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19 Jan 2010 : Column 281W—continued
Council Tax
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much net revenue has been raised in council tax in (a) cash and (b) real terms based on 2010 prices in each year since 1997-98. [312004]
Barbara Follett: The net revenue collected through council tax in both cash and real terms (£ million) in each year since 1997-98 are given in the following table.
The data are taken from the quarterly return of council tax and non-domestic rates returns completed annually by all billing authorities in England and the real terms data are given at 2008-09 prices.
| £ million | ||
| Cash | Real terms | |
| (1) Data for two authorities not received in 2004-05 | ||
Council Tax: Chelmsford
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of properties which have been revalued for council tax purposes in (a) West Chelmsford constituency and (b) Chelmsford local authority area in each of the last three years; and how many such revaluations resulted in a change of council tax banding. [311014]
Barbara Follett: No properties have been revalued for council tax purposes as no council tax revaluation is taking place. For the number of changes to bandings in the 1993 Lists for each local authority in England, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 15 May 2009, Official Report, column 1039W, and 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 701W. Changes to bandings for the West Chelmsford constituency area could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Council Tax: Non-payment
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what timetable has been set for the transfer of arrangements for council tax enforcement from magistrates courts to county courts; whether any consultation on the transfer will take place; and whether primary legislation will be necessary to enable the transfer to take place. [311535]
Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 2 November 2009, Official Report, column 758W. No decision has been taken yet about whether to extend the council tax enforcement regime in this way.
Council Tax: Valuation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency have made of the merits to holding a council tax revaluation in England in the next Parliament. [311630]
Barbara Follett: No consideration has been given to holding a council tax revaluation in England in the next Parliament.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answers to the hon. Member for Meriden of 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 701W, and of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 613W, on council tax: valuation, what potential numbers were established by Mr. Tim Eden after contact with group valuation officers. [311832]
Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to answers provided to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 2 April 2008, Official Report, columns 924-25W. No detailed analysis was undertaken nor were any potential numbers estimated or calculated.
Departmental Billing
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in December 2009. [311260]
Barbara Follett: In December 2009 Communities and Local Government paid 92.91 per cent. of invoices within 10 days.
Departmental Buildings
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) area and (b) estimated value is of (i) vacant and (ii) occupied office space (A) owned and (B) rented by his Department. [310533]
Barbara Follett: The total area of occupied office space rented by the Department for Communities and Local Government is 25,798 sq m (net internal area), with a passing rent of £14,759,735 per annum exclusive of rates.
The total area of vacant office space rented by the Department is 894 sq m (net internal area). The passing rent for this office space is £124,643 per annum exclusive of rates.
The Department does not own any freehold office space.
Departmental Contracts
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much his Department paid to each of its suppliers of goods and services in 2007-08. [311540]
(2) to what suppliers of goods and services his Department paid over £50,000 in 2007-08. [311711]
Barbara Follett: The information requested has been deposited in the Library of the House.
Departmental Domestic Visits
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planned visits by Ministers in his Department within the UK were cancelled within 72 hours of the visit taking place in the last 12 months; and what the planned venue or venues were for each such visit. [309882]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government do not record this information.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many iPods have been bought by his Department since 2005; and at what cost. [311904]
Barbara Follett: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Food
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the quantity of food waste generated by his Department in each year for which figures are available. [310808]
Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government generated the following quantity of food waste during the last three years:
| CLG central | Food waste (tonnes) |
| (1) No data are held prior to 2006-07, i.e. before the composting initiative was implemented. | |
Since 2006, the Department has sent all of its separated food waste to a composting facility rather than to landfill.
Departmental Internet
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which websites his Department's staff are prevented from accessing on departmental networked computers. [311467]
Barbara Follett:
Communities and Local Government (CLG) maintain information security management policies setting out how we comply with the mandatory minimum security requirements set out in the HMG Security Policy Framework (SPF), particularly Security Policy No. 4: Information Security and Assurance. This policy dictates the type of websites that users may not access, and users sign off and agree to follow security operating
procedures to that end. These policies are regularly reviewed and updated and include staff training and awareness programmes.
CLG's information security and risk management policies are in line with the SPF, particularly Mandatory Requirement 39. MR 39 requires Departments to comply with the requirements of any codes of connection, including technical and procedural policies to manage the risks posed by all forms of malicious software (including viruses, spyware and phishing etc). This includes patching policies, boundary security devices and content checking/blocking policies. More information is available at:
The list of blocked sites runs into thousands and is compiled and managed by contracted third parties on our behalf. It is updated daily. A precise list of blocked sites would be extensive and changes regularly.
Also, such information being made public could assist adversaries in identifying vulnerabilities and circumventing information security controls, thereby exposing CLG to greater risk from attacks.
Departmental Manpower
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 5 November 2009, Official Report, column 1121W, on departmental recruitment, how many of the 87 policy advisers are on fixed term contracts; and what the (a) job title and (b) division of each adviser is. [308524]
Barbara Follett: An error has been identified in the answer given to question 292982 on 5 November 2009, Official Report, column 1121W. The number of posts with "policy adviser" included in the job title in the Department for Communities and Local Government on 21 December 2009 is 242. This revised number is based on a wider search under the two possible spellings of adviser/advisor, used interchangeably by staff when entering job details on our staff data system. It does not represent an increase in the number of staff in this type of role.
Of these staff, three are on fixed-term contracts. The job title and division of each post is as follows:
1. Policy Adviser: Strategy, Performance and Delivery Directorate
2. Senior Policy Adviser: Cohesion and Faiths Division
3. Policy Advisor: Housing Supply Division.
Departmental Research
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research projects commissioned by his Department have not yet reported. [311539]
Barbara Follett: Details of research projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government and its predecessors are available from our Research Database (RD) at:
The database provides information on projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government and predecessor departments going back to 30 November 2001. This includes details of projects that have not yet reported.
Departmental Surveys
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the results from his Department's most recent staff survey; which organisation carried out the survey; and what the total cost of the survey was. [310766]
Barbara Follett: We are still awaiting the full results of the October 2009 CLG staff survey and expect to place these on the CLG website during February 2010. Following publication, we will also place a copy of the results in the Library.
The supplier for the survey was ORC International which was procured by the Cabinet Office to deliver the first cross-Civil Service people survey. The people survey replaced all existing staff surveys in the civil service with a single questionnaire.
This Department is meeting the costs of the survey for all participating CLG Group organisations including the main Department, the Government offices, the Planning Inspectorate, Ordnance Survey and the Fire Service College. To date, the cost of the survey for the CLG Group is £72,000 plus VAT. By procuring a single supplier for staff surveys in 2009-10, the Civil Service has saved 35 per cent. on the total cost of staff surveys in 2008-09.
Departmental Temporary Employment
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Chichester of 26 October 2009, Official Report, column 140W, on departmental recruitment, how many specialist staff in his Department are on time-limited contracts; what the job title is of each such specialist; and in what division of his Department each works. [307212]
Barbara Follett: As at 14 December 2009, there were nine specialist staff on time-limited contracts. The Department defines 'specialist' as a role which requires a qualification in a specific field (or work towards a specific qualification) or a highly specialised skill set to undertake the work.
The job titles as recorded by staff on our database and divisions of these posts are as follows:
| Job title | Division |
|
Knowledge Management Policy and Library Services team member | |
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