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23 Feb 2010 : Column 482W—continued
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of staff of (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) its agencies managed out in the last five years who remain working in the public sector. [313841]
Barbara Follett: No data are collected on the future employment of staff who leave the Department or its agencies.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on ministerial hospitality in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06, (c) 2006-07 and (d) 2007-08 expressed in current prices. [317345]
Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) on 17 December 2008, Official Report, column 787W.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many receptions he has hosted for representatives of print and broadcast media since 3 October 2008. [317346]
Barbara Follett: Since his appointment as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in June 2009, my right hon. Friend has hosted two receptions for representatives of print and broadcast media.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many receptions he has hosted for representatives of print and broadcast media since October 2008; how much each reception cost; and how many attended each. [317999]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government published an annual list of receptions hosted by Ministers for 2008-09 in a written ministerial statement on 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 118WS.
The next return will be published in July 2010.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department and its agencies spent on external recruitment consultants in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [315285]
Barbara Follett: The Department does not hold this information centrally and could provide it only at disproportionate cost.
The Planning Inspectorate does not hold this information centrally and could provide it only at disproportionate cost.
Fire Service college has made no payments to external recruitment consultants in FY 2008-09.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has made no payments to external recruitment consultants in FY 2008-09.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vacancies in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies were filled using external recruitment consultants in the last 12 months. [315290]
Barbara Follett: The Department does not hold this information centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Planning Inspectorate filled two vacancies in the last 12 months.
Fire Service college has not filled any vacancies in the last 12 months.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has not filled any vacancies in the last 12 months.
Departmental Surveys
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 16 October 2009, Official Report, column 1117W, on FlexSpace, if he will place in the Library a copy of the staff survey carried out in January 2009. [317602]
Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government is making arrangements for a copy of the SpaceFlex staff survey, along with the results of the project's post occupation evaluation survey, to be placed in the Library once the project has been completed and evaluated.
The project is due to complete in July 2010. The post occupancy evaluation will then be undertaken and the Department anticipates that the results will be available in October 2010.
Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much area-based grant was allocated to (a) waste disposal and (b) waste collection authorities in 2008-09; and how much such grant he plans to allocate to each type of authority in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [317969]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In two tier areas, waste collection is generally carried out by district councils and waste disposal by county councils. In single tier areas, such as unitary authorities and metropolitan borough councils, collection and disposal is generally combined, although in some Metropolitan areas waste disposal is carried out on behalf of local authorities by statutory joint waste disposal authorities.
The allocation of area based grant (ABG) for each district council, county council, unitary authority and metropolitan borough council for 2008-09 to 2010-11 is available at:
ABG is unhypothecated and decisions on the use of the grant are for individual local authorities.
Employment Tribunals Service
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many employment disputes involving staff of his Department have been taken to an employment tribunal since 2003; what the outcome was in each case which has been concluded; and what the grounds for dispute were in each case. [317865]
Barbara Follett: Less than five employment disputes involving Communities and Local Government staff have been taken to an employment tribunal since the Department was established in 2006. Consequently, publication of details relating to these cases could breach our rules of confidentiality and so cannot be provided.
Empty Dwelling Management Orders
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 19 October 2009, Official Report, column 1299W, on empty dwelling management orders, how many empty dwelling management orders have been issued by each local authority since the date of that answer; how many resulted in the re-occupation of empty dwellings; and if he will make a statement. [314844]
Mr. Ian Austin: 27 interim empty dwelling management orders had been issued by 19 October 2009. Since that date the Department is aware of one further interim empty dwelling management order issued by South Gloucestershire council that has been authorised by a residential property tribunal. This has not yet resulted in the reoccupation of the property.
Empty dwelling management orders are a last resort, where all other measures of investigation and negotiation have been exhausted and the local authority has been unable to persuade the owner to bring the property back into use. In many cases the threat of an empty dwelling management order is sufficient to make owners take action.
