| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
5 Feb 2010 : Column 639W—continued
the chief executive and
another senior officer
Councillor Tim Passmore (Leader) and
the chief executive
St Edmundsbury Borough Council:
Councillor John Griffiths (Leader) and
the chief executive
Suffolk Coastal District Council:
Councillor Ray Herring (Leader),
Councillor Andy Smith (Deputy Leader) and
the chief executive
Councillor Jeremy Pembroke (Leader) and
the chief executive
Councillor Mark Bee (Leader),
Councillor Colin Law (Deputy Leader),
the chief executive and
another senior officer
Devon County Council: the chief executive and senior officers
Exeter City Council: the chief executive and senior officers
South Hams District Council: the chief executive
Broadland DC: the chief executive
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk BC: the chief executive and senior officers
Norfolk County Council: the chief executive and a senior officer
Norwich City Council: the chief executive and a senior officer
South Norfolk DC: Councillor Richard Kemp and a senior officer
Forest Heath District Council: the chief executive and a senior officer
Ipswich Borough Council: the chief executive and a senior officer
St Edmundsbury Borough Council: a senior officer
Suffolk Coastal and Waveney District Councils: the chief executive and senior officers
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will list for each unitary authority created since 2007 the period of time which elapsed between the decision to implement the Boundary Committee's proposals for unitary status and the election of councillors to a shadow unitary authority. [314980]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No unitary authority has been created since 2007 which involved implementing proposals of the Boundary Committee.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many posts in each of the unitary authorities created since 2007 have been abolished as a result of reorganisation; and how much in total has been paid in redundancy payments. [314987]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The establishment of nine new unitary councils on 1 April 2009 has led to a reduction of 330 senior management posts across those authorities, saving £23 million per annum and involving 44 chief executives leaving office through resignation, redundancy or retirement. There are also other staff reductions, on which information is not held centrally, contributing to the efficiency savings being made by the nine new unitary councils which are expected to total over £150 million this year.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons his Department's consultation on proposals for unitary local government draft structural change orders is shorter than the 12 weeks recommended in the Code of Practice on Consultation. [315039]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We have sought by 3 February 2010 views from the councils potentially affected by any decision to implement unitary local government in Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk on the main possible transitional arrangements, recognising the need to end uncertainty and to move forward as quickly as practicable.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has given to redrawing (a) ward and (b) district boundaries in (i) Norfolk, (ii) Suffolk and (iii) Devon consequent on proposals for the reorganisation of local government in each in order to meet requirements for the equal distribution of councillors. [315156]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We are considering the Boundary Committee's advice carefully as well as all the representations we have received in relation to the Committee's alternative proposals, all of which for the three county areas would involve changes to district boundaries.
We have sought, by 3 February 2010, the views of the councils potentially affected by any decision to implement unitary local government in Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk on the main possible transitional arrangements, including electoral arrangements for the first elections to any new unitary authority. We will have regard to these views when preparing any structural change orders.
Local Government: Standards
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library the combined Comprehensive Area Assessment and Comprehensive Performance Assessment results for each local authority. [314968]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 5 February 2010:
Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
The full Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) results dataset for each local authority and local area is held on the Oneplace website:
A list of the organisational assessment scores published on 9 December 2009 for each local authority (which form one element of the CAA results) is shown on the attached schedule. This can also be found on the Oneplace website:
Archived copies of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) results from 2002-2008 can be found on the Audit Commission website:
As the CAA and CPA frameworks measure things differently, the results arising from the different frameworks should not be combined.
A copy of this letter has been placed in Hansard and the attached schedule has been deposited in the Library of the House.
Local Government: Suffolk
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much expenditure each local authority in Suffolk had incurred in respect of the proposed reorganisation of local government in Suffolk on the latest date for which figures are available. [314865]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally by this Department.
Multiple Occupation: Licensing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department plans to publish its response to the Building Research Establishment report on licensing of houses in multiple occupation. [315799]
Mr. Ian Austin: Our response to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) report on licensing of houses in multiple occupation was published as part of the written ministerial statement of 27 January 2009, Official Report, columns 54-56WS.
Muslim Council of Britain
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons he decided to resume contacts with the Muslim Council of Britain; whom he consulted on that decision; and if he will make a statement. [314041]
Mr. Malik: The Muslim Council of Britain has made a commitment to Government to examine their internal processes and ensure that the personal actions of all members, including senior leaders, remain true to the organisation's agreed policies.
The MCB has stated its categorical opposition to attacks on British defence interests and confirmed its unwavering support for British troops across the world. It has also made clear that it stands firmly against anti-Semitism and other forms of racism.
The significance of these actions on the part of the MCB has led to the Government lifting the suspension of their formal relationship with that organisation.
We have engaged in a variety of discussions with community stakeholders from a range of faiths on this issue since March and have been able to take the views expressed in those discussions into account in considering our response to the MCB. We also had an ongoing dialogue with other Government Departments on this issue.
The relevant correspondence is publicly available on the departmental website at:
Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 234W, on non-domestic rates: empty property, if he will place in the Library a copy of the representations made by the other groups listed. [314966]
Barbara Follett: The representations from the:
Association of Convenience Stores;
The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire;
Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce; and
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors,
have been placed in the Library of the House.
My answer of 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 234W incorrectly recorded the Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce representation as being two representations, one from the Weymouth Chamber of Commerce and one from the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.
On further investigation, the letter from the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation was in fact from an individual member writing in a private capacity and not a representation from the Institute itself. It has, therefore, not been placed in the Library of the House on data protection grounds.
Our reforms to empty property relief are principled and right for the long-term. They provide a strong incentive on owners to bring empty property back into use, helping to improve access to premises for businesses and so to exert a downward pressure on commercial rents.
However, we provided owners with real help to manage short-term pressures in a difficult property market by exempting all empty properties with rateable values up to £15,000 from business rates in 2009-10.
We have listened to the continued concerns of owners and are extending the temporary measure for a further 12 months-to cover the whole of 2010-11-and we are uprating the threshold to £18,000 in line with the general movement of property values at revaluation.
Non-domestic Rates: Garages and Petrol Stations
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many petrol retail outlets have had a reduction in their rateable value for the purpose of calculating the business rate to come into effect from 1 April 2010; [311046]
(2) how many petrol retail outlets have been notified that their rateable value (a) has been reduced, (b) remains unchanged and (c) has risen by over (i) 10 per cent., (ii) 50 per cent., (iii) 100 per cent., (iv) 150 per cent., (v) 200 per cent., (vi) 250 per cent., (vii) 300 per cent. and (viii) 350 per cent. for the purpose of calculating the business rate to come into effect on 14 April 2010. [311049]
Barbara Follett:
All petrol retail outlets have been sent a summary valuation of their property from the Valuation Office Agency which explains and illustrates how their rateable value has been calculated. Ratepayers
have been invited to contact their local valuation officer if they think the information in the summary valuation is incorrect.
The following table is for petrol filling stations with a with a Special Category Valuation Office Agency (VOA SCAT) code of 209 in England only. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
These figures include all property recorded as petrol filling stations using VOA SCAT Code 209. It is not possible to identify and include in the figures hypermarkets and other properties retailing petrol. These are recorded under other SCAT codes.
These data are consistent with the statistical release entitled 'Non-domestic rateable values: 2010 Local Rating Lists-England and Wales', published on 18 December 2009. A copy of this statistical release is available at the following link:
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |