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29 Oct 2009 : Column 521W—continued
| (c) National Housing and Planning Unit | |
| Number of agency staff | |
| (d) Homes and Communities Agency Academy | |
| Number of agency staff | |
| (e) Communities and Local Government | |
| Number of agency staff | |
Fire Services: Pensions
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to amend the Firefighters Pension Scheme entitlements in respect of high earners who are members of the scheme. [295787]
Barbara Follett: There are no current plans to introduce tiered contribution rates in the firefighters' pension schemes.
Government Office for the North West
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times the Regional Director for the Government office for the north-west has visited Chorley since her appointment. [296365]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Regional Director has visited Chorley once since her appointment in February 2008. This was on 4 September 2009 to meet with Lancashire chief executives or their representatives.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many overseas visits the Regional Director for the Government office for the north-west has made since her appointment; and what the purpose was of each of the visits. [296366]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Regional Director for GONW has not made any overseas trips since her appointment in February 2008.
Government Office for the North West: Allowances
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Regional Director of the Government office for the north-west has claimed in travel and accommodation expenses in each year since her appointment. [296387]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Regional Director of the Government office for the north-west (GONW) is on detached duty from the Department for Communities and Local Government to GONW. In addition to travel expenses in the region, she therefore claims for rental of a one bedroom flat in central Manchester and return train tickets (standard class) for trips between Manchester and London most weekends. Details are in the following table:
| £ | |||
| Financial year 2007-08 | Financial year 2008-09 | 2009-10( 1) | |
| (1)Year to date: April to September. (2) Mainly in the north west region. This also includes frequent meetings in London, for example in connection with national roles on social exclusion and cohesion or Government Office Network business. (3) Detached duty is a period of service at a new, temporary work place other than on permanent transfer. | |||
Local Government: Chorley
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average time was taken by Chorley borough council to pay invoices to their private business suppliers in each of the last 12 months. [296384]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 710W.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings the Regional Director of the Government office for the north-west has had with the (a) Chief Executive and (b) other officers of Chorley Borough Council in the last 12 months. [296386]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is as follows:
(a) None
(b) None-however Chorley officials have been in larger regional or sub-regional meetings with the Regional Director.
Local Government: Pensions
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to limit the pensions of members of the Local Government Pension Scheme who earn high salaries; what limits he intends to put in place; what estimate he has made of the effect on the Exchequer of introducing such limits in each of the next 10 years; and what estimate he has made of the (a) costs to and (b) savings for local government pension scheme funds in each of the next 10 years. [295678]
Barbara Follett: The benefit provisions of the Local Government Pension Scheme are kept under regular review to ensure their affordability and fairness. Changes to the pension entitlements of any members, as set out in the scheme's regulatory framework, will be subject to statutory consultation in the usual way. The next actuarial valuation exercise takes place as at 31 March 2010. It will set future employer contribution rates with effect from 1 April 2011.
Non-Domestic Rates: Greater London
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the average liability of businesses in London for business rates before the application of transitional relief in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [293159]
Barbara Follett: Estimates of the average liability of properties in London in 2009-10 and 2010-11 are respectively £20,600 and £22,600 (values rounded to the nearest hundred pounds). For 2010-11, the estimate is before transitional arrangements, inflation and other reliefs. For 2009-10, the estimate is before transitional arrangements and other reliefs but after inflation.
Estimates of the total number of properties and their total liability for business rates broken down by region, for financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11, i.e. before and after revaluation, have been published in table 1 of the
transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation consultation paper published on 8 July 2009 at:
Planning Obligations: Chorley
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish all correspondence between the Government office for the north-west and Chorley Borough Council on section 106 monies for Chorley in the last 12 months. [296385]
Mr. Ian Austin: At the request of my hon. Friend, Government office for the north-west sought information from Chorley borough council on Section 106 agreements and arranged a meeting on 30 July 2009 with him to discuss these. Details of all Section 106 monies were provided to my hon. Friend at this meeting. Subsequently Government office for the north-west sent a follow up e-mail to my hon. Friend and Chorley borough council clearing the matters arising from the meeting. The correspondence relating to Section 106 issues will be placed in the Library of the House.
Regional Planning and Development
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the current Regional Business Plan agreed between his Department and each regional assembly or successor body. [295652]
Mr. Ian Austin: Current Regional Business Plans are already publicly available on the website of the relevant Regional Assembly or successor body.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the mini-review of each regional spatial strategy was completed; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of each such review. [296607]
Mr. Ian Austin: To date six regions have finalised RSS revisions which were published on the following dates:
| Region | |
The West Midlands is taking a phased approach to the revision of its RSS:
Phase 1 covering the Black Country was finalised on 15 January 2008.
Phase 2 which covers wider housing issues among other things has been through an Examination in Public and the Secretary of State is currently considering the panel's report published in September. We expect to consult on any proposed changes in the new year and publish the final plan later in 2010.
The South West RSS was due to be finalised last summer. However in the light of a legal judgment on sustainability appraisal we have agreed to do some further work and consultation and aim to publish it in 2010.
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