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4 Nov 2009 : Column 1059W—continued
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the charging regimes in place for mobile location information disclosed under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; what changes are made to (a) police forces and (b) private companies for disclosure of such information; and if he will make a statement. [296506]
Mr. Hanson: Some private organisations, such as roadside breakdown services, have entered into arrangements with their customers and communications service providers to enable them to obtain location information. This is not covert investigatory activity requiring authorisation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Moreover RIPA does not regulate the commercial activities of private companies. The Government have no data on costs incurred by private companies with such arrangements.
Material provided to the police in response to authorised access requests under RIPA has to be to an evidential standard, with procedures in place to ensure clear accountability and compliance with the statutory framework. The arrangements and the charges are kept under review.
Communities and Local Government
Council Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the net change in the stock of local authority housing was in 2008-09. [297819]
Mr. Ian Austin: The local authority housing stock levels reported for 1 April 2008 and 1 April 2009 show a reduction of 53,646 dwellings over the year. This figure is subject to audit.
Economic Situation
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to assist those local communities which are most vulnerable to the effects of the recession; and if he will make a statement. [296276]
Barbara Follett: Government will continue to do what is necessary to get Britain through the recession as quickly and as fairly as possible.
We are seeing real results from the schemes put in place for businesses, homeowners and those facing unemployment as a result of the global recession.
For business the Government are aware of the impact business rates can have in the current economic climate which is why we have introduced a range of measures including the introduction of the business rates deferral scheme which will enable business ratepayers to defer up to an estimated £650 million across 1.7million properties, boosting their cash flow.
We are also supporting the construction industry whilst increasing the number and quality of social houses available, for example through the Kickstart programme which is over £1 billion targeted at currently stalled sites to support development of high-quality mixed tenure developments.
In addition we introduced the LA new build programme to provide funding for local authorities to deliver new social housing over the next two years on land they already own that can be developed only by them. The £460 million fund could provide nearly 4,000 new homes by March 2012.
For homeowners: help is available to households at every stage of the process to ensure repossession is a last resort. Over 300,000 homeowners have got help and advice since April 2008 and direct financial assistance is helping over 200,000 people.
For job seekers: Government have now invested £5 billion to help those facing unemployment as a result of the global recession, providing more help and advice at every stage of unemployment.
CLG are supporting local government to deliver the LGA's pledge to increase the number of apprenticeships by 7,500.
The HCA have committed to delivering 1300 apprentices through the Housing Pledge, and a further 1,500 apprentices and local labour opportunities through the National Affordable Housing Programme. They are also looking at their other funding programmes to see how they can lever in more apprentices through those.
European Regional Development Fund
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the contingent liabilities in relation to (a) alleged financial irregularities with the European regional development fund and (b) corrections due to the European Commission in respect of such irregularities; and how much his Department and its predecessors have paid to the European Commission in respect of corrections imposed as a result of financial irregularities in each year since 1997. [294668]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department's resource account for 2008-09 which was published in July 2009 set out an estimate of contingent liabilities that could arise in future from the management of successive rounds of European regional development fund. The timing and magnitude of future liabilities largely depends upon the outcome of the audit of each programme in the 2000-06 round of ERDF which are due to close formally by 31 March 2010 and a number of audits conducted by the European Commission. The reported estimate of contingent liabilities will be reviewed in the light of the outcome of these audits.
The Department has settled with the European Commission the following amounts of financial corrections since 1997:
2008: €25.5 million (£20.1 million)
2009: €31.0 million (£26.9 million)
Fire Services: Fareham
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much public money has been spent on the proposed Fire Service Regional Control Centre at Fareham; how much is being spent on a monthly basis in maintaining the facility; and what the monetary value is of contractual obligations entered into in respect of the building. [296401]
Mr. Malik: Since practical completion on 15 May 2008, expenditure on Fareham Regional Control Centre has been £2,356,788. The current monthly cost of the facility including rent, utilities and facilities management is approximately £163,000. The contractual cost for the lease over the full 25 year lease term is £43,337,023 including uplifts for inflation. The contractual cost for the facilities management over the full seven year contract term is £2,635,876.
Fire Services: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received from (a) Lancashire County Council and (b) Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service on the FiReControl Project. [296753]
Mr. Malik: I have received no recent formal representations from Lancashire county council and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service on the FiReControl Project.
However, we continue to have regular contact at a technical level with all fire and rescue services in order to support delivery of the project.
Homelessness
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) social housing new lets and (b) households were accepted as homeless in each local housing authority area in England in the last 12 months. [295283]
Mr. Ian Austin: Numbers of new lets are reported by local authorities annually, through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA), covering the period 1 April to 31 March. For local authorities, new lets are defined as the number of lets given to tenants new to the reporting local authority. A table providing the number of new lets in 2007-08 has been placed in the Library. Figures for 2008-09 have not yet been published.
Numbers of new lets by registered social landlords are available via the Continuous Recording of Lettings system (CORE), covering the period 1 April to 31 March. For registered social landlords, new lets are defined as the number of lets given to tenants new to social housing as a whole. A table providing the number of lets made by registered social landlords in 2008-09 has been placed in the Library.
Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library and via the CLG website:
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).
A table of the number of households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty, by each local authority over the last 12 months (from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009), has been placed in the Library.
Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps his Department and its predecessors have taken to assist (a) teachers and (b) other key workers with housing costs in each year since 1997; [296578]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of key workers in high-cost housing areas who have purchased a home in each year since 2001; [296580]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of key workers in each category who purchased their first home in each region in each year since 1997. [296581]
John Healey: Since 1997 we have assisted over 32,000 key workers through our low cost home ownership products.
The main initiatives taken specifically to assist teachers and other key workers with housing costs were the Starter Homes Initiative launched in 2001, and succeeded in 2004 by the Key Worker Living programme. Key workers are also a priority group for assistance through other low cost home ownership schemes including HomeBuy, the First Time Buyers Initiative and the London Wide Initiative.
The following tables show the data available on the number and categories of households who were assisted into a home through the Starter Homes Initiative.
| Health | Education | Community safety | Others | Total | |
| Health | Education | Community safety | Others | Total | |
The data above show that 8,798 key workers were helped through the Starter Homes Initiative A further 1,524 key workers were assisted where data on the region and categories of households information are not available. In total 10,322 key workers were helped through the Starter Home Initiative.
The following table shows the data available on the number of households who have been assisted into a home through the Key Worker Living programme and other low cost home ownership schemes available through HomeBuy. This does not include the First Time Buyers Initiative and London Wide Initiative.
| Region | Key worker category | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
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