To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities have children or young people in their care who are in placements outside the authority area; and how many young people in the case of each authority are so placed. (271340)

Information about the location of placements of looked after children and whether they are placed inside or outside of their local authority area can be found on the DCSF statistics website at the following link:

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000810/index.shtml

The required information is set out in Tables LAA18 and LAA19. These are in EXCEL format in the third set of additional tables on the above website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in the last 12 months. (243723)

Promotional campaigns, including those using advertising, are funded from the Department's central Advertising and Publicity Budget and from individual programme budgets held by policy directorates.

Advertising is part of a full integrated promotional campaign. The question refers specifically to advertising and we have been able to separate the Department's spend on advertising, as this is centrally placed through the Central Office of Information.

The cost of recruitment advertising for the department has not been included as it is not possible to establish a definitive figure, except at disproportionate expense.

The Department's advertising spend and that of its predecessor (DFES) since April 2007 is set out as follows, with a breakdown of individual campaigns. All figures exclude VAT.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department’s policy is on its staff undertaking voluntary work; and what estimate he has made of the number of such staff who undertook voluntary work in the last 12 months. (272496)

The Department believes that volunteering is important to enable staff to engage with communities they serve and have a better understanding of local issues to help deliver the Children’s Plan.

The Department has a well established policy to encourage all staff to volunteer on a regular and sustained basis. The Department has an annual 10 per cent. target of staff volunteering. The Department’s recent Staff Survey showed that up to 317 of staff have volunteered in the last 12 months (13 per cent. of those who responded). The Department encourages staff to volunteer by regularly advertising national and local opportunities on the Department’s intranet and local communication channels; there are also local volunteering contacts on all of the Department’s sites in Darlington, Sheffield, Runcorn and London.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make an estimate of the (a) monetary value and (b) quantity of waste food disposed of from his Department’s premises in the last 12 months. (273442)

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) does not currently record the amount of food waste that is generated at each of our buildings. This is included within our overall land fill statistics. Separate records are kept for all other waste streams that are recycled, for example paper, glass, plastics and cans. Discussions are under way with our catering and waste management providers as to how the DSCF can reduce or eliminate the amount of food waste that is sent to landfill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent research his Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned on the attitudes of grandparents to providing childcare support for their grandchildren. (273816)

Officials from the Department for Children, Schools and Families reviewed the literature around the attitudes of grandparents providing child care support for their grandchildren, as part of the work to develop the strategy document “Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare” (published January 2009).

Later this year we will hold a consultation event with grandparents and grandparents’ interest groups to update the position on support grandparents need from services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of primary school places required in England for children (a) one of whose parents is non-UK born, (b) who were born abroad and (c) whose first language is not English in each year from 2009-31. (273993)

Local authorities are responsible for planning the supply of school places in their area and must ensure provision is responsive to local circumstances and needs. When projecting future demand for places we expect authorities to take account of factors that will have an impact on future pupil numbers, such as changes in the immigrant population—including children born abroad to a non-UK parent and whose first language is not English.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils were excluded from school before they were due to sit GCSE examinations in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) the North East and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 2005. (268361)

Information is not available in the form requested.

The available information on the number of pupils aged 15, in secondary and special schools, who received a permanent exclusion or one or more fixed period exclusions in England, the North East and Middlesbrough local authority area is shown in the table.

Comparable figures for 2005 are not available because in 2005-06 information on fixed period exclusions was collected from secondary schools only.

Information on exclusions in the UK is not collected by the Department. Information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are available from the Welsh Assembly Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Department of Education, respectively.

To provide data at constituency level would incur disproportionate cost

The Department's exclusions guidance sets out those governing bodies must review all permanent exclusions from their school, and fixed period exclusions that would result in a pupil missing a public examination. It also states that the governing body should try to meet before the date of the examination, or if exceptionally this is not practical, that the chair of governors—using his or her powers to act in an emergency—may consider the exclusion and decide whether or not to reinstate the pupil. Where a pupil is excluded, depending on the nature and seriousness of the exclusion, the governing body/management committee may exercise its discretion to allow an excluded pupil on the premises for the sole purpose of taking a public examination.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what powers head teachers in maintained schools have to permanently exclude pupils. (271351)

Section 52 of the Education Act 2002 gives head teachers the power to exclude pupils for a fixed period or permanently, on disciplinary grounds.

