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23 Nov 2010 : Column 197W—continued
Council Housing: Sales
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to permit local authorities to retain 100% of the capital receipts of the sale of council dwellings; and if he will make a statement. [25883]
Andrew Stunell: At present 75% of the capital receipts from the sale of council dwellings to owner-occupiers, are paid to the Secretary of State. The spending review concluded that this arrangement will continue during the period 2011-15.
Departmental Grants
Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what grants have been awarded by his Department in 2010-11 to date; what grants he plans to award in each of the next two years; what the monetary value is of each such grant; and to which organisations such grants are made. [25039]
Robert Neill [holding answer 18 November 2010]: The total maximum amounts payable by the Department for Communities and Local Government for each grant programme above £1 million in 2010-11 are in table 1 as follows.
The totals for formula grant paid by my Department (which comprises Revenue support grant and national non-domestic rates) for 2011-12 onwards were published in table 2.8 of the spending review 2010 document. The other grants for 2011-12 and 2012-13 which have so far been confirmed to local authorities are given in table 2 as follows. Details of other programmes will be released in due course.
As part of my Department's broader transparency initiative, grant spending data over £500 from 2008-09 onwards can be found on the Department's website for public scrutiny.
| Table 1: 2010-11 grant allocations made | |
| £ million (to one decimal point) | |
|
Improvement, Transformation and Efficiency (to regional leads) | |
| Table 2: Confirmed grants to local government 2011-13 (except RSG) | ||
| £ million | ||
| Grant title | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible spent on press cuttings services in each of the last 12 months. [25495]
Robert Neill: In the last 12 months the Department's Communication Directorate spent £117,105 on national and regional press cuttings services. Data from our accounting system show the following spend (excluding VAT) per month:
| National cuttings supplier-Durrants (£) | Regional cuttings supplier-COI (£) | Total (£) | |
In September 2010 the regional cuttings service was cancelled and the national cuttings service moved to an electronic only format with a limited list of recipients. Neither DCLG Ministers nor officials in the Department now receive hard copy press cuttings. Ministers have taken the view that an excessive and unnecessary amount of taxpayers' money was being spent on press cuttings.
The Department estimates that the cancellation of the regional cuttings service and streamlining of the national cuttings service will save approximately £16,000 and £19,000 respectively in the remainder of this financial year.
The Department does not hold centralised information on press cuttings services conducted for its non-departmental public bodies.
Fire Services: Emergency Calls
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will update Fire and Rescue Service Circular 9/2009 in respect of average response times to (a) dwelling fires, (b) commercial building fires and (c) road traffic collisions; and if he will make a statement. [25890]
Robert Neill: Average response times by Fire and Rescue Authority area are shown in the following table for the latest period for which incident data are available.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the likely effects on (a) the number of fatalities and (b) the costs of damage resulting from (a) dwelling fires, (b) commercial building fires and (c) road traffic collisions resulting from his Department's forecasts of changes in fire and rescue response times contained in Fire and Rescue Service Circular 9/2009; and if he will make a statement. [25891]
Robert Neill: No further estimates have been made beyond those in the Report summarised in Fire and Rescue Service Circular 9/2009.
Fire Services: North West
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by what date he expects the North West Fire Service control centre in Warrington to be operational. [26019]
Robert Neill: The North West control centre would not become operational until after mid-2011 on current timetables. It is not one of the first three control centres in which the IT system is required to be completed by the main FiReControl contractor EADS (now branded Cassidian) for that date.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher) on 15 November 2010, Official Report, column 537W, for steps that we have taken to ensure that EADS will meet their contractual obligations.
The FiReControl project, initiated by the last Government, is over-budget and behind schedule. As with all major Government projects, it is being reviewed to ensure value-for-money for the taxpayer. We have been clear that EADS must deliver to time, cost and quality. The new Government are committed to ensuring value for money for the taxpayer, improving resilience and stopping the forced regionalisation of the fire service.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much money has been spent on locating the North West Fire Service control centre in Warrington. [26020]
Robert Neill: For the current running costs of all nine control centres, including the North West control centre in Warrington, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) on 18 October 2010, Official Report, column 505W.
The cost of construction and installation of the control centres was borne by the developers as the buildings were procured through a private developer scheme.
Fire Services: Westmorland
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of (a) full-time and (b) retained pumps in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency (i) on each shift and (ii) at each station were available for service on each day of the last 12 months. [26017]
Robert Neill: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It is for each local authority to decide how best to provide fire and rescue-related services, allocating resource according to evaluation of risks.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) full-time and (b) retained fire pumps there are in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency; and how many staff are attached to each. [26018]
Robert Neill: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The latest available centrally held data show that Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service had a total of 53 pumping appliance in use.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to monitor present staffing levels on (a) full-time and (b) retained Fire Service pumps in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. [26074]
Robert Neill: The Department monitors staff numbers on an annual basis for each fire and rescue authority covering (i) whole-time firefighters, (ii) retained firefighters, (iii) fire control staff and (iv) non-uniformed staff.
Housing: Construction
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many initial notices were registered for house builds in each local authority area in (a) Essex and (b) Suffolk in the 12 months prior to the updated building regulations for new homes coming into force on 1 October 2010. [25156]
Andrew Stunell:
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold a central record of initial notices registered for new house builds in
Essex and Suffolk in the 12 months prior to 1 October 2010. However, every local authority in England and Wales is required to keep a publicly accessible register of information relating to initial notices given to them.
Land Supply
Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the inclusion of an allowance for windfall land in the five-year land supply calculation. [23748]
Robert Neill [holding answer 12 November 2010]: The extant planning policy on housing is set out in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) issued by the last Government. PPS3 states that allowances for windfalls should not be included in the first 10 years of land supply unless local planning authorities can provide robust evidence of genuine local circumstances that prevent specific sites being identified. In these circumstances, an allowance should be included but should be realistic having regard to the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment, historic windfall delivery rates and expected future trends.
In the coalition agreement, the new Government stated that they will publish and present to Parliament a simple and consolidated national planning policy framework covering all forms of development. Planning for housing policy will be considered as part of this. We announced in the Department's Business Plan that we will publish the national planning policy framework by April 2012. We will make a further announcement on how we propose to take forward the national planning framework and the implications for specific areas of planning policy.
Local Enterprise Partnerships
John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects local enterprise partnerships to attain legal status. [24305]
Greg Clark: On 28 October, the Government published their Local Growth White Paper, which set out their approach to achieving local economic growth by shifting power to local levels and helping to create the right conditions for growth and recovery. This included announcing the first 24 local enterprise partnerships which have been given the go-ahead to establish their boards and begin dialogue with central Government on how we can help them realise the ambitions set out in their proposals.
The Government do not intend to define local enterprise partnerships in legislation. Governance structures will need to be sufficiently robust and clear to ensure proper accountability for delivery. Partnerships will differ across the country in both form and functions in order to best meet local circumstances and opportunities. A partnership may need legal personality or a specified accountable body in some circumstances, such as if it wished to own assets or contract to deliver certain functions. The constitution and legal status of each partnership will be a matter for the partners, informed by the activities that they wish to pursue.
We expect partnerships to be fully open and transparent, in line with the requirements of local authorities.
Local Government Finance
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals to require the publication of each item of local government spending above £500 from January 2011; and what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the information is presented in an appropriate style and context. [25705]
Robert Neill: All local authorities are expected to publish data on items of spend of £500 and over from January 2011. Around 100 councils are already publishing this information. Given the importance of transparency to citizens and communities, I will continue to challenge and support those authorities yet to publish their data. Next month I intend to issue for consultation a Code of Recommended Practice, under section 2 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. This will address issues such as the scope, formatting and timing of the duty to publish the data. In the meantime the Local Public Data Panel has published guidance on spend transparency, which the Local Government Association has taken as a basis for its practical guides for councils on publication of £500 spend and senior salaries. The Code of Recommended Practice will not cover data archiving and legacy issues. This is an important and complex issue with implications for many bodies and is being considered in a broader context.
Local Government: Surveys
Ms Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities provided a return to his Department's Gypsy and Traveller survey in each of the last five times the survey was conducted; and how many of those returns were zero in each such survey. [25319]
Andrew Stunell: The Department's Gypsy and Traveller survey is the bi-annual count of Gypsy and Traveller caravans on both authorised and unauthorised sites across England. The data from the previous five counts show the following returns:
| Period of count | Number of local authorities that provided returns | Number of local authorities with zero caravan counts |
Ms Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of local authorities provided returns for the National Rodent Survey in each of the last five years. [25320]
Andrew Stunell: This information is not held centrally. The survey is produced by the National Pest Technicians Association rather than by central Government.
Planning
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) when he expects the power of planning inspectors to amend local plans to be rescinded; [26139]
(2) what variations planning inspectors may make to local authorities' core strategies following their examinations in public. [26140]
Robert Neill: The Government want to see local plans that reflect the aspirations of their community, while maintaining the planning inspector's independent scrutiny role. Measures will be included in the localism Bill which will be introduced to Parliament shortly.
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Sequestration
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to announce the winner of the first round of the carbon capture and storage demonstration programme. [25752]
Gregory Barker: We aim to award the contract for the first carbon capture and storage demonstration project, currently the subject of an ongoing procurement process, by the end of 2011.
Climate Change: Conferences
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the members will be of the UK delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference 2010 in Cancun, Mexico. [24988]
Gregory Barker [holding answer 22 November 2010]: The UK will be sending 46 delegates to the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, including two UK Ministers, 29 officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, two Ministers and three officials from the devolved Administrations, three officials from the Department for International Development, three officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, two representatives from the British embassy in Mexico, one official from the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs and one official from the Department for Transport. This compares with the total of 70 officials (not including the then Prime Minister's delegation) sent to the COP in Copenhagen in 2009.
The Head of Delegation will be the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne).
Departmental Grants
Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the monetary value of grants awarded by his Department was in 2009-10; and how much he expects to award in grants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [26113]
Gregory Barker: The Department awarded £877.85 million in grants in 2009-10(1).
(a) In 2010-11 I expect to award £804.25 million; and
(b) Following the spending review the Department is undertaking a business planning exercise, so cannot yet set out the sum I will award in grants during 2011-12.
(1) This is available on page 77 of the Department's Annual Report 2009-10:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Annual%20Reports% 20Accounts%20and%20Business%20Plans/2010/218-decc-resource-2009-10.pdf
Energy: Conservation
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding he plans to allocate to the provision of energy efficiency measures in domestic and non-domestic buildings in the comprehensive spending review period; and how this funding will be administered. [25736]
Gregory Barker: Some existing policies, funded by obligations on energy companies, already have funding for part of the CSR period. To December 2012 energy companies are expected to invest more than £2 billion in the promotion of energy efficiency measures to householders to achieve their obligations under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme(CESP).
DECC will continue to fund a targeted Warm Front programme and associated fuel poverty activity from a budget of £110 million in 2011-12 and £100 million in 2012-13. Departmental allocations to particular DECC programmes, including to support energy efficiency through the proposed Green Deal, will be subject to the conclusion of the Department's business planning process. Details of the Department's overall CSR settlement are available on the DECC website:
The most significant funding for Green Deal will come through private sector investment.
Energy: Housing
Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria he plans to put in place to determine whether an energy efficiency measure will qualify for support under the proposed Green Deal programme. [25808]
Gregory Barker [holding answer 22 November 2010]: The Energy Bill will contain powers for the criteria and eligible measures to be set out in secondary legislation, which will be consulted on and taken forward next year.
A key element of the Green Deal finance arrangements is that only measures that can demonstrate payback through energy efficiency savings, which are equal to or greater than the financing costs, will qualify.
A future energy company obligation will provide additional financial support for vulnerable households and those in difficult to treat homes. Combining these finance sources will allow more difficult or expensive measures to be delivered under the Green Deal framework.
Fuel Poverty
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to ensure that his proposed Green Deal assists those in fuel poverty. [23442]
Gregory Barker: The Green Deal will provide the opportunity for householders to take action to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, and protect themselves against price rises through greater energy saving. The new energy company obligation (ECO), which will take over from the current carbon emissions reduction target and community energy saving programme when they come to an end, will run in parallel with the Green Deal. The ECO will focus particularly on those, such as the most vulnerable and those in hard to treat homes, who require extra help.
We expect energy companies to play a greater role than under previous obligations in helping ensure that more of the poorest and most vulnerable can afford to heat their homes adequately. Alongside insulation measures, we expect them to be able to offer basic heating systems for those who most need them.
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to support vulnerable consumers affected by energy price increases. [25780]
Charles Hendry: From April 2011, regulations made under the powers in the Energy Act 2010 will require energy suppliers to provide greater help with the financial costs of energy bills to more of the most vulnerable fuel poor households-with total support of £250 million in 2011-12 rising to £310 million in 2014-15.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to consider the merits of incorporating the provision of HM Treasury-funded grants for low income and fuel poor households in the proposed Green Deal; and if he will make a statement. [26092]
Gregory Barker: A new Energy Company Obligation, to replace the current Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme, will run alongside Green Deal with a greater focus on low income vulnerable households and those in hard to treat properties. The obligation will include a wider range of measures which improve energy performance, such as heating systems.
Warm Front will continue until the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation are launched. We are working to improve the cost-effectiveness of the Warm Front Scheme by ensuring that activity is better targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable. In addition, from April next year, energy suppliers will be required to provide greater help with the financial costs of energy bills to more of the most vulnerable fuel poor households.
