To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the current HM Treasury financial delegation to the Ministry of Defence. (145204)

I have today placed a copy of the current HM Treasury delegations to the Ministry of Defence in the Library, as requested.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what meetings representatives of (a) his Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency have had with (i) the company Hometrack and (ii) its representatives in the last 24 months; (145230)

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with and receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and representations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer in each year from 2007-08 to 2011-12 of implementing in full the advice of the Government Actuary’s Department on the level of national insurance rebates for contracted out pensions from 1 April 2007; and if he will make a statement. (144116)

I have been asked to reply.

National insurance rebates are paid from the National Insurance Fund. The effect on national insurance revenues that would arise from implementing in full the Government Actuary’s advice for rebates from 6 April 2007 is broadly neutral over the longer term for schemes contracted out on a defined contribution basis. For schemes contracted out on a defined benefit basis, it would mean increasing estimated total expenditure on rebates between 2007-08 to 2011-12 by around 9.4 per cent.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007, Official Report, column 476W, on the Smith Institute: publications, how many publications are held in the Chancellor's private office. (144499)

I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois) on 9 May 2007, Official Report, column 283W.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many working age workless households with couples without dependent children there were in each year since 1992. (145881)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 June 2007:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about workless couple households without dependent children. (145881)

The attached table gives the information requested. The figures in the table are estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), for the three month period ending in May of each year from 1992 to 2006.

A household is defined as a single person, or a group of people living at the same address who have the address as their only main residence and either share one main meal a day or share the living accommodation (or both). A workless working-age couple household is one that is headed by a married/cohabiting couple and that includes at least one person of working age and in which no-one aged 16 or over is in employment. Couple households without dependent children may include non-dependent children, and/or members of other family units, whose economic status affects the combined economic status of the household (i.e. whether it is classified as workless or not).

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2007, Official Report, column 1513W, on Valuation Office: manpower, what the reasons are for the change in staff numbers between 2000 and 2007. (145344)

Staff numbers have varied between 2000 and 2007 for operational and efficiency reasons. The VOA staffing policy is to predict, where possible, peaks and troughs of work and to plan for staff numbers accordingly.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice which barristers received the highest sums from the Legal Services Commission in respect of legal aid cases for (a) civil and (b) criminal work in each of the last three years; and how much each was paid in each year. (145472)

The information requested for 2004-05 has been published on the Department for Constitutional Affairs website, at the following location:

http://www.dca.gov.uk/rights/dca/inforeleased/050914.htm.

The figures relating to the highest paid criminal and civil barristers for 2005-06 has also been published on the Ministry’s website, at the following location:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/foi-highpaidbarristers.htm.

Information regarding which barristers received the highest sums from the Legal Services Commission in respect of legal aid cases for civil and criminal work in 2006-07 will be published once the data have been collated and verified.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many staff in her Department and its predecessor received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if she will make a statement. (143102)

The Ministry of Justice employs staff previously employed on several sets of different terms and conditions, each with their own arrangements for bonus payments. The information provided in the following table relates to former DCA Senior Civil Service (SCS) and grades below SCS. It excludes magistrates courts staff who became civil servants within this Department in April 2005 and whose terms and conditions do not normally allow for payment of performance or special bonuses. It also excludes those staff in the Tribunals Service and who joined former DCA on 1 April 2006 for whom information is not currently available.

Information for Her Majesty’s Prison Service (below SCS) is provided.

HM Prison Service became an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007.

Information on the number and proportion of staff receiving special bonuses, the total amount of bonuses awarded and the largest payment in each year within the public sector Prison Service is contained in the following table:

Details of staff who joined the Ministry of Justice from the Home Office are currently being collated. Therefore it has not been possible to identify Ministry of Justice staff on former Home Office terms (including from the National Offender Management Service) who received bonuses under their previous schemes within the available timescales.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what funds are available to assist the victims of domestic violence in escaping from abusive situations. (144636)

I have been asked to reply.

Domestic violence is a cross-Government priority led by the Inter-Ministerial Group for Domestic Violence. The group comprises Ministers from nine Government Departments and the three devolved Administrations.

The budgets outlined as follows contribute towards the delivery of the National Delivery Plan for Domestic Violence which focuses on a range of key work objectives from early intervention and prevention through to developing a coordinated community response to tackling domestic violence.

Communities and Local Government provide a part of the funding that assists victims of domestic violence to escape abusive situations,

For 2003-06 a total of £32.1 million capital was invested in refuge provision in England (£15.7 million through the Housing Corporation and £16.4 million from the Homelessness Strategy and Support Directorate in Communities and Local Government). 511 units of accommodation were refurbished or newly built.

In 2005-06, £59 million of Supporting People funding was used to provide housing related support to women at risk of domestic violence.

We continued to fund UKRefugesonline (£100,000 2007-08), a UK wide database of domestic violence services delivered in partnership by Women’s Aid and Refuge which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline.

In addition my Department has allocated £47.2 million to local authorities to help them tackle and prevent homelessness in their area for 2007-08. They may choose to use a proportion of this money to fund Sanctuary Schemes.

Government provide other funding to help support victims of domestic violence. In 2006-07 the Home Office allocated £6 million to tackle domestic violence:

£3 million to support and improve local delivery on domestic violence for victims of domestic violence and their children

£1 million to expand the Specialist Domestic Violence Court Programme

£1 million for Independent Domestic Violence Advisors

£1 million to continue to fund national domestic violence services, for example the matrix of help lines.

In 2007-08 Ministry of Justice/Her Majesty’s Court Service provided a further £3 million for the expansion of the network of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers that support the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to change the planning laws so that Network Rail has the same requirements to seek planning permission from local communities when erecting GSM-R communication masts as commercial mobile telephone operators. (145190)

There are no current plans to change the permitted development rights for railway undertakers to erect communication masts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the latest estimate is of the average sale price of an affordable home produced in each of the areas participating in the design for manufacture competition. (111939)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Milton Keynes North-East (Mr. Lancaster) on 6 March 2007, Official Report, column 1890W.

In this answer I set out precise details for one of the sites in the competition that is one of the first to reach the stage of having completed homes available. On this site, Renny Lodge, we expect people will be able to purchase a 30 per cent. equity stake in a two bedroom home available under Homebuy shared ownership arrangements for between £42,000 and £46,800. The homes available through the First Time Buyers Initiative will typically be available at equity stakes from 50 per cent. starting at around £71,500 for a one bedroom flat.

The other nine sites are at different stages of construction and are spread around the country. The prices of the units for sale will reflect the land value, the local market at the time they go on sale and the equity share as well as the construction cost. However, all sites will include a proportion of affordable housing. This includes social rent and different kinds of shared ownership. We expect that an equity stake in a home, through either shared equity or shared ownership arrangements, will be available on every site other than the one in Hastings for a cost of £60,000 to £70,000. On the Hastings site all of the 15 units will be for affordable rent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the funding arrangements will be for arm's length management organisations after the Decent Homes Standard period has passed in 2010; and if she will make a statement. (145537)

Arm’s length management organisations (ALMOs) secure their funding through a management fee from the local authority. The resources available to the local authority flow from the HRA subsidy system, its capital receipts and any prudential borrowing it takes on. This funding arrangement will remain after the Decent Homes programme is complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding the Government have provided to the Association of Home Information Providers. (145136)

The Department has not provided any funding to the Association of Home Information Pack Providers and has no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will assess (a) the contribution of bingo clubs to community cohesion and (b) the impact on communities of the closure of bingo clubs. (139604)

The Government have no plans to assess the contribution of bingo clubs to community cohesion or the impact on communities of the closure of bingo clubs.

However, we recognise the important role that bingo halls play in communities around the country. As a Government we are keen to continue to support an industry which provides so much enjoyment to millions of players each week, and which is an important source of employment.

It should also be noted that the Gambling Act 2005 already introduces a range of measures designed to support the bingo industry and other sectors of the gambling industry and I know that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is keen to continue to work closely with the industry to see what more can be done to help bingo.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 31 January 2007, Official Report, column 315W, on the Valuation Office, (1) how many properties in each local authority billing area in England are recorded by the Valuation Office Agency as having the property attribute of (a) one bathroom and (b) two or more bathrooms; (124428)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Valuation Office Agency’s Automated Valuation Model (a) uses and (b) holds data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation. (143463)

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many individual domestic dwellings (a) have had their property records updated or amended by the Valuation Office Agency using information from Rightmove since the contract was signed and (b) had their records so updated or amended in the last year for which figures are available. (143468)

This information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has produced on the requirements councillors have to register under the Data Protection Act 1998 when acting in their capacity as a representative of the residents of their ward. (143466)

The Department has issued no guidance of the sort described. The Information Commissioner has issued a guidance note aimed at elected and prospective members of local authorities, about how the Act applies to them.

The note is available on the Commissioner’s website at:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/advice_elected_and_prospective_members_local_authorities.pdf.pdf

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff surveys her Department undertook in the last 12 months; and at what total cost. (145254)

During the last 12 months, the Department has completed the first of four quarterly staff surveys at a total cost, to date, of £42,770.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government's target is for the number of (a) homes with an excellent building regulations energy efficiency rating and (b) zero-carbon homes to be built in each year in England. (145535)

Building Regulations set minimum standards for energy efficiency. Changes we have already made to Building Regulations mean that the energy efficiency of new houses has improved by 70 per cent. compared to pre-1990 levels. We have also consulted on proposals to further strengthen Building Regulations over the next decade such that all new homes will be required to be zero carbon in terms of their net emissions over the course of a year from 2016.

Homes built with Government funding are taking the lead here. All new Government funding for homes built by registered landlords and other developers, for example through the Housing Corporation, will now make it a condition that they achieve a 3-star rating in the Code for Sustainable Homes—25 per cent. better than current Building Regulations.

We expect that changes to the Building Regulations, the Code for Sustainable Homes, the carbon challenge and the stamp duty relief for new zero carbon homes will all encourage the development of highly energy efficient and zero carbon homes. We do not have targets of the type referred to but we will be monitoring progress carefully.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to be in a position to introduce a Single Equalities Bill. (141109)

The Government have given a commitment to introduce a Single Equality Act during the lifetime of this Parliament. Proposals for a Single Equality Bill will be published for public consultation, shortly. The Discrimination Law Review was published on the 12 June 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she was first notified by the European Commission of the prospect of European Regional Development Fund payments being suspended; on what grounds the payments are being suspended; what form this notification took; what action she has taken in response; and if she will make a statement. (135790)

[holding answer 8 May 2007]: Officials from the European Commission informed us orally and wrote to the United Kingdom in November 2006 indicating an intention to advise the Commission to hold back the reimbursement of expenditure by the Government on the ERDF 2000-06 programmes in England. In particular, the European Commission wanted us to carry out more physical on-site checking of projects to ensure compliance with particular EU budget criteria. Formal notification was received on 11 April 2007. Action to increase the level of on-site checks began June last year in addition to strengthened management of the processes involved. A robust action plan has been in place for some time and we have made significant progress which has meant that four of the nine regions were not included in the Commission’s formal decision. Further work is under way with the Commission to meet their requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to fire authorities on the need for fire risk assessments in (a) single unit and (b) multiple unit self-catering properties for tourists. (145894)

The Department has issued 11 guides dealing with a range of different types of premises. The guides are intended to assist both fire and rescue authorities and the person responsible in the interpretation and application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Guide No. 3 deals with sleeping accommodation and includes advice on the need for fire safety risk assessments for both single and multiple unit properties. The guides are freely available on the Department’s website:

www.communities.gov.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what actions her Department has taken to ensure the consistent interpretation and enforcement by fire authorities of fire risk assessments undertaken in respect of self-catering tourist providers; and if she will make a statement. (145895)

The Department has issued 11 guides dealing with a range of different types of premises. The guides are intended to assist both fire and rescue authorities and the person responsible for a premises to establish what fire precautions may be necessary for a particular case. Guide No 3 deals with sleeping accommodation and includes advice on fire safety risk assessment for self-catering tourist accommodation. The guides are freely available on the Department's website at www.communities.gov.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2007, Official Report, column 1529W, on home information packs, when the copy of the concession agreement will be placed in the Library. (143454)

A copy of the concession agreement has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings her Department's special advisers had with the Association of Home Information Providers in the last 12 months. (145183)

Advisers met with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers once on 22 August 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding is being allocated to local authority trading standards officers to enforce the home information pack regulations. (145521)

The Government have allocated significant additional resources through the local government settlement for local authority trading standards officers to meet the statutory duty to enforce home information packs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated time period is for an energy inspector (a) to undergo a Criminal Records Bureau check and (b) to be accredited. (140860)

A fully completed application for a criminal records check for a domestic energy assessor is currently being processed within seven to 10 working days by Disclosure Scotland.

It is the trained assessor’s responsibility to ensure that all required documentation is provided to the accreditation scheme they have applied to. Due to this, the process varies in duration. Required documentation includes: certificate of qualification from awarding body, completed criminal records check, and proof of suitable operating insurance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) representations her Department has received from and (b) meetings her Department has held with Hometrack in the last 24 months. (140870)

We have regular discussions with all key stakeholders about home information pack development and implementation including Hometrack. Officials have received consultation representations from Hometrack. Officials also met with Hometrack in June 2005, July and September 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments her Department and its predecessor have made to the company Hometrack since 2002. (143480)

Since 2002, neither Communities and Local Government nor its predecessor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has made any payments to Hometrack.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations Ministers in her Department have made to the London borough of Hounslow on its relationships with its local Members of Parliament; and if she will make a statement. (135633)

[holding answer 3 May 2007]: No representations by Ministers from this Department have so far been made to the London borough of Hounslow about its relationship with local Members of Parliament.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of domestic dwellings in England have four or more bedrooms. (145134)

The most reliable estimates are in terms of numbers of households not dwellings. In 2005-06, an estimated 18 per cent. of the 21 million households in England lived in dwellings with four or more bedrooms.

Source: Survey of English Housing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the Government's target is for the number of new domestic dwellings to be built in each year in England; (145523)

The Sustainable Communities Plan, launched in 2003, set out plans to increase housing delivery across London and the wider south east in the period to 2016 to 1.1 million in total, from previous plans for 900,000. In 2005, the Government set a target for 200,000 new homes a year by 2016.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built in each year under the Sustainable Communities Plan since its inception. (145525)

Since the Sustainable Communities Plan was announced in 2003, net additions to the housing stock in England have been as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic dwellings were completed in England in each year since 1996-97. (145526)

The number of new domestic dwellings completed in England in each year since 1996-97 has been tabulated as follows.

The number of domestic dwellings completed in England is also shown on the Communities and Local Government website:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/53/Table232_id1156053.xls.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local councils have brought into use empty private sector properties under the Housing Act 2004. (145067)

Local authorities have a range of powers to bring empty properties back into use. The provision in the Housing Act for Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) is just one of a range of measures and in many areas is used to encourage landlords to take action on a voluntary basis. Since the commencement of the Housing Act 2004 in April 2007, three interim EDMOs have received authorisation (Norwich, Peterborough and South Oxfordshire).

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she plans to take to regularise the definition of empty homes for the purposes of comparative council performance in respect of the Housing Act 2004. (145069)

We have no plans to make any changes to the Housing Act 2004 in respect of the Empty Dwelling Management Orders provisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued on the priority to be given to the provision of appropriate housing for (a) women and (b) women with children who have (i) suffered domestic violence and (ii) who have been trafficked. (135276)

Local housing authorities must allocate housing accommodation in accordance with part 6 of the Housing Act 1996. Among other things, this requires authorities to publish a scheme for determining their priorities, and defining the procedures to be followed, in allocating housing. The scheme must be framed so that reasonable preference for an allocation is given to certain groups of applicant, but it is for individual authorities to decide on the priorities to be given to people within these groups. The reasonable preference groups are based on housing need and include people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds (including grounds relating to a disability) and people owed a homelessness duty. The scheme may also be framed so that additional preference is given to people within the reasonable preference categories who have urgent housing need. The Department has issued statutory guidance to local housing authorities on how they should discharge their functions under part 6. This gives examples of people with urgent housing needs to whom housing authorities should consider giving additional preference including those owed a homelessness duty as a result of domestic violence.

Under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the 1996 Act), local housing authorities must secure that suitable accommodation is available for housing applicants who are eligible for assistance, homeless through no fault of their own and who fall within a priority need group. Accommodation must be secured until a settled home becomes available. The priority need groups include people whose household includes a dependant child or a pregnant woman and, in 2002, the Government extended the priority need groups to include, among others, people who are vulnerable as a result of leaving their home because of violence or threats of violence likely to be carried out. Jointly with the Secretaries of State for Education and Skills and for Health, the Secretary of State has issued statutory guidance to local authorities which they must have regard to when exercising their homelessness functions. The guidance reminds authorities that, under the legislation, a person is homeless if it is not reasonable for them to continue to live in their home and it would not be reasonable for someone to continue to live in their home if that was likely to lead to violence against them or against a member of their family. The guidance also encourages authorities to offer people who have experienced domestic violence a range of accommodation and support options, including the option of remaining in their home with additional security measures provided under a sanctuary scheme.

The Government have signed and ratified the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. It has also recently signed the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. This will build on our strategy to combat human trafficking by providing minimum standards of protection and victim support, whilst also providing a framework for enhanced provision.

Details on how implementation will be taken forward are currently being developed. These will involve close co-operation with non-governmental organisations, law enforcement agencies and other Government Departments. Progress will be monitored by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking of which Communities and Local Government’s Deputy Minister for Women and Equality is a member.

The London-based POPPY Project, run through “Eaves Housing for Women”, was launched in 2003 and provides a highly regarded combination of safe accommodation and support for victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, which meets Council of Europe Convention requirements. Additionally, as a result of Operation Pentameter there are now a number of independently funded organisations (Salvation Army, CHASTE, the Medaille Trust), who also provide accommodation.

The Government are currently considering a pilot scheme to test the level and type of support required for victims of forced labour trafficking.

The UK Human Trafficking Centre was launched on 3 October 2006, the first of its kind in Europe. This is becoming a centre of excellence for dealing with human trafficking and will promote the expansion of victim support services. The Government also published the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking on 23 March. This aims to strike the right balance between protection and assistance for all victims of trafficking, and prevention and enforcement activity to crack down on criminals.

Through its recently published Gender Equality Scheme, the Department has also initiated a number of actions aimed at supporting those women who are victims of domestic violence or who have been trafficked. These include co-ordinating and joining up Government actions on violence against women, and monitoring the impact of changes in local government funding on locally delivered support for vulnerable women. Communities England will also ensure that gender issues are taken into account in exercising functions delivering local strategies for regeneration, housing growth and affordable housing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) capital and (b) revenue funding the Government provided to each local authority in England for (i) housing and (ii) regeneration purposes in the last year for which figures are available. (143668)

Capital funding for local authority housing is provided through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy system in the form of supported capital expenditure (SCE) and the major repairs allowance (MRA). SCE is the level of borrowing for capital purposes that is supported by the Government through the HRA subsidy. This value is based on the Regional Housing Boards' allocations. MRA represents the estimated long-term average amount of capital spending required to maintain a local authority’s housing stock in current condition. The capital funding includes an element for regeneration but that is combined with the decent homes programme in the private sector. There is also an element of non-HRA funding for local authorities.

Revenue funding for local authority housing is provided in the form of HRA Subsidy and Formula Grant. HRA subsidy refers to the entitlement local authorities receive from Government to support their housing programs. 2005-06 is the latest year for which audited figure are available. Housing is one of the services supported by formula grant. Formula grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant, where appropriate, is an unhypothecated block grant, i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service. For this reason, and because of the method of calculation, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for a particular service. Tables displaying the 2005-06 HRA subsidy and 2005-06 capital funding for each local authority have been placed in the Library of the House.

For regeneration purposes, there is no local authority wise breakdown available. The information is compiled on a program-specific basis. Departmental funding for regeneration projects in 2005-06 is tabled as follows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of housing in each London local authority was (a) units of social rented housing, (b) private rented housing and (c) owner occupier housing in (i) 1986, (ii) 1996 and (iii) 2006. (144924)

Information reported by local authorities on the proportions of all dwellings that are ‘social for rent’, private (owner occupied and rented) and other public sector (e.g. school caretakers’ houses) is shown in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much funding was allocated to build affordable housing in financial years (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07; how much she plans to allocate in 2007-08; and how many affordable homes (i) were built in financial years 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) she estimates will be built in financial year 2007-08; (130118)

Expenditure through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) in 2005-06 totalled £1.6 billion and for the two years 2006 to 2008 we allocated a further £3.9 billion, of which the Housing Corporation spent £1.9 billion in 2006-07.

In 2005-06 over 45,400 affordable homes were provided, with 36,386 of these being provided through Housing Corporation's AHP. Provisional figures for 2006-07 indicate that over 44,000 affordable homes were provided, of which around 38,000 were through Housing Corporation's AHP. A further 56,000 affordable homes are planned for 2007-08, of which over 47,000 will be provided though the Housing Corporation's funding.

Provisional figures for 2006-07 show that over 25,000 social rented homes were provided of which 22,000 were through the Housing Corporation's AHP.

We have made no estimates for the cost of building 50,000 social rented homes in 2006-07 and 2007-08. We set the Housing Corporation targets to provide 21,000 social rented homes in 2006-07 and 28,000 in 2007-08. The latter homes will contribute towards our target of providing 30,000 social rented homes in 2007-08.

Of the Housing Corporation budget of £3.9 billion for 2006-08 it is estimated that £2.8 billion will be spent on providing social rented homes. Future investment will be subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 on which we have already stated that we intend to make the provision of social rented homes a priority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues in the Department of Work and Pensions on the Hills report; and if she will make a statement. (145066)

Professor John Hills’ Review “End and Means: The future roles of social housing in England” raised concerns about high levels of worklessness among households living in social housing.

Ministers and officials from Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions have held a number of discussions on this issue. We are working closely together to explore ways in which we can address worklessness and how social housing can act as a platform for social and economic mobility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 29 March 2007, Official Report, column 1731W, on housing: valuation, whether (a) greenhouses and (b) sheds are classified as outbuildings for the purposes of dwellinghouse code 14. (145483)

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether a permanent greenhouse is considered by the Valuation Office Agency when establishing the capital value of a domestic dwelling during a valuation. (145520)

It depends how much it is worth.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty properties designated for key workers were recorded in Wycombe constituency in each of the most recent three years for which figures are available. (145454)

[holding answer 25 June 2007]: The Government offer housing assistance to key workers under the Key Worker Living (KWL) scheme in areas experiencing severe recruitment and retention difficulties. Key Worker Living funding is divided between Open Market HomeBuy (equity loans to purchase properties on the open market) and new build products such as New Build HomeBuy (shared ownership of newly built homes) and intermediate rent (newly built homes where the rent is set at a level between that charged by social and private landlords).

Since April 2006 we no longer fund specific key worker only new build schemes. Instead key workers access our New Build HomeBuy and intermediate rent programmes as a priority group alongside other priorities such as social tenants. Any key worker specific schemes yet to complete will have been funded under old shared ownership programmes.

Since the launch of Key Worker Living, the Housing Corporation has been collecting data on when the construction of a scheme has been completed and when the final unit has been occupied. The purpose of these data is to actively manage the portfolio of new build properties and take action to prevent long term empty units—and as such allows us to give a breakdown of the current position on empty properties only. As at the end of May 2007 there are no empty Key Worker Living properties designated for key workers only in the Wycombe constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding her Department and its agencies have provided for the iGather project; and what plans there are to roll it out across England. (141824)

The iGather project was awarded funding of £300,000 in March 2005. The project has developed a prototype to enable ready access to environmental, employment, housing and other data stored electronically to assist planners to carry out sustainability appraisals effectively and efficiently.

The purpose of a sustainability appraisal, mandatory under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, is to promote sustainable development through the integration of social, environmental and economic considerations into the preparation of revisions of regional spatial strategies and for new or revised development plan documents and supplementary planning documents.

Further work is being carried out, which will enable the prototype to be fully operational for the South West region by the end of 2007. No decision has yet been made on its further roll out.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate the likely impact on the number of houses in multiple occupation in (a) Peterborough and (b) local authorities in the eastern region of the migration of new EU member state citizens to these areas since 2004; and if she will make a statement. (145306)

The Department recognises the impact of EU migration and, in partnership with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), is currently developing a toolkit of good practice guidance for local authorities on issues such as overcrowding in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

The number of HMOs in local authority areas has been collected by the Department through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) since 2001. The following table indicates the number of HMOs in Peterborough since 2004.

The following table indicates the number of HMOs in all local authorities in the eastern region since 2004.

The Department does not currently hold data for 2006-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she will have the power to remove planning commissioners on the proposed infrastructure planning commission from their post before the end of their term of office for reasons other than misconduct. (145151)

Paragraphs 5.56 to 5.61 of the White Paper, Planning for a Sustainable Future (cm 7120), set out the Government's proposals as to the personnel of the infrastructure planning commission. It is intended that members of the commission will have fixed tenure for periods of between five and eight years. The Secretary of State will have the power to remove a person from office as a member of the commission if she is satisfied that the person is unable, unwilling or unfit to perform the duties of the office. We do not propose that members could be removed because of the decisions they took.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have appointed a disability access officer. (145004)

[holding answer 25 June 2007]: Appointment of disability access officers is a decision for each local authority. Research to provide this information would incur disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority owned homes were sold to (a) registered social landlords and (b) private landlords in each London borough in each of the last 10 years. (144639)

The following table gives details of London boroughs who have sold their housing stock to the registered social landlord sector through large-scale voluntary transfer in the last 10 years. We could provide figures for small-scale voluntary only at disproportionate cost. We do not have any data on trickle transfers to registered social landlords; nor do we have data on how many local authority homes have been sold to private landlords.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations have a function of inspecting local authorities. (145158)

The Government set out proposals for a new performance management framework for local areas in the White Paper “Strong and Prosperous Communities” (Cm 6939) in October 2006. This will be introduced from 2009.