Departmental guidance sets out the procedures to be followed, and explains that the decision to exclude a pupil permanently should be taken only in response to serious breaches of the school's behaviour policy, and if allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of gifted and talented pupils were persistent absentees in the latest period for which figures are available. (268485)

The available information is shown in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many new school places he plans to create in each of the next five years. (272866)

Local authorities are responsible for planning the creation of new school places and are under a duty to ensure sufficient school places are available to meet local needs. The Department allocates Basic Need funding to enable local authorities to provide the additional places needed in response to a growth in pupil numbers. Allocations are based on each authority’s own pupil projections which they provide to the Department annually through the Surplus Places Survey. To enable authorities to plan deployment of their resources, these allocations are set for three years at the start of each spending review period. In addition, in 2008 the Department operated a “safety-valve” mechanism for funding new pupil places, to deliver additional funding for authorities facing exceptional circumstances because of the rate of growth of pupil numbers.

During the current spending review period (2008-09 to 2010-11), £1.2 billion of Basic Need funding will be allocated among the 150 local authorities in England. Additionally, four authorities were allocated exceptional Basic Need safety valve funding totalling £83.24 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the budget required for school building provision in the academic year 2009-10. (273991)

The Department’s information on forecast spend is held on a financial year basis. Most capital projects are delivered over more than one financial year, and the Department’s financial planning is based on a three yearly spending cycle. For 2009-10 financial year, our current forecast is to support investment in schools of around £7.5 billion. This forecast is under continuous review and will be subject to change. In addition, £1.3 billion of PFI credits are available to be allocated through Building Schools for the Future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils with statements of special educational needs who attended mainstream schools took an unauthorised absence from school in each year since 1997. (271830)

The available information is shown in the table.

Data on pupil characteristics linked to absence was collected in the School Census for the first time in 2005/06, but was collected from secondary schools only, therefore information on absence for pupils with statements of special educational needs prior to 2005/06 cannot be provided. In 2006/07 data was also collected from primary and special schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many and what proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational need for behavioural, emotional and social difficulties received (a) a fixed-period and (b) permanent exclusion from a mainsteam school in the most recent year for which figures are available; (273642)

The requested information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. This is because the special educational needs status can change between periods of exclusion and the Department is currently working on a methodology for the analysis of this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam of 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1503-5W, on gardens, if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter requesting data on planning provisions sent to local planning authorities. (273366)

A copy of the letter was placed in the Library (reference DEP2009-1135) on 17 April 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam of 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1503-5W, on gardens, what timetable she has set for the report of the garden land review. (273367)

Our aim is to conclude the second stage of the review by the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam of 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1503-5W, on gardens, what arrangements she has made for external analysis of the data. (273368)

We will publish further details of the second stage of the review when the results of the first stage are clear.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what external (a) companies and (b) consultants her Department has retained for the purpose of promoting eco-towns; and at what cost. (273434)

The Department has retained no public affairs companies and consultants in relation to the promotion of eco-towns.

In order to promote the public consultation on eco-towns, the Department contracted the Central Office of Information to provide a range of marketing and public relations services, elements of which they allocated to agencies on their frameworks.

The Department also contracted the following marketing services agencies in relation to this work:

Redhouse Lane

Skyline Whitespace

Transmedia

Louise Burston

The Department will publish a breakdown of expenditure in relation to promoting the eco-towns public consultation on its website in conjunction with the publication of its next annual report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect on the effectiveness of energy performance certificates of enabling the Act on CO₂ advice line to contact home buyers and sellers to advise on support in improving the energy rating of their homes. (271570)

No such assessment has been made. We are working with the Energy Savings Trust, who operate the Act on CO₂ advice line, to identify homes with poor energy efficiency ratings and to better target their advice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what external (a) companies and (b) consultants have been contracted by her Department to promote home information packs; and at what cost. (273471)

In the financial year (2008-09) the Department conducted a campaign to meet its duty to inform industry and consumers of changes to HEPs as of 6 April 2009 and also to promote wider Government information for those buying or selling homes. The Department contracted the following activity through the Central Office of Information who engaged appropriate suppliers through their framework.

In addition the Department contracted Blue Rubicon for Public Relations activity.

Public Relations—£232,400

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much was received by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies in asset sales in each of the last five years; and how much grant-in-aid each such body received in each of those years; (270572)

The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government.

For the years 2004-05 to 2007-08 inclusive, figures for (i) asset sales receipts, (ii) grant in aid received, and (iii) spend on administration for English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation can be found in their published annual report and accounts each year.

With regard to the Academy for Sustainable Communities (which did not come into being until 2005-06), asset sales receipts were consolidated within the annual report and accounts of its parent organisation, Yorkshire Forward. The Academy was not funded on a grant in aid basis. Spend on administration (including staff costs, rent, rates, travel and marketing) by the Academy was as follows:

Figures for the HCA will be published in its annual report and accounts 2008-09. Figures for 2008-09 for English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation will appear in what will be their final annual reports and accounts in light of their wind up.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many asset sales by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies involved receipts of (a) between £500,000 and £750,000, (b) between £750,000 and £1 million and (c) over £1 million in each of the last five years; how much was received in each case; and how many such sales involved the disposal of assets (i) purchased, (ii) developed and (iii) improved with public funds. (270574)

The predecessor bodies of the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government.

The following table shows the number of development asset sales by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies over the last five years and the total amount received for those receipts in the categories shown.

Audited information is not yet available for the amount received in 2008-09.

The answer to the latter part of the question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what losses attributable to overpayments of (a) grants and (b) subsidies the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies incurred in each of the last five years. (270602)

The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the agency from Communities and Local Government.

The HCA and its predecessor bodies did not incur any losses through the overpayment of grant over the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the agreed administration budget for the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies was in each of the last five years. (270606)

The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the agency from Communities and Local Government.

The agreed administration budget for the Homes and Communities Agency, English Partnerships and the Academy for Sustainable Communities at the start of each financial year from 2005-06 onwards is shown in the table.

It is not possible to disaggregate the administration budget for the investment arm of the Housing Corporation without incurring disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by the (a) Tenant Services Authority and (b) the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies on information technology projects in each of the last five years; and how many such projects cost in excess of £1 million. (270607)

The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the agency from Communities and Local Government.

A table showing information technology (IT) projects expenditure in each of the last five years for the Tenants Services Authority (TSA), the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies is as follows;

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the monetary value of ex-gratia payments made to the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies was in each of the last five years. (270608)

The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the agency from Communities and Local Government.

No ex-gratia payments have been made to the HCA and its predecessor bodies in the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of each (a) study and (b) review commissioned by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessors was in each of the last five years. (272508)

The Homes and Communities Agency does not hold information in these distinct categories, nor did its predecessor bodies. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 3 March 2009, Official Report, column 1540W, on the Homebuy scheme, how many homes have been purchased in each Government Office region under (a) the Social Homebuy scheme and (b) Homebuy schemes other than Social, Open Market or New Build Homebuy in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08 and (iii) 2009 to date. (269883)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 24 March 2009, Official Report, column 218W.

The following table shows provisional figures for Social HomeBuy completions through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing Programme by region for 2008-09.

Although a few HomeBuy Direct sales are known to have been fully completed, official figures are not yet available. However, approximately 18,000 HomeBuy Direct properties were selected by the Homes and Communities Agency and over 32,000 potential buyers have registered their interest in the scheme.

Provisional figures show that there were around 1,100 completions under the Rent to HomeBuy scheme under which homes may be rented at a subsidised rent for a specified period with the opportunity for tenants to buy a share later. This is a new scheme and which began in 2008-09.

Detailed data on scheme completions are compiled and analysed on a monthly basis. Figures for April 2009 will be available later in May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Social Homebuy sales there were in each region in 2008-09; and what estimate has been made of the number of sales which will take place in 2009-10. (270690)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Meriden to question 269883.

No estimate has been made for number of sales in 2009-10 as Social HomeBuy is a voluntary and demand led programme. Sales depend on the number of landlords who choose to offer their tenants the opportunity of home ownership through the scheme and take up by tenants. Social HomeBuy is one of a number of home ownership options made available to social tenants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the average equity stake initially purchased by a homebuyer through the (a) Open Market HomeBuy Scheme, (b) HomeBuy Direct Scheme and (c) MyChoice HomeBuy Scheme has been to date; (272350)

The following table shows the average initial equity purchased by households participating in the Government's low cost home ownership programme by scheme.

There have been no sales yet under the Rent to HomeBuy scheme which enables potential purchasers to rent a home for up to five years before buying a share.

To the end of March 2009 there were no fully completed sales registered under HomeBuy Direct.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many completed transactions there have been under the HomeBuy Direct scheme to date. (272423)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1119W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applicants have registered with HomeBuy providers in each of the last 12 months. (272579)

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been purchased under (a) OwnHome, (b) New Build HomeBuy, (c) HomeBuy Direct, (d) Rent to HomeBuy, (e) Social HomeBuy, (f) the First-Time Buyers Initiative, (g) Open Market HomeBuy and (h) MyChoice HomeBuy in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. (272758)

The data available on purchases of HomeBuy products in each of the last three years is given in the following table.

The 6,123 Open Market HomeBuy purchases in 2008-09 include the 799 through Ownhome and 3,123 through My Choice HomeBuy shown separately in the table.

For New Build HomeBuy the table shows completions.

For HomeBuy Direct I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1119 W.

There have been no purchases under the Rent to HomeBuy scheme, which enables potential purchasers to rent a home for up to five years before buying a share.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on the (a) development and (b) maintenance of the homebuy.co.uk website in each of the last three years; and what budget has been assigned to the website for each of the next two years. (272814)

HomeBuy.co.uk is not a Government website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenditure she expects her Department to incur in publicising HomeBuy products in each of the next three years; and what promotional activities have been planned. (272978)

There are no current plans for the Communities and Local Government Department to publicise HomeBuy products directly in future years.

Marketing of HomeBuy products is the responsibility of the HomeBuy Agents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many right-to-buy sales there were in each local authority area in each year since 1997. (273645)

A table showing the number of local authority right to buy sales by local authority for each year from 1997-98 has been deposited in the Library of the House.

The figures only include local authority right to buy sales. They do not include registered social landlord preserved right to buy sales, details of which are not available at local authority level.

The figures are from quarterly P1B returns from local authorities to CLG.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of housing completions in each region was of affordable homes in each year since 1997. (273647)

The following table shows the proportion of affordable housing new build completions as a percentage of total house building completions in each year since 1997-98, by region.

Total new build completion figures are from P2 quarterly returns submitted by local authorities and the National House-Building Council (NHBC) to CLG.

Affordable housing new build figures are collated from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS); and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) returns and P2 house building returns submitted to CLG by local authorities. Not all affordable housing is provided by new build completions, as some supply can come from acquisitions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 30 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1397-8W, on housing: low incomes, how many homes were purchased for use as social rented housing stock in each year since 1997. (273648)

The following table shows the number of homes purchased for social rent in England, from 1997-98.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 10 March 2009, Official Report, column 317W, on the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government: finance, what the terms of reference were of the good practice on migration project. (272331)

The aim of the Migration Excellence Programme was to develop a good practice toolkit for local government that provided local authorities with guidance on how to pool and analyse all relevant national, regional and local data and intelligence in order to build accurate local profiles of Central and Eastern European migration.

The purpose and structure of the project were to provide:

1. Local authorities with an inventory of data sources

2. Information on publicly available on-line information

3. Guidance on how partners should be sharing data

4. Examples of good practice from three case study areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2009, Official Report, column 918W, on mortgages, when she expects (a) Santander, (b) Nationwide, (c) HSBC and (d) Barclays to implement terms for their customers similar to those offered under the Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme. (272108)

Santander (including Abbey and Alliance and Leicester), Nationwide, HSBC and Barclays (including First Plus) have confirmed they will now be offering comparable arrangements to Homeowners Mortgage Support to their customers, while opting not to take up the Government guarantee.

Customers of these institutions experiencing a reduction in income and willing to make regular monthly repayments will receive a similar level of support and be encouraged to seek independent money advice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in each local authority area have received assistance under the Mortgage Rescue scheme in each of the last six months. (272111)

The Government Mortgage Rescue scheme has only been operational across the country since 1 January 2009, following successful ‘fast tracking’ by 80 local authorities in December 2008. The scheme is one part of a comprehensive package of measures to help households at risk of repossession.

