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1 Feb 2010 : Column 14W—continued
Funding given to FRSs for mass decontamination training is outlined in the second following table:
| Funding provided to FRSs for Mass Decontamination Training | |
| £ | |
The Department is unable to provide the overall cost specifically associated with the procurement of the GTS and PRPS but on average the cost of a GTS was around £560 per suit at the time of purchase in 2003-04 and the cost of PRPS, ordered from 2005-06 onwards, was approximately £880 per suit. Additionally, expenditure associated with the maintenance of the protective suits can not be separated out from other associated maintenance costs.
Fire Services: Finance
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce his decision regarding the allocation of funding to fire and rescue authorities with regard to their statutory duties in respect of flooding. [313812]
Mr. Malik: Fire and rescue authorities do not have a statutory duty to respond to every type of emergency. Rather, they use their general power to respond to these emergencies, including flooding, under section 11 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. They use their local discretion in equipping themselves with the appropriate capabilities to meet the risks, such as flooding, identified through their local risk assessment processes, using the flexible funding arrangements of the Revenue Support Grant and their other resources.
At the national level, this Department has provided the fire and rescue service with 46 high volume pumps, used to great effect during flooding, and funded associated training and maintenance.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made up to £2 million available to carry out the Flood Rescue National Enhancement Project, which aims to enhance the current flood rescue capability. A strategy for how this money will be best used is being developed, and organisations, including the fire and rescue service, could potentially receive some future funding.
Flood Control: Finance
John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have made submissions to his Department for funding under the Bellwin Scheme as a result of the recent severe weather conditions; and what estimates have been provided of the amount each is likely to claim under the scheme. [314686]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Two local authorities, City of York council and Herefordshire council, have registered an intention to claim Bellwin assistance as a result of the recent bad weather and North Yorkshire county council has expressed an interest in possibly making an application. No estimates have yet been provided of the amount each is likely to claim under the scheme.
Non-domestic Rates: Garages and Petrol Stations
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many petrol filling stations which are (a) owned by (i) oil companies and (ii) major supermarket chains and (b) independent provided evidence of rental value for the 2010 revaluation of non-domestic rates. [314069]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 28 January 2010]: A statistical breakdown on the ownership of petrol filling stations and category of person who provided evidence of rental value is not held centrally and cannot be obtained other than at disproportionate cost.
Non-domestic Rates: Valuation
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the average rateable value of (a) rugby league grounds, (b) lifeboat stations, (c) aquaria, (d) arenas and (e) conference and exhibition centres on the 2010 Rating List changed between 29 May 2009 and 18 December 2009. [313638]
Barbara Follett
[holding answer 27 January 2010] : The Valuation Office Agency continues to maintain and update the live 2005 rating lists and the draft 2010 rating lists to ensure that all rateable values remain accurate. This may include some reclassification of hereditaments between property classes. Rateable values may change where there are material changes to the property or the locality, and there will also be new additions and deletions from rating lists. Rateable values may also change where the Valuation Office Agency receives new information or continues to hold discussions
with ratepayers or their representatives. These discussions and amendments are done in an entirely open and transparent manner.
Planning Permission
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average period elapsed between each change to (a) planning policy guidance and (b) planning policy statements proposed to his Department in the last three years and the entry into force of the change. [314193]
Mr. Ian Austin [holding answer 29 January 2010]: Communities and Local Government receives very large numbers of proposals for changes to planning policy. These suggestions may be a response to a consultation, or simply volunteered ad hoc. The period between the arrival of a proposal and any appearance it may make in a policy statement is not susceptible to analysis.
Regional Planning and Development: North East
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government has contributed through Bridging Newcastle Gateshead to costs for (a) the strategic housing staff capacity of the City of Newcastle and (b) (i) the EDAW consultancy and (ii) other consultancy costs incurred in (A) the preparation of the North Central Plan and (B) relation to the Benwell Scotswood Plan. [314013]
Mr. Ian Austin: Over the period 2006-07 to 2009-10 BNG has contributed £1,630,000 to the costs of strategic housing staff capacity of the city of Newcastle for the management and delivery of neighbourhood improvement projects.
EDAW have received £360,262 for the area action plan in Scotswood.
Lambert Smith Hampton received £200,000 for the preparation of the north central plan.
The Benwell/Scotswood area action plan is the area action plan in Scotswood referred to above and there are no other relevant consultancy costs.
Regional Planning and Development: West Midlands
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirements for aggregate extraction the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy places upon councils in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Staffordshire. [313441]
Mr. Malik: The annual apportionment for sand and gravel for the period 2001-2016 as set out in the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy is 10.125 million tonnes, with Staffordshire contributing 6.602 million tonnes. The corresponding figures for crushed rock are 5.812 million tonnes and 1.395 million tonnes.
The West Midlands Regional Assembly are currently considering the sub-regional apportionment for the period 2005 to 2020.
