| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Dec 2007 : Column 1334W—continued
Local Government Finance: Newcastle
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what baseline funding support for the city of Newcastle would be from the use of the (a) 2004 and (b) 2006 mid-year estimate of population. [169786]
John Healey [holding answer 3 December 2007]: The provisional formula grant settlement for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 use the Office for National Statistics revised 2004-based sub-national population projection for 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively as the main measure of the resident population.
These statistics are the best data available on a consistent basis for all local authorities and that are available at this time of calculating the next three-year formula grant settlement.
Mid-2006 estimates of population will also be used but only as part of other indicators that are used in the calculation of the relative needs component.
It is not possible to provide an estimate of how much formula grant would be allocated to the city of Newcastle if we use the mid-2004 or mid-2006 estimate of population as the main measure of population instead of the projection of population for 2008. This is because the Government might well have taken a different decision on the level of the grant floor using these scenarios, and projections for 2008 and beyond, based on the 2006 mid-year estimates, will not be available until summer 2008.
Under our proposals, Newcastle-upon-Tyne benefit from the grant floor over these three years by £8 million, £8.9 million and £9.6 million respectively.
We are currently consulting on these proposals, and we welcome any views on them by the 8 January 2008.
Local Government Finance: Rural Areas
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration she gives to rural factors when determining local authorities’ grants allocation; and if she will make a statement. [170874]
John Healey: An authority’s formula grant allocation is largely based on the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the authority, together with the number of band D equivalent properties within its area. A measure of how sparsely the population is distributed in an area is included in the Local Authority Central Education Functions Relative Needs Formula (RNF), the Social Services for Older People RNF, the Police RNF and the district-level Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services RNF. We then ensure that no authority loses grant year-on-year on a like-for-like basis i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function. In order to pay for the cost of the floor, we scale back the increase above the floor for other authorities.
Local Government Finance: Unitary Councils
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average local authority grant settlement was per capita for unitary authorities in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [170882]
John Healey: The following table shows the average formula grant per head for shire unitary authorities for each year since 1997. Formula grant comprises Revenue Support Grant and redistributed business rates. In order to compare grant on a like-for-like basis we calculate a notional adjusted formula grant for the previous year which reflects the changes to funding and function. From 2006-07 support for schools was financed through the Dedicated Schools Grant; prior to 2006-07 support for schools was included within formula grant.
Local Government: Bedfordshire
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what options her Department is considering for local government restructuring in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) Cheshire. [174461]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I have made to the House today (18 December 2007).
Local Government: Elections
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to offer (a) free doughnuts or (b) free lottery tickets to incentivise the electorate to vote in local elections. [174535]
John Healey: The Secretary of State has received the Councillors Commission report and is considering the broad range of proposals it puts forward, in consultation with the LGA, local authorities and other key stakeholders. My right hon. Friend will be issuing our response, along with an implementation plan, in the spring.
Local Government: Exeter
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information presented on Exeter City Council’s bid for unitary status did not meet the criteria set out in the Invitation to Councils in England. [174192]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement ‘Local Government’, I made on 5 December 2007, Official Report, column 65WS.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timescale is for the deferred decision on Exeter City Council’s bid for unitary status. [174193]
John Healey: We aim to refer Exeter city council’s unitary proposal to the Boundary Committee in time for them to begin their review as early as possible in the new year.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who the Boundary Commission will consult on Exeter city council’s bid for unitary status; and if she will ensure that the Boundary Commission publishes its terms of reference. [174194]
John Healey: Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, the Boundary Committee is required to consult the council of any area affected by the review and such local authorities, parish councils and other persons as appear to them to have an interest. The Government will publish the terms of their referral to the Boundary Committee.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many representations she has received which are opposed to Exeter City Council’s bid for unitary status. [174237]
John Healey: We received some 700 responses to the stakeholder consultation in response to Exeter city council’s proposal for unitary status. The consultation did not specifically ask consultees to indicate support specifically for or against the proposals. Of those responses, where this is discernable, approximately 80 per cent. broadly opposed the proposal.