Based on the January-March 2009 monitoring returns, 452 households had applied for and were being actively considered for Mortgage Rescue assistance during this period, of which 57 cases were in the final stage of the process (referral to the Registered Social Landlord) as at the end of March. It can take between three and four months for a household to complete the process from the time they approach a local authority because it is similar to that of selling a property, involving procedures such as property valuation and negotiations between the parties involved. As at the end of March, one household in the Government Office East region had completed the process, whereby a housing association had agreed to purchase their property and enable the household to remain in their own home as tenants.

Headline data from the first monitoring returns submitted by local authorities implementing the scheme were published on the CLG website on 30 April 2009:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/repossessions/

The published tables, broken down by Government Office Region, comprise a consolidated return for January and February 2009, and a separate table for March 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what regional caps will be set on (a) property value and (b) household income in respect of assistance under the Mortgage Rescue Scheme. (272450)

The regional property price caps for the Mortgage Rescue Scheme have been reviewed and amended on the basis of feedback from delivery partners and early monitoring information. The changes, which are effective from 1 May 2009, are as follows:

The household annual income cap is set at £60,000 and applies across all regions in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether households which have defaulted on their mortgage payments in the last five months will be eligible for support under the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme. (272454)

To be eligible for Homeowners Mortgage Support, households need to have been making regular payments, but not necessarily in full, in agreement with their lender for at least five months. This demonstrates that the borrower is able to continue to make ongoing payments at a reduced level before entering the scheme, and provides an opportunity for other forbearance options to be considered first. If a household has missed a payment or payments without the agreement of their lender, they can still become eligible by making regular payments in agreement with their lender for five months. These arrangements reflect the fact that Homeowners Mortgage Support is designed to help households experiencing a temporary reduction in their income. Other forms of assistance, such as Support for Mortgage Interest or the Mortgage Rescue Scheme, are available for households who have experienced a complete loss of income.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost of the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme in each of the next three years; and how many households are expected to participate. (272461)

The Impact Assessment for Homeowners Mortgage Support (HMS) was published on Tuesday 21 April and is available at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/mortgagesupportimpactassessment

We estimate that the total cost of HMS over eight years will be £44 million (present value). This is based on a central estimate that around 42,000 households could join HMS (assuming the participation of lenders accounting for 50 per cent. of the number of eligible households in three months and more mortgage arrears). If lenders representing 100 per cent. of eligible households in three months and more mortgage arrears offer the terms of HMS, then we estimate that up to 85,000 households could be helped by the support.

Information on the profile of the costs to Government in each of the eight years was given in response to a question from the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 24 April 2009, Official Report, column 919W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 2 April 2009, Official Report, column 1508W, on the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit, on what date the unit plans to publish the first summary of board discussions on its website. (273449)

The NHPAU will be publishing summaries of Board discussions and outcomes of meetings on its website on Friday 8 May 2009. The published summaries will be for the period from February 2008 onwards. Summaries of future discussions will appear shortly after each monthly Board meeting and will appear on the NHPAU website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 18 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1180-81W, on non-domestic rates: Greater London, if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance note on the sub-location concept. (272333)

I have placed a copy of the relevant section of the guidance note in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 37WS, on regeneration, if she will place in the Library a copy of each item of correspondence between her Department and the European Commission on the financial corrections for the 1997 to 1999 programme period. (272336)

The information requested is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 37WS, on regeneration, what financial irregularities resulted in the financial corrections confirmed by the European Commission. (272337)

The irregularities that gave rise to the financial corrections confirmed by the European Commission included some failures to properly apply the relevant procurement directives; insufficient supporting documentation to justify the inclusion of certain project expenditure and examples of insufficient documentation to support the amounts or method of apportionment used in calculating overheads. There was no suggestion of fraud or impropriety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to publish the final version of the South East Plan before the beginning of the restricted period outlined in the Cabinet Office guidance on announcements in an election period. (273990)

My right hon. Friend published the South East Plan on 6 May 2008 together with a written ministerial statement, Official Report, column WS58.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress has been made in the delivery of the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan; and if she will make a statement. (271581)

Progress in the delivery of the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan is set out in the Thames Gateway annual report. The 2007-08 annual report was published in July 2008. The 2008-09 annual report will be published this summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many personal licences to sell alcohol are held. (273654)

The latest Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing bulletin shows that for the year ending March 2008 there were 338,900 personal licence holders in England and Wales, based on 97 per cent. returns from licensing authorities. A personal licence authorises an individual to supply or authorise the supply of alcohol in accordance with a premises licence or temporary event notice under the Licensing Act 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to announce his decision on the listing of the Edinburgh Sports Dome at Malvern St James School. (273658)

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will be making a decision shortly. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as one is reached.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ceremonial formalities are observed on the return from (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan of the remains of service personnel killed on active service; and if he will make a statement. (273656)

When the remains of Service personnel who lose their lives as a result of operations are returned to this country a formal repatriation ceremony is held.

These ceremonies are military and not governmental occasions. Such ceremonies are supported by an eight man Bearer party, usually drawn from the deceased's own regiment or service, and two buglers, all of whom are supervised by a senior ceremonial warrant officer. The ceremony, which is a service conducted by a military chaplain, is attended by a senior military representative, of at least two star rank, to convey the nation's respect.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops from the UK Overseas Territories are serving in Afghanistan. (272598)

As at 1 March 2009 there are 10 known British Overseas Territories citizens who can be identified as being deployed to Afghanistan.

It is possible for personnel from British Overseas Territories to record their nationality as "British". As such, the figure stated above may be an under estimate of the total British Overseas Territories citizens deployed to Afghanistan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the cost to the public purse of military operations in Afghanistan in the last two years. (273002)

The MOD identifies the costs of operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs that would have been incurred regardless of the operation taking place, such as wages and salaries, are not included. Savings on activities that have not occurred because of the operation, such as teaming exercises, are taken into account in arriving at the net figures.

The annual audited cost of operations in Afghanistan for the last two years is provided in the following table.

The Spring Supplementary Estimates, published in February, set out the 2008-09 unaudited estimates, and these are provided in the following table. The final audited amounts are expected to be published in July 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the chain of command in Helmand province will be between US, UK and International Security Assistance Force forces following the United States' deployment of additional troops to the province; and if he will make a statement. (273714)

In response to a request from Commander ISAF, General David McKiernan, President Obama recently announced the deployment of an additional 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan to support the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, many of which will deploy to Helmand Province.

All ISAF forces, regardless of nationality, operate under the NATO chain of command. Therefore, UK forces in Helmand province will remain under the command of Task Force Helmand (TFH), who in turn are under the command of the International Security and Assistance Force, Regional Command (South).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on psychometric testing of personnel due to be sent to combat zones to identify their vulnerability to combat stress; what response he has made to such representations; and if he will make a statement. (272852)

From time to time, the Department receives representations about the mental health services provided for members of the armed forces. I am not aware of any recent representations specifically on psychometric testing of personnel prior to deployment. The Department’s evidence-based view is that such selection processes do not work and would be counter-productive.

Recent research is summarised in the King’s Centre for Military Health Research “Ten Year Report” published in 2006 by the University of London and covering a decade's worth of research concerning the health of UK service personnel and veterans. This explains that selecting out individuals who might be at increased risk of developing mental health difficulties prior to recruitment or deployment is a flawed strategy because, whether one uses clinical interviews or questionnaire-based methods, it is impossible to distinguish reliably between those who will go on to experience psychological difficulties and those who will not. An ineffective selection programme would not just be costly and labour intensive but is likely to have adverse consequences both for individuals who would unnecessarily be prevented from deploying when doing so is part of their job, and for the operational efficiency of the armed forces by unnecessarily reducing the numbers of personnel available to carry out operational tasks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to implement the recommendations in the Review of Defence Medical Services undertaken by the Healthcare Commission at the request of the Surgeon General. (273003)

Yes. The MOD is committed to meeting the Commission’s recommendations, which recognise where we are already demonstrating best practice in delivering healthcare and will help the Defence Medical Services (DMS) to drive improvements. We are exploring with the Department of Health how best to take forward continuing external and independent examination of our medical services. We have already created our own defence medical inspector general, whose remit includes following the Commission’s review with a wider internal review across the whole DMS and other appropriate Defence process owners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of the award of each of his Department's current contracts on (a) the UK employment market and (b) the number of jobs in businesses which (i) have bid for or secured such contracts and (ii) are in the supply chain for such contracts. (273124)