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in the (a) private rented, (b) social and (c) owner-occupied sector in (i) England, (ii) Hyndburn and (iii) Haslingden are classed as being in fuel poverty. [26187]
Gregory Barker: In 2008, there were 3.3 million fuel poor households in England. 0.6 million of these households were in the private rented sector, 0.6 million were in the social sector and 2.1 million were in the owner-occupied sector.
In 2006, the most recent year for which sub-regional figures are available, there were around 5,500 fuel poor households in the local authority of Hyndburn. Data for the town of Haslingden are not available. Splits by tenure are only available at a national level.
Global Climate Fund
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the creation of a global climate fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. [26042]
Gregory Barker: We support setting up the Green Climate Fund, as set out in the Copenhagen Accord, and are working towards a decision at COP16 in Cancun to achieve this as part of a balanced package of outcomes.
Renewables Obligation
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the renewables obligation in each year (a) between 2002-03 and 2010-11 and (b) of the 2010 spending review period. [21380]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has classified the renewables obligation as involving imputed tax and spending. The ONS's estimates of the historic tax and spend through the renewables obligation can be found in Table 11.1 of the 2010 Blue Book. This can be found at:
Forecasts are the responsibility of the Independent Office of Budget Responsibility.
Leader of the House
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Leader of the House how much his Office spent on press cuttings services in each of the last 12 months. [25484]
Sir George Young: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
Members: Pensions
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Leader of the House when he expects to be in a position to bring forward proposals for reform of the pensions scheme for hon. Members. [25661]
Sir George Young: I set out the Government position in my written ministerial statement of 26 July 2010, Official Report, column 70WS. We will make a further statement following the conclusion of the work of the Independent Public Service Pension Commission and the publication of their final report.
Attorney-General
Human Trafficking: Convictions
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the rate of convictions for offences of human trafficking. [25731]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) takes this issue very seriously and is working closely with its partners to ensure that strong cases are built, so that prosecutions for human trafficking offences lead to more convictions in court. Where the CPS is unable to prosecute for a human trafficking offence, it will when appropriate prosecute for other offences such as assisting unlawful immigration to a member state (facilitation), rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, threats to kill and causing or inciting prostitution for gain.
Defence
Armed Forces: Mental Health Services
Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answers of 8 November 2010, Official Report, column 5, on mental health care provision, what steps his Department plans to take to assist service personnel and veterans with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and alcohol-related disorders. [25421]
Mr Robathan: The Defence Mental Health Services (DMHS) provide a wide range of assessment and treatment facilities for service personnel who are thought to be suffering with mental health disorders, including alcohol misuse and related co-morbidity. Techniques used to manage disorders will vary with each individual case, but may include a combination of motivational interviewing and pharmacological treatment, provided by trained personnel. Care is also provided by primary care facilities for less complex cases, and in almost all cases primary care will be involved in supporting the various interventions that the DMHS provide. Where appropriate the chain of command will support personnel who wish to reduce or cease their alcohol consumption, and the single service alcohol-use policies are clear that excessive alcohol use which impacts upon a person's ability to perform their duties will not be tolerated.
The national health service has lead responsibility for the provision of help to ex-service personnel experiencing mental health problems, including alcohol misuse. The Ministry of Defence is working with the Department of Health to ensure that the mental healthcare needs of former service personnel are met, including through the implementation of recommendations made by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) in his report "Fighting Fit", which seeks to address mental health issues in the armed forces community.
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people resident in each (a) Government Office region, (b) local authority area and (c) parliamentary constituency were recruited to each of the armed forces in each year since 2000. [21438]
Mr Robathan: The requested information is not held centrally. The following tables, however, provide the number of entrants from recruitment centres around the UK. This will give an indication of the geographical spread of recruitment but does not provide a comprehensive picture of where these individuals may reside as they may not always apply to join the services through their nearest career office or may choose other means by which to apply.
Royal Navy and Royal Marine officers are primarily recruited via regional officer careers liaison centres, each of which covers a large area of the UK. Prior to 2009-10 RN/RM officers were not recruited through armed forces career offices. The recruitment data for army officers are based on data related to the location of the schools and universities from which Officers are
recruited together with the small number recruited via careers offices. Army officer entrant figures before 2007-08 were collected on a different basis than currently and are not included. Figures for those recruited directly to particular regiments have not been included.
Figures are not available for all years requested as over time various IT systems have been used which are not now compatible with current systems.
In the following tables the following abbreviations are used:
AFCO-Armed Forces Careers Office
ACIO-Army Career Information Office
CIO-Career Information Office.
OCLC-Officer Career Liaison Office
| RN and RM o fficer entrants | |||||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| RN and RM other rank e ntrants | |||||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| Army o fficers | |||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
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