The Audit Commission (which from April 2008 will be merged with the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate) will continue to have powers to inspect local authorities under Best Value, with any inspection in future being triggered primarily by risk assessment. The Audit Commission will also manage the overall programme of inspection and external assessment of local authorities to reduce duplication and ensure inspection and assessment is better co-ordinated and proportionate to risk.

Other regulators and inspectorates with responsibilities for inspection of some local authority services include the new Ofsted, the Adult Social Care Inspectorate which will bring together Commission for Social Care Inspection and Healthcare Commission functions, and the existing five criminal justice inspectorates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on (a) the timetable and (b) progress achieved on reducing the number of central Government targets for local authorities to 200. (145161)

As we set out in the Local Government White Paper “Strong and Prosperous Communities”, we are developing a single set of national priority outcomes for local government working on its own or in partnership, measured by a single set of around 200 national indicators which will underpin the new performance framework. These outcomes and indicators will reflect decisions taken in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) which is currently under way and details will be published as part of the CSR announcement in the autumn. Implementation will take place from April 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will reconsider the inclusion of clause 39 in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill following the combined 2007 Scottish Parliamentary and Scottish local elections; and if she will make a statement. (145160)

Clause 60 (previously clause 39, prior to Report stage in the House of Commons) of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill provides for the Secretary of State, by order, to move the date of the local government elections in a year so that these coincide with the European parliamentary general election in that year. Any such order must be approved by both Houses of Parliament, following consultation with the Electoral Commission and other appropriate persons. This process will ensure that, in any year, the merits of holding the elections on the same day will be fully considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which (a) special grants and (b) specific grants were paid to local authorities in England in 2006-07. (145538)

I refer the hon. Member to the reports and related tables for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2006-07. Copies of the reports, tables and other supporting material were made available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House on 31 January 2006. Key Table 2 set out the specific and special grants to be paid in that year. Information covering all grants paid to local authorities in that year will be available from the local authority outturn return. There were no grants paid in 2006-07 using the special grant making powers under section 88B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (substituted by paragraph 18 of schedule 10 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992).

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the pay ranges are for senior local government officials and chief executives. (144168)

The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect this information. Information on chief executives' and chief officers' pay can be obtained from the Local Government Employers' website

http://www.lge.gov.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take into account local polls of public opinion on local government reorganisation when selecting the unitary bids she will be taking forward; and if she will make a statement. (145101)

Local polls of public opinion are one of many relevant matters to which we will have regard when assessing unitary proposals against our five criteria set out in the invitation document published on 26 October 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to take into account the result of expressions of public opinion on local government reform in Somerset; and if she will make a statement. (144737)

Expressions of public opinion are one of many relevant matters to which we will have regard when assessing unitary proposals against our five criteria set out in the invitation document published on 26 October 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in the Valuation Office Agency undertake work in relation to assessment casework for business rates valuations. (143669)

It is the policy of the Department not to comment on staffing matters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the causes of the recent trends in the level of home ownership. (145225)

Low mortgage rates and economic stability have increased the number of home owners by over one million since 1997. However, rising house prices have created pressure for first-time buyers. Kate Barker's review of housing supply showed that the industry had not been building enough homes to meet demand for over a generation.

The annual rate of new housing supply has increased by 40 per cent. since 2001 but we plan to go further in order to address the long-term problems of worsening affordability and help more people realise their aspirations to own their own home.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of home ownership was in England in each year since 1996-97. (145169)

Estimates of the level of home ownership in England from 1996 to 2006 are shown below. This is based on a sample survey and so results can fluctuate from one year to the next.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if officials from her Department will meet Peterborough city council in the near future to discuss grant funding; and if she will make a statement. (144290)

We have been reviewing, with local government, a number of the formulae used to distribute grant to local authorities and will be undertaking a full consultation exercise over the summer, when all local authorities will have full opportunity to respond to our proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Planning Inspectorate spent on consultants (excluding the cost of consultant inspectors) in each of the last four years; and what such consultants were tasked to work on. (144717)

The Planning Inspectorate’s spend on external advice and contracts over the last four financial years has been:

This included:

Planning Portal Development

Planning Casework System Development

Human Resources and Training Development

Major Inspector Recruitment Advice

Agency Restructuring Advice

Baseline Study of Inspector Working

Electronic Business Modelling

Householder Development Consent Review

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures the Planning Inspectorate has in place to achieve value for money in the procurement of external consultants undertaken by the agency’s procurement unit. (144720)

The Planning Inspectorate has a dedicated procurement unit and all consultancy contracts are handled within that unit. In the drive to deliver value for money close attention is paid to standard best practice procurement procedures, from clear specification through to effective contract management. Extensive use is also made of the framework contracts managed by the Office of Government Commerce to deliver both price and process savings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the regulatory impact assessment for Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) was published after PPS3 came into effect. (145155)

The Department produced a partial regulatory impact assessment as part of the consultation paper on a new Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) “Housing”, which we published in December 2005.