The Ministry of Defence's primary consideration whilst making procurement decisions is to ensure that we secure the best equipment available for our armed forces, and also to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

The industrial implications of our procurement decisions are considered strategically within MOD in the context of the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS), which promotes a sustainable UK defence industrial base.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has undertaken into the pathological basis of new iatrogenic diseases caused by chemicals including therapeutic agents recognised to modify the phenotype of human tissues in respect of illnesses identified in those who served in the Gulf War in 1990-91. (272833)

No projects have been undertaken to date. We are unaware of published peer reviewed evidence of new iatrogenic diseases caused by chemicals, including therapeutic agents in ill veterans who served in the Gulf in 1990-91. The Medical Research Council (MRC) provides the MOD with independent expert advice on its Gulf research programme. In 2003 the MRC carried out a review of published research into UK Gulf veterans’ illness and the main recommendation was that research aimed at improving the long term health and well-being of Gulf veterans with persistent symptoms should take priority. A copy of the report is published on the MRC web site found at the following link;

www.mrc.ac.uk/Utilities/Documentrecord/index.htm?d=MRC002464.

A contract for research into possible ways of rehabilitating ill Gulf veterans has been awarded to a group at Cardiff University. The project involves close working with veterans and ex-service charities and is now in progress.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what date he expects Nimrod aircraft to be fully operational. (273310)

I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the armed forces to the hon. Member for Moray (Mr Robertson), is the Defence in the UK Debate on 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 478).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of (a) the book value of the Royal Hospital Haslar site and (b) the anticipated annual maintenance cost of the vacated site. (265525)

[holding answer 23 March 2009]: The "existing use" value of the asset for Defence purposes was last estimated as £17 million in 2005. The current market value of the asset is different, but difficult to assess, given current market conditions. However, it is not Ministry of Defence practice to release assessments of market value, as to do so could influence the market and not serve the interests of taxpayers generally.

If the Haslar site were to be "mothballed" the estimated annual maintenance cost would be less than £1 million. However, the Department is planning a marketing campaign for this summer and is committed to finding a purchaser who can deliver a viable and sustainable future for the Haslar site.

To this end Defence Estates is working closely with Gosport borough council. In particular, we are keen to ensure that plans for the re-use of the site have regard to the historical setting of the listed buildings and grounds. An inquiry led by the Prince's Regeneration Trust last November examined the opportunities and potential. All proposals to acquire the site will be carefully evaluated, particularly as regards their approach towards conservation and heritage issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of priority his Department gives to the completion of his Department's programme of work on the protection of critical infrastructure from flooding in relation to work on the implementation of the other recommendations of the Pitt Report. (273132)

In undertaking to act on every one of his recommendations, the Government endorsed the importance given to this area of work by Sir Michael Pitt. While the Government will give a fuller progress report in June on all that we have done since we published our action plan on 17 December 2008, I have provided some examples of what has been done to protect critical infrastructure from flooding.

The energy sector began work on improving resilience to flooding in the autumn of 2007, with an initial focus on electricity substations being extended to include both gas and oil installations. The Energy Networks Association, working with the Government and the electricity industry, has produced a report on the steps that can be taken to further safeguard electricity substations. The matter is being given full consideration at present with the industry regulator in the scope of the current distribution companies' price review.

In addition, work has been put in place to take forward lessons from the 2007 floods in relation to water companies. All companies have considered resilience in their draft business plans, which were submitted to Ofwat in August. The plans vary, as expected, reflecting the size of the company and the specific challenges presented by their locations. In total, almost £1 billion of investment has been proposed to increase resilience.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress the Environment Agency has made on establishing the system for opting-out of flood warnings recommended by the Pitt Report. (273134)

The Environment Agency systematically registers customers with its free flood warning service using publicly available information (names, addresses and telephone numbers). Customers are given the opportunity to opt out of this service. The Environment Agency pre-registered 55,605 new customers and only 521 customers chose to opt out of this service, giving an overall retention rate of 99 per cent.

