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141W
Written Answers
26 OCTOBER 2009
Written Answers
142W
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government pursuant to the
answer of 6 May 2009, Official Report, column 237W,
on fire services: industrial disputes, for what reason (a)
his Department and (b) Government Offices for the
Regions do not hold copies of contingency plans
prepared by fire and rescue authorities in relation to
industrial action in the fire service; and whether his
Department has made an assessment of the resilience
and effectiveness of the fire service in the event of
national industrial action by firefighters. [292986]
Mr. Malik: The preparation, updating and retention
of contingency plans for industrial action in the fire and
rescue service is the responsibility of fire and rescue
authorities. The need to have a contingency plan in
place is a requirement of the National Framework for
the Fire and Rescue Service, compliance with which is
assessed by the Audit Commission as part of their
Comprehensive Area Assessment for the fire and rescue
service.
Fire Services: Pay
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government what the salary is
of the (a) chair and (b) vice chair of each fire
authority in the East of England. [295369]
Mr. Malik: This information is not held centrally.
FiReBuy
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government what the
timetable is for the abolition of Firebuy Ltd. and the
creation of a successor body. [292582]
Mr. Malik: In my written statement of 25 June 2009,
Official Report, column 65WS, I said that our review of
national procurement in the Fire and Rescue Service in
England had concluded that a national procurement
body represented the best way to deliver fire-specific
collaborative procurement. For the future, we proposed
that this role should be carried out within a larger
organisation, also responsible for the management of
the service contracts for the Fire and Resilience Programme.
These proposals were set out in a consultation paper
issued in July, the deadline for responses to which was 5
October 2009. The responses are now being considered
and a further announcement will be made in due course.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government pursuant to the
answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar
of 28 January 2009, Official Report, column 1422W, if
he will now place in the Library a copy of the Stage 3
Gateway Review on the FireBuy integrated clothing
project. [293339]
Mr. Malik: As reported in the response of 28 January
2009, it is not general practice to make available the
outcome of gateway reviews. The Stage 3 Gateway
Review of Firebuy’s Integrated Clothing Project will
therefore not be placed in the Library.
Green Belt: South East
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government pursuant to the
answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst
of 2 June 2009, Official Report, column 454W, on green
belt: South East, whether a sustainability appraisal was
undertaken in relation to the specific proposals in the
South East Plan to review green belt protection in
named locations. [292866]
Mr. Malik: The South East Regional Spatial Strategy
(RSS) was subject to a Sustainability Appraisal, before
it was published in May of this year, as required by
Section 39(2) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase
Act 2004. That included an assessment of the effect of
the policies in the RSS.
Home Information Packs
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government if he will initiate
a review of the effectiveness of home information
packs against the objective set for the policy. [294595]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply
given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Don
Valley (Caroline Flint) to the hon. Member for Winchester
(Mr. Oaten) on 10 September 2008, Official Report,
column 1989W.
Housing: Valuation
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State
for Communities and Local Government how many
and what proportion of dwellings in England are
recorded on the Valuation Office Agency’s database
with (a) dwellinghouse and (b) value significant code
data. [294911]
Barbara Follett: As at 2 October 2009 there were
22,773,690 dwellings in council tax valuation lists in
England. Of these (a) all have at least one of the 16
dwellinghouse codes and (b) 6,135,817 (27 per cent.)
have one or more of the value significant codes.
Local Government Finance
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government what (a) audit
and (b) inspection fees the Audit Commission has
charged each local authority in England in each of the
last three years. [294089]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for
the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive
of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member
direct.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 22 October 2009:
Parliamentary Question: what (a) audit and (b) inspection fees
the Audit Commission has charged each local authority in England
in each of the last three years.
Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed
to me to reply.