Local Government: Ipswich
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what representations she has received on the estimated cost of investigating unitary status for Ipswich from (a) Suffolk county council and (b) Ipswich borough council; [174206]
(2) what representations she has received on the number of man hours spent investigating unitary status for Ipswich by (a) Suffolk county council and (b) Ipswich borough council. [174207]
John Healey: We have received no representations from Suffolk county council or Ipswich borough council about the number of staff hours spent or costs incurred on proposals for unitary status.
Local Government: Publicity
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity was last revised; and what plans she has to change the code. [174544]
John Healey: The code of recommended practice on local authority publicity was issued in 1988 and was last revised in April 2001. Following consultation by my Department earlier this year, which indicated general support for a centrally-issued code, we intend to consider the future of the code with local government stakeholders in the new year.
Local Government: Reorganisation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written statement of 5 December 2007, Official Report, column 65WS, on local government, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse (a) locally and (b) nationally of work on proposals for local government restructuring which will not be proceeded with. [173094]
John Healey [holding answer 11 December 2007]: The Invitation to councils issued on 26 October made clear that it was wholly at the discretion of a council as to whether or not it responded to the invitation to make a proposal for future unitary local government structures in their area.
Within my Department a small team, costing some £1.7 million per year, works on all aspects of local government restructuring, including the assessment of all the unitary proposals and, as appropriate, their implementation.
Local Government: Standards
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to adopt the recommendations of the Councillors' Commission final report on (a) local government pensions, (b) the code of practice on local authority publicity, (c) removing political restrictions on local authority staff and (d) councillor allowances. [174459]
John Healey: The Secretary of State has received the Councillors Commission report and is considering the broad range of proposals it puts forward, in consultation with the LGA, local authorities and other key stakeholders. My right hon. Friend will be issuing her response, along with an implementation plan, in the spring.
Local Government: Suffolk
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what representations she has received on the cost of pursuing pathfinder status from (a) St. Edmundsbury borough council, (b) Forest Heath district council, (c) Babergh district council, (d) Mid Suffolk district council, (e) Suffolk coastal district council, (f) Waveney district council and (g) Suffolk county council; [174208]
(2) what representations she has received on the number of man hours spent pursuing pathfinder status from (a) St. Edmundsbury borough council, (b) Forest Heath district council, (c) Babergh district council, (d) Mid Suffolk district council, (e) Suffolk coastal district council, (f) Waveney district council and (g) Suffolk county council. [174209]
Mr. Iain Wright: I have received no representations from the named local authorities on the costs or number of man hours of pursuing pathfinder status.
Local Government: Television Channels
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department has incurred any expenditure, other than for publicity, on the Local Government Today television channel. [173298]
Mr. Dhanda: I am not aware that the Department has incurred any such expenditure.
Maps: Copyright
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Ordnance Survey plans to conduct an impact assessment in its review of the Paper Map Copying Licence fees, terms and conditions. [173319]
Mr. Iain Wright: A recent review by Ordnance Survey of the Paper Map Copying Licence has resulted in redrafting to clarify the terms and conditions. No previously available rights have been withdrawn as a result of this. An increase in licence royalties will be implemented from 1 January 2008, alongside a programme to make access to the licence easier, by allowing third party intermediaries to issue the licence and receive a fee for doing so.
Ordnance Survey undertakes regular reviews of all of its licence terms and conditions and charges. These reviews include routine assessments of the need for adjustments to licence terms and conditions, to maintain clarity for users and between licences intended for different purposes. The reviews take account of changes in market conditions, technology and the ways in which Ordnance Survey information is used. The assessments consider the balance between Ordnance Survey's financial obligations as a government trading fund and the impact of changes upon different types of user.
Muslims: Females
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to publish a good practice guide on effective initiatives to strengthen the role that Muslim women play in their communities as referred to in the Preventing Violent Extremism report. [173955]
Mr. Dhanda: The good practice guide on effective initiatives to strengthen the role that Muslim women play in their communities will be published early in the new year.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many roundtables with academics, theologians and community leaders on women's access to mosque life have taken place as referred to in the Preventing Violent Extremism report; where they were held; and if she will make a statement. [173956]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |