.
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people in (a) Derbyshire and (b) West Derbyshire constituency are eligible for a grant for insulation and heating improvements under the Warm Front scheme. [288794]
Mr. Kidney: The Department does not record how many households are eligible for a Warm Front grant in Derbyshire and West Derbyshire constituency.
Warm Front Scheme: Boilers
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many new (a) oil boilers and (b) liquefied petroleum gas boilers have been installed under the Warm Front programme in each year since it was established. [288717]
Mr. Kidney: The following table details the number of (a) oil boilers installed and replaced and (b) liquefied petroleum gas boilers replaced under the Warm Front Scheme in each year since the beginning of the Scheme. Prior to 2005 oil and liquefied petroleum gas boilers were not installed as a standard measure under the Scheme.
| Measure | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | Total |
Communities and Local Government
Architects Registration Board
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many full-time equivalent employees the Architects Registration Board employs; what its budget for 2009-10 is; and how much it will receive in support from his Department in 2009-10; [288477]
(2) what remuneration the Chief Executive of the Architects Registration Board received in the most recent year for which figures are available. [288488]
John Healey: The Architects Registration Board currently employs 22 full-time members of staff. The budget for 2009 is £3,438,538. The budget for 2010 is currently being discussed by the board. The registrar (effectively the chief executive) receives a salary of £98,705. I have asked the ARB to write to you separately to confirm these details.
The Architects Registration Board will receive no funds from my Department in 2009-10. The Architects Registration Board is funded by the registration fees paid annually by architects in the UK which are currently set at £86 per year.
Bed and Breakfast Accommodation
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many families with children were accommodated in bed and breakfast accommodation in each local authority area in each of the last four quarters for which figures are available. [287388]
John Healey: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level, and available at:
Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled
home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes so.
The number of households housed in temporary accommodation by local authorities as at the last day of each quarter, is also collected. This figure consists of those households which have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which inquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority; and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.
The figures for households with dependent children and/or a pregnant woman accommodated in bed and breakfast temporary accommodation as reported by each local authority in the last four quarters have been placed in the Library of the House.
Council Tax: Students
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to exempt from liability for council tax payments unemployed spouses of undergraduate students who are designated as dependants of those students; and if he will make a statement. [288642]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No. The Local Government Finance Act 1992 makes available a single person discount of 25 per cent. for households where one adult (including a spouse) is liable for council tax. Also, Class N of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 provides exemption for dwellings solely occupied by full time students and their non-British spouses.
Damian McBride
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date he last met Mr. Damian McBride in the course of his official duties. [287366]
Mr. Malik: My right hon. Friend has had no such meetings.
Departmental Billing
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in June 2009. [288909]
Mr. Malik: The percentage of invoices from suppliers paid by the Department within 10 days of receipt in June 2009 was 90.53 per cent.
Departmental Board Members
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether each of his Department's non-executive directors has made a declaration of political activity. [288830]
Mr. Malik: Non-executive members of the departmental board are required under the terms and conditions of their appointment to declare to the permanent secretary any personal or business interest which may, or may be perceived to, influence their judgment in performing their functions and obligations as members of the board.
There are currently six non-executive board members, none of whom have declared any political activities under this provision.
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of employees in his Department (a) are on a flexible working contract, (b) are on a job share employment contract and (c) work from home for more than four hours a week. [287086]
Mr. Malik: Only details of those staff working less than full-time hours are held centrally. As at the end of June 2009, 243 members of staff were recorded as working on a part-time basis.
Other data on other types of flexible working e.g. job sharing, compressed hours, home working are not collected centrally, as this is agreed at the line manager's discretion and in accordance with our flexible working policy.
Departmental Contracts
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contracts let by his Department were awarded to businesses with fewer than 50 employees in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value of such contracts was in each such year. [287796]
Mr. Malik: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Department is currently putting in place systems that will identify small and medium enterprises on its finance system which will allow this to be reported on in the future.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what Gershon efficiency savings his Department has made in each of the last three years. [288828]
Mr. Malik: The details of the efficiency savings delivered within our SR04 Gershon efficiency programme were published in the Department's 2008 Autumn Performance Report, which reported achievement of £1,444 million efficiency savings against a target of at least £620 million efficiency savings by March 2008.
Departmental Finance
Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's budget is for (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and what changes have been made to previous plans for
the budget as a consequence of (i) funding being diverted from other Departments as a consequence of proposals in the Draft Legislative Programme 2009-10 and (ii) funding being brought forward from later years. [288285]
Mr. Malik: The Department's 2009 Annual Report shows Communities and Local Government's overall budget for 2009-10 and 2010-11 as £13.2 billion and £10.8 billion respectively. These figures reflect over £1.5 billion of funding brought forward from 2010-11 as well as new funding announced at Budget 2009.
Additional funding of up to £930 million for new affordable housing (as announced in 'Building Britain's Future') will come from a mixture of reprioritisation, efficient programme management and anticipated underspends in other Departments.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2009, Official Report, column 485W, on departmental internet, what the (a) names and (b) versions are of the web browsers used on the (i) desktop machines and (ii) laptop computers used by his Department's (A) Permanent Secretary, (B) chief information officer, (C) head of communications and (D) head of finance. [288990]
Mr. Malik: All of these officers use Microsoft Internet Explorer v6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519 which is the standard for CLG's desktops and laptops.
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on Royal Mail services in each of the last two years. [288742]
Mr. Malik: The Department for Communities and Local Government has spent the following using Royal Mail within the last two years:
| 1 April to 31 March | £ |
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