Energy Performance Certificates
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties there were on the Domestic Energy Performance Certificate Register in (a) November 2009, (b) December 2009 and (c) January 2010. [317540]
Mr. Ian Austin: The number of domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) on the Domestic EPC Register was 3,904,360 on 30 November 2009, 4,008,217 on 31 December 2009 and 4,144,284 on 31 January 2010.
Gardens: Planning Permission
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 26 January 2010, Official Report, column 660, on planning, which part of the 1992 planning guidance defined gardens as brownfield land for planning purposes. [317814]
Mr. Ian Austin: The classification of land introduced in 1985 in the first report on Land Use Change in England included a "Residential" category that covered "Houses, flats and adjoining garages, gardens, estate roads and pathways, sheltered accommodation where residences have separate front entrances."
This classification thus established the principle that gardens should not be separated from the curtilage when establishing for statistical purposes whether residential land has been redeveloped for other purposes.
The 1992 Planning Policy Guidance note (Housing) drew on the 1985 based classification. It states that
"recent information on land use changes in England shows that nearly half of the land developed for housing was either previously developed or was vacant land in built up areas".
What counted as "previously developed" in this context was plainly based on the classifications which had been in use since 1985.
Government Offices for the Regions: Finance
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) running cost and (b) aggregate programme expenditure was of each Government Office of the Regions in 2008-09. [317985]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The running (admin) cost and aggregate programme expenditure for each of the regional Government Offices for 2008-09 was as follows:
| £ | ||
| Regional Government Office | Running (admin) costs expenditure 2008-09 | Aggregate programme expenditure 2008-09 |
The aggregate programme expenditure figure is made up of the programme budgets delegated by 12 Sponsor Departments directly to each regional Government Office and includes European expenditure.
The existing Sponsor Departments are CLG, BIS, DfT, DCFS, DWP, DEFRA, Home Office, MoJ, DECC, DCMS, Cabinet Office and DoH.
Green Belt
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to protect the green belt in (a) England, (b) East of England, (c) Bedfordshire and (d) Mid Bedfordshire constituency. [317530]
Mr. Ian Austin: We are committed to the protection of green belt throughout England. Only in exceptional circumstances may its boundaries be amended, where the tests in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2, 'Green Belts', are met. Disregarding the reclassification of 47,300 hectares as National Park in 2005, green belt nationally has grown by around 34,000 hectares since 1997.
In the East of England Plan 2008, Policy SS7 states that the broad extent of green belts in the region is appropriate and should be maintained. However, it identifies the need for strategic review of green belt boundaries at Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead, Harlow and Welwyn/Hatfield. These are designated key centres for development and change where significant growth allocations have been made.
In Bedfordshire the Milton Keynes/South Midlands Sub Regional Strategy 2005 required a strategic green belt review at Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis and at Leighton Linslade. This was required to provide room for growth around the conurbation to 2031, and is being undertaken as part of the core strategy for Luton/southern central Bedfordshire which is currently in preparation. It is not yet clear whether or not the hon. Member's constituency is likely to be directly affected. The area of individual green belts is for local planning authorities to decide.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effects on the protection of the green belt of the introduction of National Policy Statements. [317858]
John Healey: The Government have no proposals to change policy for the protection of green belts. National Policy Statements incorporate green belt policy.
Housing Associations: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the level of borrowing by housing associations to finance the building of new homes. [316819]
Mr. Ian Austin: The housing association sector has successfully raised £58 billion of private finance, enabling it to develop new affordable housing, invest in its existing stock and deliver quality services to its tenants. This includes £13.4 billion of committed loan facilities that are available to meet the sector's forecast funding requirements. For 2009-14 associations are currently forecasting that they will undertake new development with a net cost (after grant and sales receipts) of £9.44 billion which will be funded by private finance.
Housing: Construction
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes for social rent were built (a) by local authorities, (b) by housing associations and (c) privately in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10 to date. [316817]
Mr. Ian Austin: The following table shows new build homes for social rent completed in 2008-09 by type of provider.
| New-build homes for social rent by sector: England 2008-09 | |
| Number | |
| Sources: Homes and Communities Agency, P2 returns to CLG, Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix. | |
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