| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
30 Mar 2010 : Column 1140W—continued
Parallel Place Reviews
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which local authority areas parallel place reviews are being undertaken. [324015]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We do not have a list of all of the "parallel places" undertaking Total Place type activity. The Total Place pilots have demonstrated that the application of Total Place principles can bring benefits in service improvements and savings to all places and we would encourage all places to pursue this agenda.
Repossession Orders: West Midlands
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent steps he has taken to assist homeowners at risk of repossession in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands. [325048]
John Healey: Government have taken early and concerted action to provide people facing the threat of repossession with help at every stage of the process. Recent figures indicate that actions taken to help families avoid repossession are having some impact-more families are getting help to stay in their home. Total repossessions in 2009 were 46,000-39 per cent. fewer than originally predicted by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and around half the rate of repossessions in the last recession in 1991.
Coventry has been identified as a repossession hotspot and as such has been specifically targeted through the preventing repossessions awareness campaign.
Social Rented Housing
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many units of social housing have been sold on the open market by registered social landlords (a) nationally and (b) in London in the last five years. [325298]
Mr. Ian Austin: The number of registered social landlord sales to the private sector in England for the last five years are published by the Tenant Services Authority.
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Part K, lines 20 to 24 (2006-07 to 2008-09) Part K, lines 17 to 21 (2005-06) Part K, lines 18 to 22 (2004-05) Notes: 1. Units: self-contained and shared bedspaces combined. 2. From 2005-06, RSLs that completed the short form were not required to complete this Part K. 3. From 2006-07, short returns were completed by RSLs who own and/or manage 999 units or less (previously this threshold was less than 250 units). 4. Figures may not add up due to rounding. 5. As disposals are in the long form only, this has been re-calculated for 2005-06 to reflect the threshold change in 2006-07. Source: Regulatory and Statistical Returns by Registered Social Landlords reported to the Tenant Services Authority. | |||||
As RSLs operate across regional boundaries and the data are reported as totals by each RSL, it is not possible to provide reliable estimates for London only.
It should be noted that a large (but unquantifiable) proportion of disposals on the open market are of dwellings built specifically for outright sale, the proceeds of which support the social housing programme.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of households in London who are (a) social tenants and (b) on housing waiting lists have household incomes above (i) £30,000, (ii) £40,000 (iii) £50,000 and (iv) £60,000. [325299]
Mr. Ian Austin: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Social Rented Housing: Greater London
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing nominations have been made by each London local authority in each London sub-regional partnership since the inception of such partnerships. [325277]
John Healey: This information is not held by my Department.
Standards Board for England: Procurement
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 26 February 2010, Official Report, column 778W, on the Standards Board for England: procurement, how much was spent on contracts with each supplier of the (a) Standards Board for England and (b) Homes and Communities Agency in 2008-09. [324004]
John Healey:
A new list for both bodies, now also showing how much was spent with each supplier in 2008-09, has been deposited in the Library of the
House. As the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) was established on 1 December 2008, the figures for the HCA cover only 1 December 2008 to 31 March 2009. Further to my earlier answer referred to above, a small number of additional suppliers to the Standards Board have been identified and these have been included in the new list.
Tenancy Deposit Schemes
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints his Department has received on MyDeposits.co.uk in each year since its inception. [325059]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Department has no role in dealing with complaints about the tenancy deposit protection scheme providers. Complaints about the handling of tenancy deposit protection cases are dealt with by the three scheme providers through their own formal complaints procedures.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will review the operation of the Housing Act 2004 in respect of the regulation of licensed deposit-takers for the purpose of protecting tenants' deposits, with particular reference to MyDeposits.co.uk. [325060]
Mr. Ian Austin: As with any new legislation, we are monitoring the implementation of the tenancy deposit protection provisions in the Housing Act 2004. However, we have no plans to make any amendments to the legislation at present.
Travelling People: Caravan Sites
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2010, Official Report, column 720W, on travelling people: caravan sites, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Inspector's Handbook. [323147]
Mr. Malik: A final copy of the Inspectors' Handbook chapter relating to Gypsy and Traveller Appeals will be placed in the Library of the House when it is published.
Warm Front Scheme
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department plans to provide funding to local authorities for the purpose of assisting them to meet the new Warm Homes standard; what methodology will be used to assess compliance with that standard; and what timetable he has set for that standard to be met. [323987]
John Healey:
"Warm Homes, Greener Homes: A Strategy for Household Energy Management" explains that the delivery of the new Warm Homes standard will be supported by a new energy company obligation and the Renewable Heat Incentive. It also explains how the Department will now work with the social housing
sector to develop the detail of the standard, the timing of its delivery, and the methodology for assessing how and when it will be met.
Wind Power: Planning Permission
Mr. David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for which wind farms planning permission was (a) granted and (b) refused at appeal by the Planning Inspectorate in each of the last five years; and for what reasons in each case. [325283]
Mr. Ian Austin: There were a total of 67 appeals, relating to more than one wind turbine, decided between 2005 and 2009. The outcomes for these cases are shown in the table.
| (a) Granted/granted in part | (b) Refused | |
The reasons for the outcome in each case were different, as each case was considered on its individual merits. The reasons are shown on the individual decisions. Copies of 56 of the appeal decisions have today been placed in the Library of the House. The files and formal appeal decisions for the remaining 11 cases are no longer held by the Planning Inspectorate.
| Index | Home Page |