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30 Mar 2010 : Column 1111W—continued
Affordable Housing: Greater London
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the target is for the provision of affordable housing in each London local authority. [325297]
Mr. Ian Austin: Boroughs' targets for provision of affordable housing are set in Core Strategies and, where they exist, saved policies from Unitary Development Plans. Where neither is in place the existing London Plan policy that 50 per cent. of all new housing across London should be affordable would apply. Borough targets for provision of affordable housing are set out in the following table:
Affordable Housing: Sustainable Development
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2010, Official Report, columns 880-1W, on housing: sustainable development, what the cost to his Department was of the stand at Ecobuild; if he will publish on his Department's website a copy of each speech; and whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the Ecobuild event. [324831]
John Healey: The cost of the Department's stand at the Ecobuild conference was £24,000, excluding VAT.
Where formal presentations were made by officials at the conference, copies are available on the Ecobuild conference website at:
The popularity of the Ecobuild event has confirmed for me the commitment of the industry to improving the sustainability of homes and industry's positive response to this Government's polices for promoting sustainable homes.
Allotments
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to Baroness Byford of 18 March 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column 213WA, on allotments, how many applications to dispose of statutory allotments were (a) submitted, (b) approved and (c) rejected in each local authority area in each year since 1997-98. [324779]
Barbara Follett: A table providing data, broken down by year and local authority area, on the number of consent to dispose of statutory allotments applications which were submitted, granted and refused from 1 January 2000 until 31 December 2009 has been placed in the Library of the House. We do not hold complete data for years prior to 2000. Where applications were neither granted nor refused, they were either withdrawn, consent was not required or were otherwise invalid.
Council Housing
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have banned domestic cats or dogs from new housing as part of a Special Protection Area strategy. [323100]
Mr. Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 9 February 2010, Official Report, column 831W.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were on the local housing waiting list in (a) North West Cambridgeshire constituency, (b) each local authority area in the East of England and (c) England (i) in each of the last five years and (ii) on the latest date for which information is available. [325333]
Mr. Ian Austin: Information is available on numbers of households rather than people. Information is not available for constituencies. The number of households registered on social housing waiting lists in each local authority, each region, and in England, as at 1 April each year from 1997 to 2009, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The link for this table is given as follows:
Council Housing: Greater London
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the budget of each arm's length housing management organisation in each London local authority was recharged to the local authority in each of the last three years. [325296]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Department allocates funding to local authorities with arm's length management organisations (ALMOs) in the form of supported capital expenditure via the housing finance subsidy system. Local authorities, including those in London, allocate funding to their ALMOs via a management fee. This is a contractual matter as agreed between the local authorities and their ALMOs.
The Department does not hold a record of the proportion of the budget of each arm's length management organisation that is recharged to its parent local authority.
Council Housing: Property Transfer
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much each local authority had in unspent capital receipts from the sale of council housing on the most recent date for which figures are available, listed in descending order of amount of receipts. [325300]
Mr. Ian Austin: The information requested is not held centrally.
Council Tax
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on average what the council tax band was of a (a) two, (b) three and (c) four bedroom house in the latest period for which figures are available. [324033]
Barbara Follett: It is not possible to determine an average in the manner requested, however:
the band which has most frequently been applied to a two-bedroom house in England (as at 31 December 2009) is band A.
the band which has most frequently been applied to a three-bedroom house in England (as at 31 December 2009) is band C.
the band which has most frequently been applied to a four-bedroom house in England (as at 31 December 2009) is band E.
Each of the three dwelling types has valuation list entries across all eight council tax bands.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many smoking shelters have been built for his Department's staff in the last five years; and at what cost. [324364]
Barbara Follett: One smoking shelter has been provided at Hempstead House, Hemel Hempstead at a cost of £4,112.50 inclusive of VAT.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on interior design in relation to office refurbishments undertaken in each of the last five years. [324673]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government has spent £403,606 excluding VAT, on interior design in relation to office refurbishments since its inception in May 2006. The projects are part of the department's estates efficiency strategy, resulting in running cost efficiencies of £8 million per annum.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance on his Department's policy on the relocation offshore of departmental jobs to companies bidding for contracts let by his Department. [324794]
Barbara Follett: The Department does not have an 'offshoring' policy. It is a procurement option which can be justified if it delivers value for money and is consistent with EC procurement regulations.
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) voltage optimisers and (b) equivalent technologies are used within buildings occupied by his Department. [324980]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government has yet to install any voltage optimisers in its main buildings. A number of feasibility studies have been undertaken but installation has been delayed until our buildings are at maximum occupancy. Only then will we have a full understanding of the appropriateness and return on investment of this type of technology relative to our specific buildings.
The Department is strongly committed to reducing its energy demand and related carbon emissions, and is installing a range of energy efficient technologies in its buildings including:
Free cooling circulation for kitchen air supply
Lower energy lighting with high frequency ballasts, and LEDs
Boiler optimisers
High efficiency chillers with heat recovery.
In 2009, the Department reported a 33 per cent. reduction in carbon emissions from its central offices and achieved the Carbon Trust Standard, demonstrating a sustained commitment to carbon management, and a proven track record of year-on-year energy reduction.
Departmental Furniture
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on antique furniture in each of the last five years; and what items were purchased. [325110]
Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not purchased any antique furniture during the last five years.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to his Department was of employing press and media officers in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and what the cost to his Department was of employing such staff in the financial year 1996-97, expressed in real terms. [324810]
Barbara Follett: The total expenditure by this Department on the combined costs (including salary, employer's national insurance contributions and pension costs) for all press and media officers employed during the financial year 2009/10 was £964,064.86.
Due to the need to reconcile the changes in personnel and in internal accounting practices in the intervening period, figures for the financial year 1996-97 would only be available at disproportionate cost.
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