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29 Mar 2010 : Column 840W—continued
Empty Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many public requests to order disposal have been submitted in the last 24 months; for which properties in each case; and what decision he took in each case. [324497]
Mr. Ian Austin:
Local authorities are required to seek the consent of the Secretary of State before they can dispose of certain properties held for housing purposes. Over the last two years specific consent has been granted to the disposal of approximately 100,000 council houses
and flats: the vast majority as part of large scale voluntary transfers to housing associations. No applications made to the Secretary of State to dispose of property have been refused over this period.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether public requests to order disposal apply to (a) Transport for London, (b) the Homes and Communities Agency and (c) regional development agencies. [324613]
Barbara Follett: Public requests to order disposal (PROD) are not provided for, or referred to directly, in legislation. PRODs are a tool which allow the public to request that underused land be bought back into use. The Secretary of State has the power to direct disposals of unused or underused land held by public bodies under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. This power only applies to those public bodies listed in Schedule 16 to that Act.
In response to your specific queries:
(a) Transport for London is considered to be a statutory undertaker under paragraph 18 of schedule 16 and is therefore covered by the Act.
(b) The Homes and Communities Agency is not listed in schedule 16.
(c) Regional development agencies are not listed in schedule 16.
English Regions Network: Manpower
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff work for the Civil Service in the English Regions programme. [324550]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are 46.8 full time equivalent staff working for the Civil Service in the English Regions programme.
Fire Services: Industrial Disputes
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions his Department has held with Group 4 Securicor (G4S) on their proposal that G4S Fire Service provide a contingency force to cover the fire service in event of industrial action and pandemics; and if he will make a statement. [324855]
Mr. Malik: This Department has had no discussions with Group 4 Securicor (GS4) on their proposal that they provide contingency cover in the fire service in the event of industrial action and pandemics.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what basis Group 4 Securicor have been identified as the preferred bidder to provide a national fire service reserve; when this decision was taken, and by whom; what consultations there have been with the Fire Brigades Union on this matter; and if he will make a statement. [324857]
Mr. Malik:
Firebuy, the national procurement body for the fire and rescue service in England, undertook the procurement process for the Fireguard Project at the request of 33 fire and rescue authorities, led by the
Chief Fire Officers' Association. An evaluation of the bids was made on the basis of technical, financial, and legal and contractual criteria set out in advance of the invitation to tender process. The final decision to identify Group 4 Securicor as the preferred bidder for the Fireguard Project was taken by the Firebuy Board on 24 June 2008.
The participating fire and rescue authorities however decided that they did not wish to enter into a contract, and the project was closed in May 2009. It would have been for the project sponsors to undertake any consultation they considered necessary.
Homelessness: Sefton
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps have been taken to provide housing advice to homeless people in Sefton; [325002]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2010, Official Report, column 1035W, on homelessness: Sefton, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of youth homelessness in Sefton. [325007]
Mr. Ian Austin: The homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) places a general duty on housing authorities to have a strategy for preventing and tackling homelessness in their area and to ensure that advice and assistance about preventing homelessness is available free of charge to everyone in their area.
We have allocated a total of £186,000 to Sefton over the three years 2008-09 to 2010-11 to support their homelessness strategy. In addition, we have allocated £85,500 to Sefton over the year 2009-10 to help families at risk of homelessness through repossession or eviction.
This grant helps assist people of all ages and a proportion of this money will be spent on young people based on a local authority's need. We cannot disaggregate actual spend on young people but in England in the last quarter 39 per cent. of households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty were aged 16-24 years.
The Supporting People programme provides revenue funds for local authorities to commission housing related support services for vulnerable people in their area, to enable them to achieve and maintain independence. In 2008-09 Sefton spent £7,466,593 of their funding allocated through the Supporting People programme on housing related support services.
Supporting People is a locally managed and delivered programme. Local authorities are responsible for making the strategic decisions regarding the programme including deciding what services to commission to meet local needs and priorities.
Housing Benefit
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on average what weekly rent was paid by a (a) private tenant, (b) local authority tenant and (c) registered social landlord tenant (i) before and (ii) after the deduction of housing benefit in each region in each of the last five years. [306633]
Mr. Ian Austin: This information is not available in the form requested.
Housing: Conferences
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department and its agencies sent representatives to each of the last three MIPIM international property conferences. [324032]
Barbara Follett: In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the MIPIM conference was attended by the following officials from Communities and Local Government:
Director general, Policy Programmes and Innovation.
Director general, Housing and Planning
Director general, Tackling Disadvantage
Director general, Finance and Corporate Services.
Director general, Housing and Planning
Director general, Regions and Communities.
No departmental Ministers or officials have attended the MIPIM conference in 2010.
The Department's agencies are The Fire Service College, Planning Inspectorate (PINS) and the QEII Conference Centre. None of these agencies attended MIPIM in 2007, 2008 or 2009.
Housing: Databases
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 6 January 2010, Official Report, column 371W, on housing: databases, how many (a) dwellings, (b) composite hereditaments and (c) hereditaments in England have been allocated a unique address reference number by the Valuation Office Agency. [323314]
Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
All entries in rating lists and council tax valuation lists have unique address reference numbers. Dwellings are shown in the valuation lists; non-domestic properties in the rating lists and mixed properties (known as composites) usually have an entry in both.
The latest figures released show there are, in England, approximately 22.8 million entries in council tax valuation lists, of which, some 280,000 are composite dwellings. There are approximately 1.7 million entries in rating lists in England.
Housing: Sustainable Development
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent steps he has taken to encourage sustainable housing development in the West Midlands. [324279]
John Healey:
Budget 2009 and our £1.5 billion Housing Pledge in June 2009, has to date meant I have been able to release to the west midlands £80 million for the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme targeted at currently stalled house building sites, to support construction of high quality housing; and £21 million for new energy efficient local authority house building. Also, from June
2009 to January 2010 west midlands has been allocated £170 million of grant from the National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP). Homes supported under NAHP are expected to be Code level 3 or above.
More generally, this Department has worked with a wide range of stakeholders in developing the Code for Sustainable Homes (the Code) policy to help improve the sustainability of homes both during construction as well as occupation. The Code is the national voluntary standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes. The Code aims to reduce carbon emissions and encourage homes that are more sustainable.
Under the Planning Policy Statement on climate change PPS 1 Local Authorities can specify levels of the Code as a planning condition as long as they have specified local circumstances that warrant and allow any local requirement.
Local Government Finance
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by what mechanisms he plans to make efficiency savings in local government in the next three years; what targets he has set local authorities on efficiency savings; and whether he plans to change the level of funding provided by his Department to local authorities. [324003]
Barbara Follett: Local Government have to try to achieve at least 3 per cent. efficiency savings in each of the first two years of the 2007 comprehensive spending review period (2008-09 and 2009-10) and 4 per cent. in 2010-11. Overall, we expect local authorities to achieve £5.5 billion in cumulative savings by the end of 2010-11.
No overall target has been set for efficiency savings in 2011-12 and 2012-13. However, the 2009 pre-Budget report set out the potential for local government to make £800 million savings by 2012-13, of which £550 million could come from more efficient waste collection and disposal; reducing the burden of inspection, assessment and reporting requirements across Government measures to reduce duplication and inefficiency between the different tiers of local government and a further £250 million could come from reducing variations in spend on residential care.
In the 2010 Budget, we confirmed £11 billion of savings across the public sector through the Operational Efficiency Programme and 'Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government'. Local government is expected to contribute savings of £2.1 billion towards this total.
Decisions about public spending overall from 2011-12 will be taken in the spending review.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the monetary value was (a) in total and (b) per capita of the provisional local authority formula grant for (i) England, (ii) the South West and (iii) each local authority in the South West in each year from 1979 to 1997; [325016]
(2) what the monetary value was (a) in total and (b) per capita of the local authority formula grant for (i) England, (ii) the South West and (iii) each local authority in the South West in each year from 1979 to 1997. [325017]
Barbara Follett: Formula grant comprises revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula police grant, where appropriate.
CLG does not keep records of the provisional allocations of formula grant.
CLG only hold records of the amount of revenue support grant and redistributed business rates allocated to local authorities from 1990-91, the start of the SSA system. We do not hold records of the Home Office police grant over this period.
Prior to 1993-94 formula grant was provided only to billing authorities.
A table has been laid in the Library of the House providing CLG formula grant (which comprises revenue support grant plus redistributed business rates), the population data used in the calculation of that year's formula grant, and the CLG formula grant per head for all authorities, together with the totals.
Local government reorganisation occurred during this period. We have provided the data for all authorities that existed during this period. Where authorities did not exist for a particular year the area has been greyed out.
Local Government: Carbon Emissions
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on the (a) council tax rates and (b) finances of local authorities if they do not reduce carbon dioxide levels significantly below their baseline of the Carbon Reduction Commitment. [323087]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
Government have assessed the potential burden of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme on local authorities, and has determined that it will not constitute a new burden for the sector. Its overall impact is not therefore expected to increase council tax, but will result in net savings for local authorities.
Analysis indicates that the potential savings from reduced energy bills are far higher than the costs incurred. The financial impact of the CRC will be determined by the organisation's relative performance as compared to other participants. The maximum penalty will be an extremely small fraction of local authorities operating costs, and this would be offset by even very modest improvements in energy efficiency.
Local Government: Fees and Charges
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Audit Commission has provided guidance to local authorities on charging for municipal leisure services. [324508]
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 Gareth Davies, dated 29 March 2010:
The Audit Commission's national report Positively Charged, published in January 2008, makes recommendations designed to help councils make better use of their charging powers and
discusses how councils can improve their approach, and communicate better with councillors and the general public about the purposes of charging. This report provides general guidance on how to go about making charging decisions rather than any specific advice, though the examples used in the report include some from leisure services.
The Commission has also published "Better Information, Better Decisions, Better Services" - a series of guides to the information required for specific decisions. One of the guides covers the information councils need to make decisions on charging for sports services. Both the report and the decision guide are available on the Commission's website and the links are below.
Positively Charged national studies report:
Better information, Better decisions, Better services guide:
A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.
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