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10 Nov 2009 : Column 269W—continued
Each move results in a net saving to Treasury of about £12,000 (or £2.4 million for 200 moves each year-based on a 2004 Departmental economic study) based on savings: in the cost of temporary accommodation; in the cost of managing empty properties; and the costs of housing benefit payments.
To enable these high value and high demand moves the staff provide:
A brokering service to match registered applicants with suitable homes as they become available
a 'drop-in' service for older and often vulnerable applicants where they can meet with an adviser face to face to assist with enquiries, housing options and applications
a telephone helpline for applicants to advise on housing options; the progress of applications; and the availability of alternative accommodation
marketing for the scheme to increase landlord and tenant participation including the identification and use of hard to let social stock (such as sheltered housing).
In addition the staff provide the housing brokerage service for vulnerable British Nationals returning under the Zimbabwe Resettlement Programme.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many tenants moved to alternative accommodation through the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme in each of the last three years. [296868]
Mr. Ian Austin: The number of tenants moving to alternative accommodation through the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme is detailed in the following table.
| From | To | Number |
| (1) The housingmoves website went online in July 2007. (2) Data for October 2009 are current up to and including 27 October 2009. | ||
Each move results in a net saving to Treasury of about £12,000 (or £2.4 million for 200 moves each year-based on a 2004 departmental economic study) based on savings: in the cost of temporary accommodation; in the cost of managing empty properties; and the costs of housing benefit payments.
To enable these high value and high demand moves, the staff provide:
A brokering service to match registered applicants with suitable homes as they become available.
A 'drop-in' service for older and often vulnerable applicants where they can meet with an adviser face to face to assist with inquiries, housing options and applications.
A telephone helpline for applicants to advise on housing options; the progress of applications; and the availability of alternative accommodation.
Marketing for the scheme to increase landlord and tenant participation including the identification and use of hard to let social stock (such as sheltered housing).
In addition, the staff provide the housing brokerage service for vulnerable British nationals returning under the Zimbabwe Resettlement Programme.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) bungalows and (b) flats are managed by landlords taking part in the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme. [296928]
Mr. Ian Austin: There are 2,302 bungalows and 1,060 flats managed by landlords taking part in the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme.
There are between 170 to 250 moves arranged per year that enable London-based applicants to give up their social letting in the capital and move to more appropriate properties in preferred locations. Each move results in a net saving to Treasury of about £12,000 (or £2.4 million for 200 moves each year-based on a 2004 departmental economic study) based on savings: in the cost of temporary accommodation; in the cost of managing empty properties; and the costs of housing benefit payments.
To enable these high value and high demand moves, the staff provide:
A brokering service to match registered applicants with suitable homes as they become available.
A 'drop-in' service for older and often vulnerable applicants where they can meet with an adviser face to face to assist with inquiries, housing options and applications.
A telephone helpline for applicants to advise on housing options; the progress of applications; and the availability of alternative accommodation.
Marketing for the scheme to increase landlord and tenant participation including the identification and use of hard to let social stock (such as sheltered housing).
In addition, the staff provide the housing brokerage service for vulnerable British nationals returning under the Zimbabwe Resettlement Programme.
Community Development: Doncaster
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many community wardens were in post in Doncaster (a) at the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) in each year since their introduction. [298640]
Barbara Follett: The information requested is as follows.
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council - Community Wardens
The following table shows the number of community wardens that have been in post from April 2004 until September 2009. Doncaster has had Neighbourhood Wardens since 2001-02 but was unable to supply figures until 2004.
| Community Safety Wardens | Community First Officers | Neighbourhood Response Team | |
Community Development: Finance
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his announcement of the £12 million Connecting Communities Programme on 14 October 2009, how much money has been allocated to each of the 27 areas announced to date; which local groups will receive funding for which projects in each area; and how the effectiveness of funding in each case will be assessed. [298514]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 9 November 2009]: No funding has yet been allocated.
We are in the process of agreeing action plans with each of the 27 areas, and these are based on addressing local challenges. The plans, and the amount of funding, will vary from area to area, as will the local partners and groups involved in delivering the solutions. Although there is a modest amount of additional resources available, the main focus will be on working through and with existing Government and local programmes and resources operating in target areas. This is about intensive community engagement to influence mainstream investment, not a stand alone programme.
In line with the Government commitment to reduce ring-fencing each authority will have the flexibility to manage this additional funding in the most effective way to deliver solutions that meet local needs.
We are also considering proposals for a national evaluation of the programme.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his announcement of the £12 million Connecting Communities Programme on 14 October 2009, how much of the £12 million represents additional funding; what proportion of this funding will be spent in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [298515]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 9 November 2009]: The £12 million is available this financial year to local authorities to support activities in the Connecting Communities' areas. This money was announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review settlement but has not been previously allocated.
Connecting Communities is an ambitious programme of work to reinvigorate and re-involve groups in areas that are feeling the pressure of the recession most acutely. Around 100 areas around the country have been identified for a targeted programme of work that will focus on alleviating those pressures and making sure that real help is available. Practical actions delivered on estates and streets will focus on developing a real insight into what is happening in those communities and introduce changes that will address local people's concerns, reconnect them with jobs and tackle the real and perceived sense of unfairness some people are feeling.
Council Housing: Finance
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the possible addition of future estimated surpluses on the housing revenue account subsidy to
the council house capital debt considered for distribution to local authorities for repayment; [299155]
(2) what estimate he has made of the total debt to be distributed among local authorities in order for local authority-owned housing to be self-financing; [299157]
(3) what estimate he has made of the debt additional to historic council housing debt which is to be distributed among local authorities in order for local authority housing to be self-financing. [299210]
Mr. Ian Austin: Our proposals for self-financing would put every local authority in a position to sustain their homes from their own revenues in future, ending the need to redistribute income by means of a one-off reallocation of housing debt. Our consultation paper notes that the total amount of housing debt held by councils under self-financing could be higher or lower than the current level of debt supported through the HRA subsidy system. The debt allocated to each council would be set at a level which it could support within a sustainable business plan which delivers the extra investment we have identified is needed (including an average 24 per cent. increase in funding for major repairs) while continuing to set social rents in line with national policy.
The aggregate amount of housing debt allocated under self-financing will depend on a range of variables in addition to assumptions on annual management, maintenance and repairs. These include rent levels, interest rates, the pricing of risk and the funding of the backlog of repairs. As work on assessing these issues has not yet been completed, I am not in a position to estimate the amount of debt under the new system and Ministers have not had discussions on this issue with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I am however clear that the additional spending on management, maintenance and major repairs which we have committed to fund as part of our reforms will mean that all councils are better off under self-financing than they would be if the current system continued unreformed.
Departmental Consultants
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the (a) Homes and Communities Agency, (b) Tenant Services Authority and (c) Homes and Communities Agency Academy have spent on public affairs consultancy in 2009-10; and what the budget of each for such services is for 2009-10. [299229]
John Healey: The HCA and HCA Academy have spent no money on public affairs consultancy in the year to date. The TSA have spent £5,081.86 (including VAT) to date. None of these bodies have plans for any further expenditure on public affairs consultancy this year.
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to page 29 of his Department's Resource Accounts for 2008-09, HC 449, what the (a) nature and (b) subject was of each sensitive official document on the computer stolen from the then Secretary of State. [294657]
Barbara Follett: The documents mainly consisted of the details of the times, venues and attendees at meetings which the Secretary of State was due to hold: in many cases, the information was historic. In addition, some internal policy documents classified as "Restricted" and some contact details for officials were held on the computer. A number of these policy documents were also historic and the information they contained was out-of-date and consequently, no longer sensitive. The computer also contained a presentation on the housing market which, in March 2008, had been regarded as "confidential" in the general sense but which was also out-of-date.
These documents were individually reviewed by officials in the Department immediately after the theft of the computer was reported. They concluded that none of the material included sensitive personal data about the public that would be of use to criminals. The computer was password protected and did not contain any material with the official classifications of Confidential, Secret or Top Secret.
Departmental ICT
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with which organisations his Department has had exclusivity agreements relating to information technology (a) hardware and (b) software in each of the last five years. [298364]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 9 November 2009]: The Department has had no exclusivity agreements relating to information technology (a) hardware and (b) software in the last five years.
Departmental Non-Domestic Rates
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the rateable value of each of his Department's buildings was on the most recent date for which figures are available based on (a) the 2005 Rating List and (b) the draft 2010 Rating List. [294881]
Barbara Follett: The rateable values for the Department for Communities and Local Government's Headquarter buildings are listed on the Valuation Office Agency's website at:
| £ | ||
| 2005 | 2010 | |
|
Ground, 1(st) and 2(nd) floor Hempstead House, Hemel Hempstead | ||
Departmental Travel
Norman Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many miles
(a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department and its predecessors travelled by (i) car, (ii) rail and (iii) air on Government business in each year since 1997. [298544]
Barbara Follett: The travel undertaken by the Department for Communities and Local Government's Ministers and officials is set out as follows (in miles):
| Car | Rail | Air | |
| Notes: 1. Accurate data are not available prior to 2005-06. 2. These data cover central CLG only and do not include the Government office network or Executive agencies | |||
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