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20 Oct 2003 : Column 407W—continued
Compensation Claims
Mr. Battle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much compensation has been paid in claims against local government in each year since 1990. [132738]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Councillors
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to bring forward legislation to extend the tenure of councillors. [132913]
Mr. Raynsford: On 6 May 2003 the Government announced its intention to move the date of the English local council and Greater London authority elections in 2004 from 6 May to 10 June. This will enable them to be combined with the European Parliamentary elections and provide convenience to electors, enabling them to participate in all the elections at the same time rather than voting twice in a short period of time. As a consequence of combining these elections, the term of office for those sitting councillors in England affected
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will be extended by five weeks with that for councillors elected on 10 June 2004 being reduced by five weeks. The Government will shortly be consulting key stakeholders on draft legislation which facilitates these intentions. More generally there are no plans at present to bring forward legislation to extend the tenure of Councillors but the Terms of Reference of the current review of electoral cycles in local government, being undertaken by the Electoral Commission, includes identifying options for change which may include, if appropriate, options involving changes to councillor's terms of office
John Cryer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will (a) estimate expenditure on councillors' allowances in each London borough in the past five years and (b) estimate expenditure on councillors' allowances in the financial year 2003–04 within each London borough. [133277]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Essex Fire and Rescue Service
Mr. Francois: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many regular firefighters were employed by the Essex Fire and Rescue Service on 1 September. [132637]
Mr. Raynsford: Figures supplied by the Essex Fire and Rescue Service show that there were 933 whole-time firefighters employed on 31 August 2003.
Light Pollution (Astronomy)
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will respond to the relevant recommendations of the Science and Technology Committee report on Light Pollution and Astronomy. [133593]
Keith Hill: The Government will aim to provide its response to the Science and Technology Select Committee report on Light Pollution and Astronomy within two months of the report's publication, as recommended by the Procedure Committee.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the revenue which would be raised by local authorities from charging (a) 100 per cent. council tax rate and (b) 100 per cent. business rate on long-term empty properties. [132448]
Mr. Raynsford: About £320 million per year would be raised by English local authorities if 100 per cent. council tax were charged on all long-term empty domestic property other than those subject to exemptions. This represents an additional £160 million because there is currently a 50 per cent. discount on council tax for long-term empty domestic properties. There are, in addition, some categories of long-term empty domestic property that are exempt from council tax. Figures for the revenue which would be raised if these exemptions were ended are not available.
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The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not have sufficiently detailed records to be able to calculate what would be raised if long-term empty domestic property were subject to non-domestic rates rather than council tax.
About £1 billion per year in rates revenue in England is currently foregone as a result of reliefs granted on empty non-domestic properties. This comprises 100 per cent. mandatory relief on all non-domestic properties for the first three months for which they are vacant and, after three months: 100 per cent. mandatory relief for certain properties including factories and warehouses, 90 per cent. mandatory relief for charities and 50 per cent. mandatory relief for other properties.
Mobile Phone Masts
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning appeals by mobile telephone companies against the refusal of local authorities for telephone masts have been made in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and of these how many were (a) successful and (b) turned down. [132815]
Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The following information relates to appeal decisions about telecommunications development generally.
| Received | Withdrawn | Allowed | Dismissed | Total decisions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 135 | 7 | 81 | 39 | 120 |
| 2001–02 | 284 | 18 | 89 | 69 | 158 |
| 2002–03 | 232 | 46 | 164 | 123 | 287 |
| 2003–04(4) | 116 | 0 | 44 | 26 | 70 |
(4) Up to 17 October 2003
Note:
All figures relate to the year in which the appeal was received, not necessarily the year it was decided.
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will advise the Planning Inspectorate to give greater weight to the views of local authorities when determining planning appeals made by mobile telephone companies against the refusal of applications for telephone masts. [132817]
Keith Hill: Planning Policy Guidance Note 8 Telecommunications (PPG8) already advises that all relevant matters will be considered as appropriate at all stages of the planning process.
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance has been given to the Planning Inspectorate to take into account health concerns as a reason for local authorities to refuse planning applications by mobile telephone companies for the erection of telephone masts; and if he will make a statement. [132818]
Keith Hill: The Courts have held that the Government's statements of planning policy are material considerations which must be taken into account, where relevant, in decisions on planning applications. These statements cannot make irrelevant any matter which is a material consideration in a particular case. Where such statements indicate the weight that should be given to relevant considerations, decision-makers must have proper regard to them.
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The guidance in Planning Policy Guidance Note 8 Telecommunications (PPG 8) says that health considerations and public concern can in principle be material considerations in determining applications for planning permission for telecommunications developments. Whether such matters are material in a particular case is ultimately a matter for the courts. In the first instance, it is for the decision-maker to determine what issues are material in any particular case and what weight to attach to them.
Nevertheless, PPG8 states clearly that, in the Government's view, if a proposed mobile phone base station meets the international guidelines for public exposure (ICNIRP guidelines) it should not be necessary to give further consideration to the health aspects and any concerns about them, in processing an application for planning permission.
Parish Councils
David Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to increase parish councils' powers under section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972. [132898]
Mr. Raynsford: Section 118 of the Local Government Act provides for the maximum amount that a parish or town council can spend per elector under section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 to be automatically uprated in line with the annual change in the retail prices index. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends that this power will come into effect in time for the next financial year.
This is additional to the increase in the maximum amount, from £3.50 to £5.00 per elector per year, that took effect at the start of the current financial year.
Parliamentary Questions
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many Questions directed to him remain unanswered. [130753]
Yvette Cooper: At 10 October 2003 of the 2,743 House of Commons Parliamentary Questions tabled to the Deputy Prime Minister in this Parliamentary session, 42 Questions remain unanswered and of these 12 were tabled since 8 September.
Regeneration Schemes
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the regeneration schemes in (a) the last 10 and (b) the next three years, together with their (i) allocated amounts and (ii) actual amounts spent. [130054]
Yvette Cooper: Information on past regeneration schemes can be found in the Annual Reports of the former Department of the Environment; the former Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions; the former Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions; and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Copies of these are available in the Libraries of the House.
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Information about regeneration programmes to be funded between 2003–04 and 2005–06 by the Office can be found in "Sustainable Communities: building for the future" published in February 2003. A copy of this is also available in the Libraries of the House.
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