| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Oct 2009 : Column 464W—continued
Environmental Health: Manpower
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many environmental health officers have been recruited to work in Leeds in each year since 2001. [295362]
Barbara Follett: This information is not held by my Department.
Home Information Packs
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, columns 201-202W, on home information packs, what the evidential basis was of the value for money assessment undertaken in respect of the contracting out of public relations work in relation to home information packs. [295862]
Barbara Follett: Agencies on the Central Office of Information public relations framework participate in an open tender process conducted by COI officials to select those agencies best able to provide value for money to the public purse. More information about COI procurement policy is available here:
In relation to Home Information Packs, the Department ensured value for money by using an agency from this framework.
Homes and Communities Agency
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on (a) consultancy fees, (b) recruitment agencies and (c) staff costs by each of the regional offices of the (i) Homes and Communities Agency and (ii) Tenant Services Authority since December 2008. [295095]
John Healey: The amount spent since December 2008:
(i) by the Homes and Communities Agency would be available only at disproportionate cost;
(ii) by the Tenant Services Authority was £1,486,400. It is not possible to disaggregate these costs by region.
(i) by the Homes and Communities Agency's regions (not including corporate staff) was as follows:
| Spend (£) | |
(ii) by the Tenant Services Authority was £30,300. It is not possible to disaggregate these costs by region.
(c) Information on expenditure on staff will be included in the annual reports and accounts of both the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services
Authority 2008-09, which will be published shortly. Both agencies will publish further detail on staff costs in due course.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on corporate branding by the (a) Homes and Communities Agency and (b) the Tenant Services Authority since its establishment. [295097]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1501-2W. There has been no further spend on branding.
Housing
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2009, Official Report, column 814W, on housing, for what reasons the letter for local newspapers was distributed via the Central Office of Information; what the cost to the public purse was of its distribution; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter. [295856]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government has a retainer contract with the Central Office of Information to support the work of CLG press office in communicating and explaining the Department's policies through local and regional media channels. One way in which COI's network of regional News and PR teams supports this objective, under the terms of the contract, is to use its knowledge of and contacts with local newspapers to help place and tailor ministerial articles on issues relevant to their readerships.
The distribution of the article that is the subject of this and previous related questions tabled by the hon. Member was undertaken as part of this retainer arrangement.
Housing: Construction
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk in each of the last five years; and what proportion of such properties have been classified as affordable housing. [294603]
Mr. Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 October 2009, Official Report, columns 969W for figures showing new affordable homes built as a proportion of all homes built, by county.
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built in (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) the East of England since 1997. [295367]
Mr. Ian Austin: Information on new affordable homes built is not available by constituency.
The following table shows the number of new affordable homes (social rent, intermediate rent and low cost home ownership) built in mid Bedfordshire local authority, Bedfordshire, the East of England Region, and England in each year since 1997-98.
| Mid Bedfordshire | Bedfordshire | East of England GOR | England | |
| Note: Figures are estimates, and have been rounded to the nearest 10. | ||||
Not all affordable housing is provided by new build completions, as some supply can come from acquisitions. For example, in 2007-08, a total of 90 additional affordable homes were provided in mid Bedfordshire local authority (new build and acquisitions), 530 in Bedfordshire, 7,200 in the East of England Region, and 53,730 additional affordable homes were provided in England (new build and acquisitions).
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) for what reasons the Homes and Communities Agency has revised downwards its targets for rural affordable house building; [296159]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Commission for Rural Communities on the decision by the Homes and Communities Agency to reduce its target for rural affordable housing. [296160]
John Healey: Market conditions have made delivery of affordable housing much more challenging. The HCA's Corporate Plan (published at the end of September) announced their rural target is 8,500, in line with the reduction in their overall affordable housing targets in response to current market conditions. My officials have met with the Commission for Rural Communities to discuss these and other matters.
Housing: Energy
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many accredited energy assessors there are in each region. [292465]
John Healey: The total number of accredited energy assessors recorded, in the National Energy Performance Certificate Register, for each region up to and including 10 October 2009 is as follows:
| Number | |
| Note: Unmatched totals are where the assessor postcode could not be matched to a Government Office Region (GOR) using data mapping | |
Housing: Floods
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research his Department has evaluated on the effect of the height of electricity sockets in walls on the length of time it takes householders to return to their repaired homes following evacuation after flooding; and what guidelines are provided to builders of new homes in flood-risk areas on the matter. [293620]
Mr. Ian Austin:
We are not aware of research that looks at how the height of electricity sockets specifically impacts on the time it has taken to repair flooded homes. However, Communities and Local Government published joint guidance with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency entitled Improving the flood performance of new buildings-Flood resilient construction in May 2007. The document provides guidance to developers and designers on how to improve the flood resilience of new properties in low or residual flood risk areas by the use of suitable materials and construction details. To
help achieve resilient design it suggests that, for ground floors, electrical sockets should be installed above flood level to minimise damage to electrical services.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |