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28 Oct 2009 : Column 468W—continued
Housing: Lighting
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has issued recent guidance to local trading standards authorities on prosecutions for the sale of imported incandescent light bulbs. [294627]
Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
Following a public consultation which closed on 4 September 2009, the National Measurement Office has taken on the role of enforcing the requirements on products, including lamps, set out in EU Regulations under the Eco-design of Energy-using Products Directive. It will also ensure labels on products required by the Energy Labelling Directive are accurate.
Housing: Low Incomes
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the average cost of building a new unit of (a) social housing and (b) affordable housing. [294902]
Mr. Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 13 May 2009, Official Report, columns 817-818W.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much central Government expenditure there has been on the Social Homebuy scheme. [295653]
John Healey: Social HomeBuy is a voluntary demand-led shared ownership scheme for social tenants. Registered social landlords who choose to offer the scheme to their tenants bid to the Homes and Communities Agency for grant to cover the discount offered to the tenant under the scheme. From April 2006 to end of September 2009, spend for this purpose through the National Affordable Housing programme totalled £3.6 million.
No funding has been provided to local authorities offering the scheme other than £132,770 given to help early pilots with development and set up costs in 2006-07.
Housing: Standards
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of homes in each region met the Decent Homes standard in each of the last five years. [294951]
Mr. Ian Austin: The English House Condition Survey reports nationally on the percentage of decent homes. However the size of the sample size limits the extent to which it can provide robust results for each year at lower levels of geography.
The survey can provide estimates at broad regional groupings (Northern includes North West, North East and Yorkshire; South East includes South East and London and the rest of country includes Eastern, East
Midlands, West Midlands and South West) which are provide in table, but not for each region in England due to sample size.
| Percentage of homes meeting the decent homes standard in the last five years (2003-07) | ||||||
| Original definition | Updated definition | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Note: Base: all tenures The Decent Homes standard was updated in 2006 when the introduction of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System replaced the Fitness Standard (original definition) as the statutory tool for assessing housing conditions. Figures based on the updated definition from 2006 are not comparable with those based on the original definition. | ||||||
Institute for Public Policy Research and New Local Government Network
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments his Department made to the (a) Institute for Public Policy Research and (b) New Local Government Network in the last three years; what the purpose of such payment was in each case; and if he will make a statement. [294462]
Barbara Follett: No payments have been made to the (a) Institute for Public Policy Research. Payments have been made to the (b) New Local Government Network in connection with a secondment to the Department in the annual pay range of £43,836 to £57,110.
INTERREG Programme
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what projects in the UK have received funding under the Interreg (a) IVA and (b) IVB programme. [293107]
Barbara Follett: This information is not held centrally by the Department and it could not be provided without disproportionate cost.
Land: Databases
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provisions regulate the sharing of data in the joint Ordnance Survey-Land Registry data centre; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the shared service agreement. [294891]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Data Centre Shared Service agreement which Ordnance Survey and Land Registry have recently concluded is concerned only with buildings, information technology infrastructure and with associated security and business continuity provisions. It is not concerned with data or the sharing of data.
Under the agreement Ordnance Survey has signed a five-year lease for 219 square metres of serviced and managed space from Land Registry, within its secure
data centre in Gloucester. This dedicated and discrete accommodation will house a proportion of Ordnance Survey's IT infrastructure, as well as supporting the launch of a new database management system. It will enable essential IT Business continuity services, in conjunction with facilities at Ordnance Survey's new head office, which is currently being built in Southampton.
A copy of the Shared Service Agreement has today been placed in the Library.
Local Government Information Unit
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2009, Official Report, column 247W, on the Local Government Information Unit, (1) which official was seconded by the Local Government Information Unit to the office of the then Secretary of State; for what reason that secondment was terminated; and when that secondment (a) began and (b) ended; [292993]
(2) for what reasons the Local Government Information Unit incurred legal costs in relation to the termination of a secondment to the office of the then Secretary of State; for what reasons his Department paid those costs; and whether compensation payments were made to any individual in relation to the termination of the secondment. [292994]
Barbara Follett: Edward Cox from the Local Government Information Unit was seconded to the Strategy and Performance Directorate within Communities and Local Government (and not to the office of the then Secretary of State) for one year, from 7 January 2008 to 6 January 2009. The secondment ended early as, following discussions with the Department and the LGiU about the possibility of extending the secondment, Mr. Cox opted to leave the LGiU and to join the Department on a fixed-term contract, which began on 1 January 2009.
The legal costs incurred by the LGiU relate to legal advice they obtained in the course of the discussions about the possibility of extending the secondment about the different options which might be pursued. The Department had previously agreed to reimburse all reasonable costs incurred by the LGiU in connection with administration of the secondment, and in line with that agreed to reimburse these specific costs. No compensation payments were made to any individual in relation to the termination of the secondment.
Local Government: Bank Services
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the amount of money deposited with Icelandic banks by local authorities which has not yet been recovered. [296284]
Barbara Follett: CLG has not made any such estimates. The Resolution Committee for Landsbanki and Glitnir and the UK administrators of Heritable and Kaupthing, Singer and Friedland Ltd., have published information on likely rates of return.
Local Government: Equality
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 12 May 2009, Official Report, column 659W, on equality: regulation, what additional funding has been given to local authorities under the new burdens doctrine in relation to equality and diversity. [295896]
Barbara Follett: The Government are committed to ensuring that all new burdens falling on local authorities, whether from equality and diversity policies or any other, are fully and properly funded so that there is no upward pressure on council tax bills. Where appropriate, funding is provided through the formula grant system or through specific grants.
Local Government: Pay
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average salary of the highest earning 10 per cent. of local government employees is; and how many employees he estimates have received salaries in this category in each of the last five years. [295675]
Barbara Follett: The information requested is not held centrally.
Local Government: Pensions
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) mean, (b) median and (c) mean per decile annual pension was of local government pension scheme members claiming a pension for the first time in each of the last five years. [295674]
Barbara Follett: This information is not collected centrally.
Maps: EU Law
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the conclusions of his Department's consultation on the transposition of the EU INSPIRE directive. [294622]
Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
The report on consultation was published on the Department's website in July:
in line with my Department's normal practice. I am arranging for copies of it to be placed also in the Library.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce his decision on whether to build a national geo-portal as part of the implementation of the INSPIRE directive. [294651]
Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
The Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) replied to the hon. Member on 4 February 2009, Official Report, column 1281W explaining that decisions on the implementation of INSPIRE will be taken by the location council. At its meeting on 18 September the location council endorsed the Conceptual Design for the Location Programme, including the development of a UK Geo-Portal. The decision will be communicated on the programme website at:
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to provide mortgage help to those who are eligible for shared ownership housing but who cannot find appropriate funding. [296161]
John Healey: There are 18 lenders who currently offer mortgages to shared ownership purchasers. The Government have provided help to potential shared ownership purchasers by introducing Rent to HomeBuy. This enables potential purchasers to benefit from an affordable rent for up to five years, enabling them to save for a deposit to purchase a share during or at the end of that period.
Multiple Occupation: Licensing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (1) on what date the Building Research Establishment submitted to his Department the second stage of its review of the licensing regime for houses in multiple occupation; [294946]
(2) on what date the Building Research Establishment was commissioned to conduct the review of the effectiveness of the new licensing regime for houses in multiple occupation; [294947]
(3) when he expects to publish the review commissioned by his Department from the Building Research Establishment on the new licensing regime for houses in multiple occupation; [294948]
(4) how much his Department has paid to the Building Research Establishment for the research commissioned on the effects of the new licensing regime for houses in multiple occupation. [294949]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Building Research Establishment (BRE) was commissioned to conduct a review of the effectiveness of the new licensing regime for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in March 2008 and the final Report was received in April 2009. We propose to publish the Report shortly. The BRE were paid £89,591.59.
National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills: Thurrock
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills during the summer adjournment on funding provision for the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills in Thurrock; and if he will make a statement. [295801]
Mr. Malik: I have raised this issue with the further education Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Kevin Brennan), over the recess and we are hopeful that following approval by the LSC Regional Committee on 14 October and due assessment by the LSC's national Capital Committee on 2 November, if successful, the National Skills Academy will proceed to implementation.
Furthermore, CLG officials have been in discussion with BIS and LSC throughout the recess to progress the National Skills Academy in Thurrock which will be a key strand of the Government's wider investment in the £60 million Royal Opera House Production Park, developing technical skills in the performing arts in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.
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