For the Environment Agency to provide a full opt out flood warning service it needs access to ex-directory information. Since the publication of the Pitt Review, the Environment Agency has re-instated negotiations with the telecommunications companies holding ex-directory data. The Environment Agency is working hard to move to a fully opt out flood warning service by the end of 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the 15 urgent recommendations of the Pitt Review into the summer floods of 2007 have been implemented; and which ones are yet to be implemented. (272890)

The Government began to implement Sir Michael's Pitt's urgent interim recommendations in December 2007. In April 2008, Sir Michael noted that strong progress had been made against the majority of these recommendations, and that further work was needed in some areas, which has since been continuing.

The Government's next progress report, which will be published this June, will enable the public and the House to see what stage of implementation all outstanding recommendations have reached.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many miles of British Waterways’ canals have (a) leakage and (b) erosion. (273300)

It is impossible to quantify leakage in this way. Where leaks occur, they can be potentially very serious and lead to breaches. British Waterways therefore acts quickly to plug any leaks when they are identified. Some seepage is, however, natural on both canals and rivers. With regard to erosion, canals are by definition man-made, engineered structures which do not suffer from erosion—as opposed to wear and tear—in the same way as rivers. This is in part due to the materials used in their construction, the slower flow of water and the strict speed limit imposed on waterway craft.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures British Waterways use to record the number of water vehicles using its canals. (273304)

British Waterways (BW) keep a register of licensed boats. All boats on its waterways must have a licence. BW patrols the waterways regularly to check for unlicensed boats. It also publishes an ‘online boat checker’ where members of the public can check whether a particular boat has a valid licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of narrowboats which used British Waterways’ canals in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2006-07. (273305)

British Waterways does not separate narrowboats from other types of boats in its regular statistics. The total number of boats licensed in each of these years is as follows:

(a) 32,566

(b) 30,905

Note:

Figures provided by British Waterways

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what posts in each UK mission in Europe have been (a) downgraded and (b) ended in each financial year since 2000. (271450)

For the period 2000-01 to 2002-03 data are not held centrally and it would involve disproportionate cost to obtain it from across the network.

Limited information is available centrally for the period up to 2006-07.

In addition to permanent cuts to expenditure such as the Europe Zero Based Review the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also downgraded and cut a number of UK based and locally engaged positions in Europe in order to reflect the changing patterns of carrying out business in Europe, and in order to generate resource for redeployment to emerging priorities elsewhere. These data reflect this.

These downgraded and ended posts have contributed to wider efficiency programmes across Europe which will continue during the current CSR period.

The data provided relate to Foreign and Commonwealth Office positions in Europe funded by Europe Directorate. These make up the significant majority of positions that have been downgraded or cut. Information is not held centrally for the small number of non-Europe Directorate-funded positions that have also been downgraded or ended.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the estimated costs to the Kenyan government of arrangements to prosecute piracy suspects; and what proportion of those costs will be met by (a) the UK and (b) other sources outside Kenya. (272918)

We have received no reports on the estimated cost to the Kenyan government of arrangements to prosecute piracy suspects. The UK and its partners are willing to consider support in response to requests from Kenya, such as the package of priority assistance measures identified by the European Commission during their recent scoping mission to Kenya.

The proposed assistance would be targeted at the prosecution, police, judicial and prison services, particularly focusing on capacity and logistical shortfalls associated with the trials and detention of piracy suspects. An indicative amount of €1.74 million has been proposed, using the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Kenya as the implementing partner. We understand that this project is likely to be fully funded by the Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2009, Official Report, column 1281W, on Somalia: piracy, what the outcome was of the visit by the EU delegation to Kenya to assess the level of support that the Kenyan authorities require in the prosecution of pirates; and what needs were identified. (273088)

A European Commission delegation carried out a scoping mission in Kenya from 29 March 2009 to 3 April 2009. This resulted in a package of priority assistance measures being identified to support the efforts of the Kenyan authorities. The proposed assistance would be targeted at the prosecution, police, judicial and prison services, particularly focusing on capacity and logistical shortfalls associated with the trial and detention of piracy suspects. An indicative amount of €1.74 million has been proposed, using the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Kenya as the implementing partner. We understand that this project is likely to be fully funded by the Commission, which the Government very much welcome as appropriate recognition for the efforts being made by the Kenyan government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the political situation in Kenya and (b) progress in implementing the National Accord in that country. (272917)