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10 Nov 2009 : Column 279W—continued
Local Government: Pensions
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authority pension funds in the East of England are (a) in surplus and (b) in deficit; and how much the surplus or deficit is in each case. [296175]
Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 February 2009, Official Report, column 964W, to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles).
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be eligible for assistance under the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme in (a) West Derbyshire and (b) Britain in the next 12 months. [297975]
John Healey: Homeowners Mortgage Support is part of the range of assistance available at every stage to households struggling with their mortgage. The scheme encourages lenders to allow households who have suffered a temporary income shock to defer some of their interest payment, if this is necessary to make their monthly payment affordable. This form of support provides a safety net for those who cannot avoid repossession in other ways.
Homeowners Mortgage Support is a lender led scheme and future take-up depends on a range of market factors, in particular the level of interest rates. The Department plans to publish information in December on the number of households who have been helped through Homeowners Mortgage Support. Statistics from the Financial Services Authority show that more than 135,000 borrowers were benefiting from forbearance offered by their lender at the end of June 2009, an increase of 17 per cent. on the previous quarter.
Non-Domestic Rates
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hereditaments in London will be liable for supplementary business rate in London from April 2010. [294912]
Barbara Follett: The Business Rate Supplements Act 2009 provides a discretionary power for upper tier authorities to levy a supplement on the business rate to promote additional local economic development projects. The levying authority has discretion to set the threshold for liability for the Business Rate Supplement anywhere above the minimum of £50,000 rateable value.
The Mayor of London has just finished consulting on his proposals to levy a Business Rate Supplement from April 2010 as part of the funding package for Crossrail. The minimum threshold provided in legislation means that no more than 50,000 business properties in London on the draft 2010 rating list (18 per cent. of all London properties on that list) will be liable for BRS, with discretion for the Mayor to set a higher threshold exempting additional properties. The dataset used is consistent with the consultation document titled: "The transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England", published on 8 July 2009. The number of hereditaments actually liable for the Business Rate Supplement in London will depend on the level at which the Mayor chooses to set the threshold.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many individual hereditament (a) betting shops and offices, (b) bingo halls, (c) public houses, licensed restaurants and wine bars, (d) night clubs and discotheques and (e) casinos and gambling clubs were on the 1997 version, or nearest equivalent, of the Valuation Office Agency's 1995 Rating List. [295702]
Barbara Follett: The following information relates to Rating Lists within England as at 1 April 1997.
| Description | England |
| Note: The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. | |
Non-Domestic Rates: Aerials
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has provided guidance to the Valuation Office Agency on the application of business rates to wireless masts. [297369]
Barbara Follett: The assessment of rateable value and the maintenance of rating lists is the responsibility of the Valuation Office Agency and not this Department. We do not provide guidance to the Valuation Office Agency on professional valuation issues. The Valuation Office Agency is an independent agency of HM Revenue and Customs and has sole responsibility for determining the rateable value of all non-domestic properties in England.
Non-Domestic Rates: Internet
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Valuation Office Agency takes into account (a) wireless internet connections and (b) wireless access points as a material consideration when rating a hereditament for the 2010 revaluation. [297435]
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to include access to wireless broadband networks in the assessment of business rates; and if he will make a statement. [297878]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 5 November 2009]: Rating assessments will reflect all service connections to the rental value of a hereditament (a unit of assessment for rating purposes), not just wireless internet connections and wireless access points. It is unlikely that a wireless access point will materially affect the value of an individual property for the current 2005 lists or for the 2010 revaluation.
Non-Domestic Rates: Parking
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many car parking spaces listed as domestic properties were exempt from the non-domestic rate under the Local Government Finance Act 1988 in (a) East Devon constituency, (b) Devon and (c) England in each of the last five years. [298656]
Barbara Follett: All parking spaces used for domestic parking within the curtilage of dwellings are classed as domestic property and therefore exempt from non-domestic rates. Information on the numbers of such parking spaces is not available centrally.
Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many hereditaments were on the Valuation Office Agency's Rating List with SCAT Code 279 in each year since 1997; [294452]
(2) how many hereditaments were on the Valuation Office Agency's Rating List with SCAT Code 123 in each year since 1997; [294453]
(3) how many hereditaments were on the Valuation Office Agency's Rating List with SCAT code 049 in each year since 1997; [294598]
(4) how many hereditaments were on the Valuation Office Agency's Rating List with SCAT code 228 in each year since 1997; [294602]
(5) how many hereditaments were on the Valuation Office Agency's Rating List with SCAT code 429 in each year since 1997. [294623]
Barbara Follett: The available information requested is given in the following tables and relates to information contained in the:
1995 Rating Lists-effective 1 April 1995 to 31 March 2000
2000 Rating Lists-effective 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2005
2005 Rating Lists-effective 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2010.
Figures are not comparable across this period due to changes in the use of special category (SCAT) codes. In particular:
SCAT Code 429 is effective from 1 April 2000.
SCAT Codes 049, 123, 228 and 279 existed in the 1995 Rating Lists but for different classes of property than they represent in the 2000 and 2005 rating lists.
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
| Sports stadiums, England | ||
| As at 1 April each year | Number | |
| Theatres, England | ||
| As at 1 April each year | Number | |
| Private hospitals/clinics, England | ||
| 1 April each year | Number | |
| Gypsy camp sites (short stay), England | ||
| As at 1 April each year | Number | |
| Cold stores, England | ||
| As at 1 April each year | Number | |
| Casinos and gambling clubs, England | ||
| As at 1 April each year | Number | |
| Public conveniences, England | ||
| As at 1 April each year | Number | |
| Public telephone kiosks, England | ||
| As at 1 April each year | Number | |
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