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19 Apr 2004 : Column 368W—continued
Public Expenditure (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much public funding was spent on (a) regeneration and regional development, (b) housing and (c) planning in the constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey between (i) 1992 and 1997, (ii) 1997 and 2001 and (iii) 2001 and 2004. [159488]
Yvette Cooper: The readily available information on the funding (£ million) provided by central Government to Swale District Council for these activities is tabled as follows. Spend, particularly on homelessness, strategic housing work and planning, is also funded from general Revenue Support Grant and the authority's own resources.
| 1992–93 to 1996–97 (five years) | 1997–98 to 2000–01 (four years) | 2001–02 to 2003–04 (three years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Regeneration and regional development | |||
| Single Regeneration Budget(127) | Not available | 4.1 | 3.4 |
| Mid-Kent Leader Plus(128) | — | — | 0.3 |
| (b) Housing | |||
| Local authority housing programme(129) | 14.9 | 7.2 | 4.4 |
| Local Authority Social Housing Grant | (130)7.9 | 9.3 | 4.7 |
| Approved Development Programme | (130)11.4 | 4.5 | 6.0 |
| Homelessness | — | — | 0.1 |
| (c) Planning(131) | — | — | 0.2 |
(127) The funding for two current SRB schemes.
(128) Estimated figure for Swale's of a cross-authority scheme.
(129) Includes an element assumed to be funded from the authority's capital receipts.
(130) 1994–95 to 1996–97 only.
(131) Planning delivery grant introduced in 2003–04.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the policy statement being used to inform the Law Commission's indicative clauses for a statutory tenancy deposit scheme. [166129]
Phil Hope: The reference to the Law Commission is for them to consider indicative clauses on tenancy deposit protection to accompany the publication of their draft legislation Bill on tenure reform. These will illustrate how a compulsory requirement for tenancy deposit protection and adjudication over tenancy deposit disputes would be implemented using the mechanisms set out in their report in November on Renting Homes.
This reference does not require the Law Commission to consider the desirability or otherwise of regulating tenancy deposits. Neither does it represent a
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commitment by the Government to legislating on the basis of Law Commission's draft legislation or the draft clauses on tenancy deposit protection and adjudication.
When it is published we will need to consider the Law Commission's draft legislation very carefully. The Government will publish its approach to tenancy deposit protection shortly afterwards.
Thames Gateway
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Government estimates that there is sufficient urban capacity in the London part alone of the Thames Gateway Development area to accommodate up to 120,000 new homes. [166288]
Phil Hope:
The Government announced in July 2003 its commitment to support development of at least 120,000 new homes in Thames Gateway overall, by 2016. This assumed development of at least 60,000 within the London part of the Gateway by 2016. It did not preclude further growth, and since then work by the
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Greater London authority (GLA) suggests that there could be substantially more capacity in the London gateway over the longer term.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of the 120,000 new homes envisaged for Thames Gateway development the Government foresees will be built on previously developed land. [166289]
Phil Hope:
The presence of a substantial reservoir of previously developed land is one of the key features of the Thames gateway. It is estimated to contain some 2 per cent. of the land area of the south-east but over 17 per cent. of its currently available supply of previously developed land. In the period 1997–2000 an estimated 80 per cent. of new dwellings in the gateway were built on previously developed land, which is above the national target of 60 per cent. and the gateway strategy aims to at least maintain this trend. Detailed allocation of land for new development will be undertaken through the statutory plan-making process by local planning authorities.
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TREASURY
Teenage Pregnancy Rates
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the teenage pregnancy rates were for each of the last three years, broken down by constituency. [165824]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Adrian Sanders, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the teenage pregnancy rates were for each of the last three years, broken down by constituency. (165824)
The most recent year for which figures on teenage conceptions are available is 2001. For information on teenage conceptions by parliamentary constituency, I would refer you to the answer given in the Official Report, volume no 21, column no 586W (16 December 2002). As population estimates for 2000 for parliamentary constituencies (as constituted in that year) are not available, rates cannot be supplied based on these figures.Teenage conception figures by parliamentary constituencies are not readily available for any other years. Figures for 1998 and 1999 are available by ward, local authority and health authority areas. Figures for 2001 are provisional and are only available for local and health authorities.For the purposes of this answer, 'teenage' refers to those aged under 18, in line with the target set by the Government strategy on Teenage Pregnancy.
National Statistics
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial and operational criteria will have to be met before the proposed relocation of the Office of National Statistics office in Titchfield receives approval. [165051]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mark Hoban, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what financial and operational criteria will have to be met before the proposed relocation of the Office of National Statistics office in Titchfield receives approval. (165051)
An initial assessment of these issues was discussed with the Lyons Review team. A fuller assessment will be considered as part of the Spending Review, to inform Government decisions on the allocation of resources. We will be able to present this when those criteria are fully settled.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the Office for National Statistics quantification of the impact of aligning its employees' pay with market conditions outside London as it applies to those employees currently based in (a) London and (b) Titchfield (i) at present and (ii) once the relocation proposals are implemented. [164724]
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Mr. Boateng: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mark Hoban, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning publication of the Office for National Statistics quantification of the impact of aligning its employees' pay with market conditions outside London as it applies to those employees currently based in (a) London and (b) Titchfield (i) at present and (ii) once the relocation proposals are implemented. (164724).
This information was provided to the Lyons review team on a confidential basis and will not be published.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) who owns the Office for National Statistics offices in Titchfield; [164732]
(2) how much has been spent on the (a) maintenance and (b) refurbishment of the Office for National Statistics office at Titchfield in each of the last five years. [164738]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mark Hoban, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions concerning the Office for National Statistics (ONS) site at Titchfield. (164738, 164732)
The Titchfield site is a Crown freehold held by ONS under the name of the First Secretary of State.
The amount of money spent on the office at Titchfield for maintenance and refurbishment in each of the last five financial years is given below.
| Maintenance | Refurbishment | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 219 | 238 | 457 |
| 1999–2000 | 247 | 354 | 601 |
| 2000–01 | 186 | 233 | 419 |
| 2001–02 | 299 | 412 | 710 |
| 2002–03 | 307 | 783 | 1,089 |
| Total | 1,258 | 2,018 | 3,276 |
Significant work was undertaken to refurbish the Titchfield accommodation occupied by the Neighbourhood Statistics and reprographics teams during 2003/04. The total forecast expenditure on these two projects during the year is £1.6 million, although final accounts for 2003/04 are not yet available.
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