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many houses local authorities in (a) Staffordshire and (b) the West Midlands are required to provide under the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy. [313444]
Mr. Malik: The West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) was last updated in January 2008. For the period 2007 to 2011, 15,280 homes (gross) are required to be built in the region each year, of which 2,500 are to be within the county of Staffordshire.
The West Midlands Regional Assembly consulted on a draft replacement to the RSS in early 2008. The West Midlands RSS Phase 2 Preferred Option proposed 365,600 homes (net) for the region during the period 2006 to 2026 and 54,900 for Staffordshire. The indicative annual average is 18,280 for the region and 2,745 for Staffordshire.
Between April and June 2009 an Examination in Public was held to consider the RSS Phase 2 Preferred Option. The panel reported in September 2009 and the Secretary of State's proposed changes are due to be published for consultation shortly.
Sleeping Rough
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the number of street homeless people in England. [314025]
Mr. Ian Austin: In 1998 there were estimated to be 1,850 rough sleepers in England. Since then, as a result of the measures the Government have introduced, good progress has been made in reducing the total number of rough sleepers to 464 in 2009, based on local authority street counts.
Supermarkets: Planning Permission
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the number of supermarkets which have applied for planning permission for the temporary erection of marquee or tent structures on their properties within the last three months. [313054]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Department does not hold this type of information.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning enforcement notices have been issued by his Department and local planning authorities to supermarkets in Lancashire and Merseyside in the last 12 months; and how many resulted in enforcement action. [313055]
Mr. Ian Austin: No enforcement notices have been issued by this Department. Although local planning authorities provide my Department with statistics about the number of enforcement notices issued, these statistics do not differentiate between different kinds of breaches of development control. Planning statistics are available on the Communities website at:
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department provides on whether the erection of temporary marquee or tent structures by supermarkets for the storage of goods requires planning permission. [313056]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Department has not issued guidance on whether planning permission is required for the erection of temporary marquee or tent structures by supermarkets for the storage of goods.
Temporary Accommodation: Sleeping Rough
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what estimate his Department has made of the number of local authorities which provided accommodation for rough sleepers in accordance with their obligations under severe weather emergency procedures during the recent cold weather conditions; [313682]
(2) what recent steps he has taken to monitor the implementation by local authorities of their obligations to rough sleepers under the severe weather emergency procedures; and if he will make a statement. [313683]
Mr. Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 19 January 2010, Official Report, column 288W.
Tree Preservation Orders
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average time taken by the Planning Inspectorate was for dealing with complaints relating to tree appeals in the latest period for which figures are available. [314687]
Mr. Ian Austin: The average time taken for the Planning Inspectorate to reply to Tree Preservation Order Appeal complaints was 19 working days for complaints received in 2009. There were 56 complaints relating to Tree Preservation Order Appeals relating to 39 different appeals.
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average time taken by the Planning Inspectorate was for dealing with fast track tree appeals in the latest period for which figures are available. [314688]
Mr. Ian Austin: The average time taken by the Planning Inspectorate for fast track tree appeals is 18 weeks, from receipt of the appeal to despatch of the decision. This figure is based on decisions issued under the fast track procedure between 1 April 2009 and 31 December 2009.
Waste Management: Planning Permission
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance his Department has issued to planning authorities on handling planning applications for waste treatment plants. [314367]
Mr. Ian Austin: General guidance on handling all planning applications, including those for waste treatment plants, is set out in our 2004 statement "General principles for the planning system".
As part of the Government response to the Killian Pretty Review, we are currently consulting on a draft new Planning Policy Statement to provide a clear national policy framework for development management. This includes a draft policy annex on determination, and will replace the 2004 guidance.
Wind Power: Planning Permission
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer from the Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 559-60W, on wind power: noise, when he expects to announce permitted development rights and regulations in respect of small-scale wind generators. [314685]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Government are working to the timetables set out in the Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Act 2009 for the introduction of permitted development rights for wind turbines. This Act came into force on 12 January 2010. It requires that, in England, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 be amended to provide for the grant of permitted development rights for domestic wind turbines within six months of the Act's coming into force. It also requires the Secretary of State to consider amending the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 to facilitate the installation of microgeneration equipment on non-domestic land in England, with this consideration beginning within six months of the Act's coming into force.
International Development
Children: Protection
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to develop and implement a child protection strategy as part of its policies. [313746]
Mr. Michael Foster: Children and their rights are an integral part of our development strategies. The recent White Paper "Eliminating World Poverty: Building Our Common Future" includes commitments to launching a new Education for Development Strategy, which is forthcoming in early 2010. Universal primary education is a key strategy for addressing child protection issues.
Through the AIDS strategy, "Achieving Universal Access", published in 2008, the Department for International Development (DFID) restates its commitment to meeting the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. This includes the expansion of social protection programmes that provide effective and predictable support for the most vulnerable households, including those with children affected by AIDS, to ensure they have long term access to essential basic services and protection from abuse.
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