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23 Feb 2010 : Column 472W—continued
Affordable Housing: Standards
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) by what mechanisms the Homes and Communities Agency measures its progress in meeting its statutory duty to improve the quality of housing; [316940]
(2) what recent steps the Homes and Communities Agency has taken in respect of its statutory duty to (a) improve the quality of housing and (b) contribute to the achievement of good design. [316941]
John Healey: Two of the HCA's four statutory objects are to (i) improve the supply and quality of housing in England and (ii) contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and good design in England. The HCA inherited standards for certain of its programmes, setting minimum criteria which must be achieved before funding is provided. Regular checks and audits are undertaken to ensure these requirements are delivered. The HCA have established advisory Boards to assist with these issues, and plan to issue a design and quality strategy later this year. Details of these panels, including membership, can be found on the HCA's website:
Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria the Homes and Communities Agency used to assess the
design quality and viability of housing schemes for the purposes of awarding funding under Round 1 of the Kickstart programme; and what account was taken of the assessments made by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in its capacity as adviser on that programme. [316942]
John Healey: The criteria used by the HCA to assess the design quality and viability of housing schemes under Round 1 of the Kickstart programme can be found in the Round 1 'Kickstart Housing Delivery: Unlocking Stalled Sites' guidance located on HCA's website. Design quality was part of the overall value for money assessment of Kickstart bids, alongside deliverability and the capacity to create jobs. CABE assessments were used to highlight schemes where more attention was needed and were the basis for further assessment by HCA regional teams. The HCA regional teams were able to augment the CABE assessment with additional relevant local information to inform final decisions on award of funding.
Audit Commission: Procurement
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 16 December 2009, Official Report, column 1261W, on the Audit Commission: procurement, how much the Audit Commission spent in respect of each organisation that supplied goods or services to it in 2008-09. [317572]
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. The table referred to has been placed in the Library of the House.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 23 February 2010:
Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
The payments made to organisations that supplied goods or services to the Audit Commission in 2008-09 are outlined in the attached table.
A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.
Business Improvement Districts
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in how many business improvement districts in England more than one retail area is working in partnership; and if he will make a statement. [317722]
Barbara Follett: The Department does not hold this information.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has issued to (a) local authorities and (b) businesses on establishing a business improvement district which includes more than one retail centre; and if he will make a statement. [317723]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government has not issued guidance on establishing a business improvement district that includes more than one retail centre.
Community Development: Finance
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated to the (a) Supporting People programme, (b) New Communities fund, (c) New Deal for Communities fund, (d) Safer and Stronger Communities fund, (e) Local Enterprise Growth Initiative and (f) Working Neighbourhoods fund in each financial year from 2009-10 to 2014-15. [317361]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is as follows:
The funding allocations to the Supporting People programme for:
2009-10: £1,665 million
2010-11: £l,636 million
No allocations have been yet agreed for future years and beyond 2011.
Ministers decided in 2009 to reallocate resources from the New Communities Fund to other ministerial priorities. This was to reflect ministerial reprioritisation of funding across the Department to ensure available funding supports the highest priorities in the current fiscal circumstances.
(c) New Deal for Communities fund
In April 2009 the Department announced NDC partnership allocations of £186.2 million in 2009-10 and an indicative allocation of £70.4million in 2010-11, the final year of the programme.
(d) Safer and Stronger Communities
For the Safer and Stronger Communities fund, £30.909 million was allocated in 2009-10 and there is an indicative allocation of £4.893 million in 2010-11. No allocations have been agreed for years beyond 2010-11.
(e) Local Enterprise Growth Initiative
£98.885 million has been allocated for the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative for 2009-10 (£23.912 million Capital and £74.972 million Revenue) and there is an indicative allocation of £93.950 million for 2010-11 (£18.648 million Capital and £75.301 million Revenue).
No decisions have yet been made on arrangements for LEGI beyond the current three year spending period.
(f) Working Neighbourhoods Fund
£547.8 million has been allocated for the Working Neighbourhoods Fund for 2009-10, this includes the £40m top-up announced in November 2009, and there is an indicative allocation of £507.9 million for 2010-11.
No decisions have yet been made on arrangements for WNF beyond the current three year spending period.
Consolidated Communications
Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 20 January 2010, Official Report, column 377W, on the Audit Commission: public opinion, what the purpose was of the public affairs consultancy work undertaken by Consolidated Communications for his Department;
and what (a) documents and (b) other deliverables the Audit Commission received from Consolidated Communications under that contract. [317524]
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 23 February 2010:
Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
The Audit Commission contracted Consolidated Communications, a communications company, during a period of substantial reorganisation of its communications directorate. Consolidated offered advice and support, replacing functions in the external communications team that, temporarily, were not available in house.
The work and deliverables carried out under the contract were:
the monitoring of Parliament;
the monitoring of policy announcements; and
briefings on legislative issues.
A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.
Council Housing: Newcastle Upon Tyne
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received from Your Homes Newcastle on the funding for asbestos removal under the decent homes programme; and if he will place in the Library a copy of those representations. [318004]
Mr. Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government Department has received no recent representations from Your Homes Newcastle on the funding for asbestos removal under the Decent Homes programme. However, their parent local authority, Newcastle City Council, as part of their ALMO bidding application in 2003, made a contingency allowance in their Building Cost Model for asbestos removal.
Council Tax
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 214W, on council tax, whether local authorities may levy a surcharge on council tax bills paid by credit card. [317571]
Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 214W.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much gross council tax revenue in (a) cash and (b) real terms at 2010 prices was raised in each region in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available. [317868]
Barbara Follett: The amount of gross council tax revenue in (a) cash and (b) real terms at 2008-09 prices raised in each region in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 2008-09, the most recent year for which figures are available, are shown in the following table.
| £ m illion | |||
| 1997-98 cash | 1997-98 at 2008-09 prices | 2008-09 cash | |
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 using the Retail Price Index.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of gross revenue to local authorities from council tax was funded by council tax benefit in 2008-09. [317800]
Barbara Follett: In 2008-09 the gross revenue to local authorities from council tax was £24.9 billion with £3.5 billion of this figure being from council tax benefit paid to the collection fund. Therefore 14 per cent. of the gross revenue to local authorities from council tax was funded by council tax benefit.
Council Tax: Discounts
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 20 January 2010, Official Report, column 378W, on council tax, what types of council tax discount are made available by each individual local authority; and what the monetary value was of such discounts in the latest period for which figures are available. [317937]
Barbara Follett: Details of the types of local council tax discounts awarded as at October 5 2009, and the authority awarding the discount, are shown as follows.
Pensioners: Bury, Hillingdon, Kirklees, Lincoln, Southampton, Wirral
Properties affected by flooding and other external environmental factors: Doncaster, East Lindsey, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Herefordshire UA, Hillingdon, Malvern Hills, North Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Rotherham, Wakefield, Wychavon
Those to whom, because they have been affected by the change in regulations since a discount was originally awarded, a discount has been awarded so as to not disadvantage them: Adur, Exeter, Horsham, North Norfolk, Waveney
The following types of local council tax discounts were also awarded as at 5 October 2009.
A hard to sell property
A new unfinished property
Difficult to let properties
Hardship
Occupied and unoccupied furnished properties that do not have the benefit of mains services including beach chalets.
Properties that are no one person's sole or main residence where access is restricted taxpayers who can comply with the council's Mooring Policy.
Various classes of empty properties.
These discounts were awarded by the following authorities. It is not possible to identify which authority awarded which discount as this may allow identification of individual properties or persons.
Bradford
Brighton and Hove
Cambridge
Canterbury
Copeland
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