Subsequently, we considered those consultation responses made in respect to the partial assessment to inform the final regulatory impact assessment. This analysis is set out in the ‘Consultation on Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3)—A summary of responses and key issues’, which we published alongside final PPS3 in November 2006.

While a regulatory impact assessment had been produced at the time of launching PPS3, unfortunately, this was not published until May 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her timetable is for the (a) consultation and (b) legislation on reform of the planning system, following the publication of the Planning White Paper. (145138)

The Government are consulting on some key proposals and other issues in the White Paper ‘Planning for a Sustainable Future’ (Cm7120) and four associated consultation papers on: planning performance agreements; planning fees; changes to permitted development rights for householders; and improving the appeal process. The closing date for responses is August 17 2007. Paragraphs 10.15 and 10.16 of the White Paper describe further consultations proposed during 2007 and 2008.

By summer 2007 we will consult on a new draft national Planning Policy Statement ‘Planning for Economic Development’, proposals to replace the need and impact tests with a new test, and proposals to reduce the Secretary of State's involvement in planning cases.

By the end of 2007 we will consult on proposals to extend permitted development rights for the installation of microgeneration equipment without planning permission to non-residential users, on detailed changes to regulations, policy and guidance in relation to local plan making, on proposals on revised arrangements for statutory consultees and on proposals to extend the impact approach to minor non- householder development.

By summer 2008 we will consult on proposals for revising the main legislation covering the process of submitting and considering planning applications.

The Government plan to legislate at the earliest opportunity, with the aim of having the infrastructure planning commission operational in 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many recorded cases there were of women being housed in refuges and safe houses in West Lancashire constituency in 2006. (144822)

The Department does not hold a total figure centrally.

Information about local authorities’ actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level. The duty owed to a household accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available the authority may secure temporary accommodation until settled accommodation is provided.

One type of temporary accommodation is women's refuges. A breakdown by local authority of reported households in women’s refuges under homelessness provisions at the end of December 2006 has been placed in the Library of the House. The West Lancashire constituency falls within West Lancashire district local authority.

Women may also enter refuges without going through the statutory homelessness route. Many women’s refuges receive Supporting People funding, and records of new entrants to Supporting People funded services are submitted by service providers on the Client Record form.

Data from the Client Record form are published on the Centre for Housing Research’s website, for financial years and at administrative authority level. This includes the number of new clients entering Supporting People funded women’s refuges, for service providers in each of the administrating authorities, including Lancashire county council, in 2006-07, in table 2.1: http://ggsrv-cold.st-andrews.ac.uk/spclientrecord/, (follow the links to “Latest Reports”, then “Reporting to Administering Authorities”).

It is important to note that imputation has not been made for cases when the Client Record form was not submitted, and that these figures only cover Supporting People funded services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received on the Government’s targets (a) to create 180,000 jobs and (b) to build 160,000 new homes in the Thames Gateway between 2001 and 2016; and if she will make a statement on progress made to date towards meeting each target. (140631)

The Government target to create the conditions for 180,000 jobs and the capacity for 160,000 homes was published in the Thames Gateway Interim Plan. The plan was endorsed by the relevant regional assemblies, regional development agencies, local regeneration partnerships and other key stakeholders through the Thames Gateway Strategic Partnership. The Department continues to work with the partnership and others in pursuing its shared objectives.

In 2005, there were approximately 58,600 more employees in the Thames Gateway than in 2001, an increase of 9.7 per cent. This is equivalent to an increase of approximately 46,600 or 9 per cent. in the number of full-time equivalent jobs.

Between 2001-02 and 2005-06, a total of 29,775 net new dwellings have been added to the housing stock of the Thames Gateway.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the (a) approval, (b) amendment and (c) ratification of each of the regional spatial strategies. (145137)

The following table sets out the Secretary of State's current plans for publication of proposed changes and the issue of final Regional Spatial Strategies in each of the eight English regions outside London.