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22 Oct 2009 : Column 1646W—continued
Quarterly Prevent report (through Government Offices)
Local authorities inform the Department how many rough sleepers they find when they carry out a street count. The total number of rough sleepers found on street counts is published annually.
The following datasets are collected from Fire and Rescue Services:
Data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (including NI 33 and NI 49, but additional information is available to CLG through the automated collection system for production of National Statistics.
HR data
Community Fire Safety
Fire Protection
Financial data
Health and Safety.
Local Government: Influenza
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 2 June 2009, Official Report, columns 463-64W, on local government: influenza, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the Local Resilience Forum plans that have undergone validation by each of the Government offices for the regions. [292867]
Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
Local Resilience Forum (LRF) multi-agency pandemic influenza plans are locally owned and are constantly adapted and updated to reflect the most accurate assessment of the local position. We do not hold central copies of the latest plans so are unable to place them in the Library. However, the latest plans can be found on local LRF websites and can be accessed through the UK Resilience pages of the Cabinet Office website at:
In the few cases where LRF websites are still under development, LRF multi-agency pandemic influenza plans are available from the LRF Secretariat. Contact details for the secretariats are also available on the UK Resilience pages of the Cabinet Office website.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he will
reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 9 June 2009 on flood defences of listed buildings. [289863]
Barbara Follett: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 21 July 2009.
Non-Domestic Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average business rate bill has been in each Government office region in each year since 1997-98. [293160]
Barbara Follett: The average business rates bill in both England and in each Government Office region in each year since 1997-98, including the estimated average figures for 2009-10, are shown in the following table.
| £ | ||||||||||
| North East | North West | Yorkshire and the Humber | East Midlands | West Midlands | East of England | London | South East | South West | England | |
The data are taken from NNDR returns submitted by billing authorities.
Average business rate is calculated by dividing the net rate yield from local authority's lists by the number of hereditaments on local list as at 31 December of the previous year.
Comparisons across regions and years may not be valid as the rateable values for individual properties, and hence actual rates bills, vary greatly. Changes in the figures for the years around 2000-01 are affected by transfers of properties from the central list to local lists, transfers of crown properties to local lists and the adjustments made to the multiplier at the time of the 2000 revaluation to take account of losses from appeals. Changes in the figures for the years around 2005-06 are also affected by adjustments made to the multiplier at the time of the 2005 revaluation.
Political Impartiality
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the internal guidance to officials in his Department on politically-restricted activity. [289500]
Barbara Follett: Our staff handbook has been developed as an interactive publication delivered through the Department's intranet. It is not held in a format which allows it to be easily exported and therefore could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, the rules relating to political activity are set by the Cabinet Office and can be found in the Civil Service Management Code.
Retail Trade: Hygiene
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what timetable he has set for the national roll-out of the scores on doors scheme for local authorities. [294465]
Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
The Food Standards Agency is establishing a national "scores on the doors" scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for rating hygiene standards in food businesses.
The outline timetable for this is as follows:
Shops: Empty Property
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press release of 14 April 2009, on the empty shops revival plan, how many of the proposals referred to have been adopted by local authorities to date. [294788]
Barbara Follett: There has been widespread interest in the 'Looking After Our Town Centres' guide and there have been over 11,000 downloads of the document from our website since it was published in April this year. We are delivering the support we promised to help town centres, including the announcement in August this year of £3 million funding to help high streets that have been hardest hit by the recession.
It is for local authorities to decide how to promote their town centres. We have highlighted approaches that are already being taken, but councils are not required to provide monitoring information to CLG. We continue to discuss issues affecting town centres with stakeholders and have supported good practice events. We know that several councils are adopting approaches inspired by the guide like using empty shops to display art work or information on the local area; seasonal festivals to attract visitors; free car parking on Saturdays, pop-up shops to try out new retail ideas, and fresh marketing initiatives.
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