Government Response to the Committee's Fourth Report of Session 2004-05, on the ODPM Annual Report and Accounts 2004 PDF Download

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780215025395
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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Government response to HCP 58, session 2004-05 (ISBN 0215021533)

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215027122
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Incorporating HCP 680, session 2005-06.

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Communities and Local Government Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215526601
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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In its report of last year on the Communities and Local Government's Departmental Annual Report 2007 (HC 170, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215037978) the Committee commented on the particular nature of the Department's work: on its unusual reliance for the achievement of the goals Government has set it on a plethora of other Departments, agencies, non-departmental bodies, local authorities and other stakeholders; on the long, devolved delivery chains by which those goals therefore have to be delivered; and on the skills of influence, brokering and negotiation which are required to achieve them. In this Report the Committee assesses the progress made since last. The most recent Cabinet Office Capability Review concludes that there has been a positive "direction of travel" for CLG in that period, but the Committee concludes that there is still some way to go before CLG can be said to be performing at the highest achievable level of effectiveness. The Department's overall performance against its Public Service Agreement targets is likewise moving in the right direction but still short of full effectiveness. Achievement of efficiency targets is applauded. Finally, the report considers examples of particular policies which highlight some of the Department's strengths and weaknesses, and follow up some issues in earlier inquiries. These issues include: eco-towns; the Decent Homes programme; Home Information Packs; Fire Service response times; Firebuy; the FiReControl programme. The report also considers the Department's response to the serious flooding of summer 2007, and to the reviews which followed; and the mismanagement of European Regional Development Fund monies.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215544360
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Incorporating HC 1038-i-ii, session 2008-09. The DCLG departmental annual report 2009 was published as Cm. 7598 (ISBN 9780101759823)

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780215021533
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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The Committee's report examines the 2004 annual report of Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Cm 6206, ISBN 0101620624) published in April 2004, the second annual report produced since the creation of the ODPM in May 2002. The Committee notes its concern that further changes in departmental structure and strategic priorities during 2004 has led to inconsistent management and a lack of focus on projects within the Department; and makes further recommendations on the structure and layout of the annual report, in order to improve clarity of information, particularly with regards to the reporting of performance targets.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215027870
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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The Licensing Act 2003 brought ten existing licensing schemes administered by local authorities into one new regime, and created more flexible licensing hours. This report concentrates on the technicalities of licensing: all those applying for a licence for the first time or needing a new licence under the Act had to submit applications by a certain date. The transition period was in 2005, and it soon became apparent that people involved in the 're-licensing' process were encountering difficulties. The Committee finds that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has failed to administer the transition period effectively. Despite a two-year gap between the passing of the legislation and the implementation of the Act, regulations and guidance were issued late, and proved to be contradictory and confusing. Local authorities were unable to train staff or prepare application materials in good time. There was inadequate support from central government for local authorities. Many licensing fees rose dramatically, leading to concerns that some small businesses might abandon their licensable activities. The regulatory burden on residents, licensees and local authorities appears to have increased. The government does not appear to recognise some of the issues hindering the smooth operation of the Act. Overly-prescriptive regulations and unhelpful constraints on local government structure are both causing difficulties.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215029263
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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The Committee's report finds that the Government's plans for a major house-building programme are based on the widespread belief that increasing the volume of housing stock is the most important way to tackle the crisis of unaffordable housing in the UK; however, as housing policy is increasingly based on household growth projections, it is important that these projections are kept under review as firmer information becomes available. Promoting homeownership is an underlying objective of the Government's programme, but although it offers unparalleled opportunities for some households to accumulate wealth, it is not a viable option for many others, and therefore the provision of social housing for rent should be given equal priority. A simple supply and demand model cannot be applied to the housing market, and the multitude of factors affecting house prices means that it is very difficult to support an increase in housing supply simply on the basis of improving affordability. The report also highlights concerns that local authority powers to prioritise developments on brown field sites in urban areas should not be eroded; and that the house-building programme in the wider South East will have to be carefully managed as it is an area with major water shortages and significant flood plains.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215029706
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
The Government detailed its plans to reform and modernise the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) in its White Paper (Cm 5808, ISBN 0101580827) published in June 2003, and these subsequently became law under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. The Committee's report examines the progress made to implement this challenging reform programme, following on from a previous report by its predecessor Committee (HCP 43-I, session 2003-04; ISBN 0215014936) published in January 2004. The Committee has focused on a number of key issues, including: the impact of the introduction of regional control centres and new FireLink radio services; fire prevention and risk assessment; governance and funding arrangements; staffing issues and policies to promote diversity within the FRS; performance measurement and management; and progress on joint working approaches between the FRS and other emergency services. Findings include: the unprecedented changes being implemented represent a positive change in emphasis for the FRS to a more pro-active role in fire prevention and risk management; the Government needs to make a stronger business case to convince and reassure the FRS that the project to create nine regional control centres (called the FiReControl model) will bring enhanced resilience and efficiency; and that the Government should ensure the new FireLink radio project includes the fire-ground technological upgrade.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215033031
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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This inquiry was prompted by the fact that although it is more than twelve months since a referendum rejected the plans for a regional assembly for the North-East, there has been no new direction for the Government's regional policy. The Committee focused on two main questions: how does the current system of regional governance actually work; and what role city-regions play in the future development of regional policy. In conclusion it recommended "the Government should commit itself to a clear city-regions policy, indicating the extent of city-region feasibility, and the powers and resources which will be made available, so that this alternative to regional governance can be properly explored."

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215035981
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Sir Michael Lyons, in his report "Place-shaping: a shared ambition for the future of local government" (2007, ISBN 9780119898545) proposed allowing local authorities to make marginal changes to the national non-domestic rate which businesses pay as their contribution to the provision of local services. The Government's recent green paper "The governance of Britain" (Cm. 7170, ISBN 9780101717021) contemplates enabling local communities to take decisions about how to use local funds, and a substantive response to the Lyons report is expected later in 2007. The Committee builds on these developments to argue that local authorities should be able to levy a supplementary business rate to increase or decrease the business rate paid by local businesses. Whilst the decision-making should be left to local authorities, the Government should set down some basic parameters to define the operation of supplementary business rates and confine the purposes to which any revenue generated might be applied. This reform to local government revenue should be seen as a first step in a development process of financial devolution.