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12 Jan 2010 : Column 876W—continued
CLG has been consulting on the proposed changes to Part L of the Building Regulations for 2010. This process has resulted in engagement with house builders throughout the consultation. As part of that process officials have discussed the range of renewable technologies for deployment in new build including solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies.
Power Stations: Blythe Bridge
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will initiate a public inquiry into the proposed Blythe Bridge power station. [309863]
Mr. Kidney: We have yet to receive the views of the relevant planning authorities, Staffordshire Moorlands district council and Staffordshire county council. Should either of them object then a public inquiry is mandatory under schedule 8 to the Electricity Act 1989. Even if neither council objects, the Secretary of State has the discretion to hold a public inquiry into the application in light of other representations he receives. The hon. Member will be informed of his decision, including whether or not a public inquiry will be held, in due course.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research he has undertaken into the willingness of people to accept (a) wind turbines and (b) other renewable energy projects in their local areas. [309761]
Mr. Kidney: The Government conduct a Renewable Energy Awareness and Attitudes Research survey each year and publishes the results on the DECC website. In the 2009 survey, support for renewable energy remained high with over eight in 10 respondents interviewed saying they would support it, and 62 per cent. saying they would be happy to live within 5 km of a wind power development.
Warm Front Scheme
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many applications to the Warm Front Scheme for (a) heating, (b) insulation and (c) heating and insulation were approved in (i) Southend and (ii) England and Wales in each of the last two years. [308166]
Mr. Kidney: The following tables show the number of households that received (a) heating, (b) insulation and (c) heating and insulation in (i) Southend and (ii) England under the Warm Front scheme in each of the last two complete years. For convenience, the tables also include the number of households assisted in this year to date.
| (i) Southend | |||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 to date (31 December) | |
| (ii) England | |||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 to date (31 December) | |
Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, as such, the Warm Front scheme operates in England only and is not active in Wales.
Warm Front Scheme: Leeds
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in Leeds, North-West constituency received assistance under the Warm Front scheme in 2008-09. [309389]
Mr. Kidney: The Warm Front scheme assisted 309 households in Leeds, North-West during scheme year 2008-09.
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what work the Audit Commission is undertaking on behalf of the Tenant Services Authority in relation to inspections of social housing. [308270]
Barbara Follett: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 12 January 2010:
Your Parliamentary question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
Since the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) was established on 1 December 2008, the Audit Commission has undertaken the following inspections of registered social landlords requested by the Authority:
Twenty one full inspections, covering all tenant services, are now completed and are published on the Audit Commission website http://www.audit-commission.govuk. A list is attached for ease of reference.
Fifteen focused inspections, covering a limited number of tenant services that are undertaken at short notice, completed and published, covering judgements for both current services and prospects for improvement.
Eighteen focused inspections, covering a limited number of tenant services, undertaken at short notice, completed and published in respect of judgements of the current services. Judgements for future prospects of service improvement, following local consultation between tenants and their landlord, will be published in due course.
Six further full inspections are in progress or programmed for completion by March 2010.
Twelve focused inspections, to be undertaken at short notice, are programmed for completion by March 2010.
Five full service inspections of Registered Social Landlords are programmed for 2010/11, as will be a number of focused inspections, the numbers of which are yet to be determined.
From April 2010 (subject to Parliamentary approval) the TSA will also be responsible for commissioning inspections of local authority landlord services from the Audit Commission.
A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.
| Organisation | Inspection title | How good is the service? | What are the prospects for improvement | Month published | Month on site |
Building Regulations: Water
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reason the revisions to Part G of the Building Regulations did not take effect on 1 October 2009; and what recent representations his Department has received from the European Commission on those regulations. [309031]
Mr. Ian Austin: It was necessary, under the Technical Standards Directive, to submit to the European Commission the guidance in the draft Approved Document that was intended to accompany the changes to Part G of the Building Regulations. On 3 September 2009 we received correspondence from the European Commission. This "detailed opinion" contained representations on elements of the technical guidance and extended the standstill period, in which it is not possible to bring into force "regulations" (which covers the guidance in the Approved Documents for the purposes of the Building Regulations), until 2 December 2009. It was necessary, therefore, to delay the coming into force of the legislative changes to Part G until the next common commencement date of 6 April 2010.
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