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12 Nov 2009 : Column 870W—continued
Housing: Regeneration
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent by each Pathfinder Partnership operating in the North and the Midlands. [299878]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Local Government: Leeds and Greater Manchester
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent assessment is of the progress of the city region pilots in (a) Leeds and (b) Manchester; and if he will make a statement. [299772]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The city-region pilots are recognition of the strategic importance of city-regions in realising the shared objective of increased and sustained economic growth.
Good progress has been made in discussions with Greater Manchester and Leeds city region building on the priorities set out in April's Budget Statement.
Joint teams of Government and local officials have been working intensively to reach an agreement for both city regions on proposals to develop new strategy-setting powers over adult skills funding; aligned investment to support regeneration and housing; and robust governance arrangements necessary for increased responsibility for transport.
In discussions with Greater Manchester, there has also been a focus on improving the early years experience and life chances of people living in the most deprived areas. We are working with Leeds city region to build on its existing research strengths and maximise its potential for science excellence through a joint innovation strategy.
We anticipate that full details will be announced by the end of the year when new agreements are expected with Greater Manchester and Leeds city region.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 8 September 2009, on the new regional strategy in relation to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill. [299909]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A response was sent to the hon. Member's letter on 7 October 2009.
Microgeneration
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the implementation of Planning Policy Statement 22 on the number of schools, charities and voluntary organisations which generate renewable energy. [299903]
Mr. Ian Austin: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Monuments: Armed Conflict
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to ensure that the revised Planning Policy Statement 15 on the historic environment makes specific reference to the protection of war memorials. [293266]
Mr. Ian Austin: 1 will write to the hon. Member and place copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much his Department has spent on the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme to date; [299745]
(2) how much his Department has spent on the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme to date. [299746]
John Healey: We have acted rapidly to put in place a range of help and support for households struggling with their mortgage at every stage.
The Department spent £905,334 (excluding VAT) on legal, IT and operational services to develop and implement Homeowners Mortgage Support. Ongoing operational costs to 31 October 2009 were £92,860 (excluding VAT).
Additionally, PricewaterhouseCoopers have provided commercial expertise to support development of our interventions to prevent repossessions, in particular to inform negotiations with lenders on their forbearance policies and liaison with the money advice sector, and advise on the interface with the regulatory framework. The total cost was £1,143,883 (excluding VAT). Statistics from the Financial Services Authority show that by June 2009, over 135,000 borrowers were benefiting from forbearance offered by their lender, an increase of 74 per cent. on the previous year.
Neighbourhood Wardens
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many neighbourhood wardens were funded by his Department in each of the last five years. [299887]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Non-Domestic Rates
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) crematoriums, (b) funeral parlours and chapels of rest and (c) cemeteries (i) there were on the 2005 Rating List and (ii) there are on the draft 2010 Rating List; what the aggregate rateable value is of the premises on each list; and what methodology the Valuation Office Agency used to rate (A) the crematoriums and (B) funeral parlours and chapels of rest at the 2005 and 2010 revaluations. [297700]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 4 November 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Members for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman), Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) and Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) today to PQs 294135, 294887, 294903, 294527 and 295703 which state that a table has been placed in the Library of the House showing the number of hereditaments and the total and average rateable values for hereditaments in each special category code on both the 2005 rating lists and the draft 2010 rating lists as at 29 May 2009.
The special category code for crematoria is 80, funeral parlours and chapels of rest 111 and cemeteries 053.
The aim of a rating valuation is to arrive at the rental value for the premises at the standard valuation date. Because of the differing nature of the numerous classes of property, valuation officers have to use various valuation methods to arrive at rental value. The methodologies used for valuation were the same for both the 2005 rating lists and the 2010 draft lists and these were:
(A) Crematoria: a value per annual cremation number, adjusted for the age of the crematorium. The value is derived from analysed receipts and expenditure.
(B) Funeral parlours and chapels of rest: a rentals comparison approach.
The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.
Mrs. Spelman: 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 Valuation Office Agency's 2005 Rating List in the most recent period for which figures are available. [294135]
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the average rateable value of each type of hereditament is under each special category code in (a) the 2005 Rating List and (b) the draft 2010 Rating List; [294887]
(2) what the average rateable value of petrol stations (a) was on the 2005 Rating List and (b) is on the draft 2010 Rating List. [294903]
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hereditaments with each individual Special Category Code (a) were on the 2005 and (b) are on the draft 2010 Rating List. [295703]
Barbara Follett: I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing the number of hereditaments and the total and average rateable values for hereditaments in each special category code on both the 2005 Rating Lists and the draft 2010 Rating Lists at 29 May 2009. These data are consistent with the consultation document titled: 'The transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England', published on 8 July 2009. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/local government/nndrrevaluation2010
The number of hereditaments in each special category code has been rounded to the nearest 10 and the figures for total and average rateable value have been rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.
a) betting shops and offices have special category code 24;
b) bingo halls have special category code 25;
c) i) public houses/pub restaurants have special category codes 226 and 227; ii) restaurants have special category code 234; iii) wine bars have special category code 303;
d) night clubs and discotheques have special code 199;
e) casinos and gambling clubs have special category code 49;
f) petrol stations have special category code 209.
Non-Domestic Rates: Fairgrounds
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) theme parks and (b) other amusement parks (i) there were on the 2005 Rating List and (ii) there are on the draft 2010 Rating List; what method the Valuation Office Agency used to rate each of the premises for each list; and what the (A) postal address and (B) rateable value is of each of the parks included on each list. [297717]
Barbara Follett:
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Members for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman), Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) and Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) today (PQs 294135, 294887, 294903, 294527 and 295703), which state that a table has been placed in the Library of the House showing the number of hereditaments and the total and average rateable values for hereditaments in each special category
code on both the 2005 Rating Lists and the draft 2010 Rating Lists as at 29 May 2009. The Special Category Code for theme parks is 280 and for amusement parks 012.
The aim of a rating valuation is to arrive at the rental value of the premises at the standard valuation date. For both the 2005 Rating Lists and the 2010 Draft Lists the rateable values of amusement and theme parks have been assessed in line with the guidance contained in the Rating Manual-Volume 5, Section 70 on Amusement Parks and Theme Parks which is available on the VOA website, under Publications, at:
The addresses and rateable values of theme and amusement parks currently listed in the 2005 Rating Lists and 2010 Draft Lists can be viewed on the live rating lists published on the Valuation Office Agency's website at
Non-Domestic Rates: Parking
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appeals against a Valuation Office Agency decision to place rateable values on parking spaces in (a) East Devon constituency, (b) Devon and (c) England have been successful in each of the last five years. [298652]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 9 November 2009]: The number of proposals against decisions to place rateable values on car parking spaces that were accepted by valuation officers or resulted in a change in assessment in (a) East Devon constituency, (b) Devon and (c) England during each of the last five years are as follows:
| Billing authority-East Devon | ||
| Settlement | Total | |
| Devon | ||
| Settlement | Total | |
| England | ||
| Settlement | Total | |
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