To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to encourage the development of more family homes rather than flats. (104086)

Planning Policy Statement (PPS3) “Housing”, published on 29 November, places a new emphasis on family homes. For the first time the planning system will be required to consider the housing needs of children, including gardens, play areas and green spaces. Local planning authorities will have more ability to promote mixed communities and to ensure larger homes are being developed alongside flats and smaller homes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new housing developments in England were inspected by (a) local authority building control officers and (b) private sector approved inspectors in each of the last10 years. (105122)

All new housing developments are subject to building control but, as a fully devolved service under the Building Act 1984, no central records are kept of building control inspections by either local authorities or approved inspectors. This avoids imposing undue information burdens on local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methods her Department uses to monitor the quality of the building inspections carried out by (a) local authority building control officers and (b) private sector approved inspectors. (105123)

As building control is a fully devolved service under the Building Act 1984, the Department for Communities and Local Government does not formally monitor the quality of building inspections. However, the Department has supported work by the building control industry to update the Building Control Performance Standards Handbook and the introduction of associated performance indicators, both launched in June 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the extent to which the allocation of responsibility for electrical ducting and cabling between individual meter boards and substations in large blocks of flats is correctly understood by flat tenants, leaseholders and owners. (105536)

No assessment has been made.