| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
30 Jun 2009 : Column 192W—continued
Equity
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the level of negative equity in the housing market in each region. [282813]
Mr. Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government do not produce its own estimates of negative equity.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders have estimated the number of owner-occupiers in negative equity, including by region, as at the end of 2008. These are available at:
Green Belt
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to regional planning bodies on the production of environmental impact assessments for proposals in regional spatial strategies which direct a review or deletion of an allocation of green belt land. [282386]
Mr. Ian Austin: Guidance on reviewing green belt boundaries is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2: Green Belts, issued in 1995. Guidance on environmental assessment of Regional Spatial Strategies is included in ‘Sustainability Appraisal of Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Documents’, issued in 2005. Regional Spatial Strategies set the framework for green belt policy, including the direction of long-term development in a region. They may include policies to review green belts, but it is for the local planning authorities to determine any detailed changes to green belt boundaries.
Green Belt: Dorset
Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to protect (a) the green belt and (b) open green spaces in Dorset. [282471]
Mr. Ian Austin: The information is as follows.
We have made it clear that Government remain committed to the key principles of the green belt and is not changing green belt policy as set out in PPG2. However, this does not mean that green belt boundaries should be set in stone. Nationally, the green belt continues to grow.
The Government’s planning policies on open space are set out in planning policy guidance note 17 (PPG 17) “Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation (2002)”. It recognises that well designed and implemented planning policies for open space, sport and recreation are fundamental to delivering broader Government objectives.
Local planning authorities in Dorset, like in the rest of the UK, need to take these policies into account in the preparation of their development plans. PPG2 and PPG 17 may also be material considerations in deciding individual planning applications.
Homes and Communities Agency: Finance
Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the
administration costs of the Homes and Communities Agency and each of its predecessor bodies under each budget sub-heading were in each of the last three years. [270688]
Mr. Ian Austin: 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 administration costs of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and former English Partnerships (EP) and the Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) are shown in the following table:
| £ million | |||||||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |||||
| EP | ASC | EP | ASC | EP (8 months) | HCA (4 months) | ASC (12 months) | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are subject to rounding. 2. Figures for 2008-09 are subject to audit. Figures for the ASC are on a twelve month basis and figures for the final four months have not yet been disaggregated from the HCA costs (four months) as provided. 3. The administration costs for EP for 2007-08 and 2008-09 includes transitional costs which were for the HCA set up. The HCA administration costs for 2008-09 also include an element associated with transition. 4. The administration costs for the ASC are exclusively related to staff, subsistence, facilities. Costs on communications, for example, would be through the ASC programme. | |||||||
The operating budget for the HCA was calculated on the basis that the HCA inherited the existing operating baselines of its predecessor organisations and programmes with no additional funding being provided (excluding the interim transitional set up costs).
The administration costs of the investment arm of the Housing Corporation could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost. As a result, the figures shown for 2006-07, 2007-08, and the first eight months in 2008-09, are not directly comparable with the figures provided for the HCA for the last four months of 2008-09.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the administration costs of the predecessors of the Homes and Communities Agency were as a percentage of (a) income and (b) grant-in-aid in each of the last three years. [274862]
Mr. Ian Austin: 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 following table provides the administration costs as a percentage of income and grant in aid for English Partnerships and the Academy for Sustainable Communities between 2005-06 and 2007-08.
| Percentage | ||
| English partnerships | Academy for sustainable communities( 1) | |
| n/a = Not applicable. (1) The Academy for Sustainable Communities did not receive grant in aid. | ||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |