§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) of 27 November 2001,Official Report, columns 859–60W, on the rural White Paper, if the £239 million allocated for rural bus service improvements includes the £15 million in the parish transport fund. [20139]
§ Ms KeebleThe £239 million allocated for rural transport over the next three years includes the Countryside Agency's £15 million parish transport fund.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) of 27 November 2001,Official Report, columns 859–60W, on 34W the rural White Paper, which changes ensure the revised PPG13 will develop the role of market towns as hubs for jobs and services. [20144]
§ Ms KeebleOur new planning policy guidance for transport (PPG13) sets out how local authorities in rural areas should plan for new development to be primarily sited at the most accessible locations in the local area. In remote locations, well away from large urban areas most development, including for jobs and services, should be located at local service centres. These centres will include market towns and are expected to be the focal points for services in the countryside. Local service centres should be designated in the development plans prepared by local authorities. These plans form the framework within which decisions on proposals for development are taken.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) of 27 November 2001,Official Report, columns 859–60W, on the rural White Paper, if he will list (a) the organisations which received funds and (b) the amount that they received to fund improvements for rural bus services in 2001–02; and what proportion of the fund has been allocated to improve rural bus services in 2002–03. [20027]
§ Ms KeebleLocal authorities have received the following amounts in rural bus grant to date in 2001–02 through the rural bus subsidy grant and rural bus challenge schemes.
35W
Local Authority Payments to date (£) Bath & NE Somerset 71,492 Bedfordshire 512,742 Blackburn with Darwen 19,933 Bracknell Forest 20,450 Bristol 5,410 Buckinghamshire 286,599 Cambridgeshire 706,378 Cheshire 313,006 Cornwall 623,684 Cumbria 1,196,144 Darlington 43,219 Derbyshire 364,752 Devon 990,684 Dorset 717,498 Durham 540,339 East Riding 619,349 East Sussex 966,752 Essex 1,440,828 Gloucestershire 698,377 Greater Manchester 67,585 Halton 6,479 Hampshire 1,320,239 Hartlepool 15,081 Herefordshire 508,519 Hertfordshire 484,304 Isle of Wight 81,351 Kent 851,887 Lancashire 780,725 Leicestershire 776,664 Lincolnshire 1,067,597 Medway 78,189 Merseyside 42,636 Middlesbrough 5,895 Milton Keynes 166,120 NE Lincolnshire 38,124 Norfolk 1,500,147 North Lincolnshire 344,434 North Somerset 67,858 North Yorkshire 1,213,987
Local Authority Payments to date (£) Northamptonshire 701,499 Northumberland 779.618 Nottinghamshire 652,363 Oxfordshire 828,512 Peterborough 73,518 Plymouth 4,983 Redcar & Cleveland 48,857 Rutland 54,657 Shropshire 801,616 Somerset 519,856 South Gloucestershire 171,095 South Yorkshire 608,689 Staffordshire 807,230 Stockton-on-Tees 29,280 Stoke-on-Trent 4,836 Suffolk 1,253,255 Surrey 949,883 Swindon 49,848 Telford and The Wrekin 67,518 Thurrock 116,499 Torbay 117,725 Tyne and Wear 693,737 Warrington 53,313 Warwickshire 668,483 West Berkshire 118,806 West Midlands 44,335 West Sussex 517,826 West Yorkshire 705,668 Wiltshire 1,160,774 Windsor & Maidenhead 45,214 Wokingham 69,216 Worcestershire 1,102,672 York 65,444 Total 33,442,284 A total of £68 million will be available for rural bus grants in 2002–03. Allocations of rural bus subsidy grant to local authorities for 2002–03 and the decisions on the 2001 rural bus challenge competition will be announced shortly.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew), of 27 November 2001,Official Report, columns 859–60W, on the rural White Paper, what the criteria are for mandatory 50 per cent. rate relief for non-agricultural enterprises on farms; and if he will make a statement. [20142]
§ Dr. WhiteheadUnder the Rating (Former Agricultural Premises and Rural Shops) Act 2001, 50 per cent. mandatory rate relief is available to any rateable non-domestic property with a rateable value of no more than £6,000. This is provided that it consists wholly or mainly of land or buildings which were subject to the agricultural exemption from rates for at least 183 days during the one year period immediately preceding the date on which the rate relief scheme came into effect. The scheme came into effect in England on 15 August 2001. It has yet to be commenced in Wales, which is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales. The scheme will run for five years from commencement, when it will be reviewed and can be extended by Order. If the scheme is extended, each property will be eligible for relief up to five years from when it first received the relief.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew), of 27 November 2001,Official Report, columns 859–60W, 36W on the rural White Paper, what changes have been made to ensure the revised PPG7 will develop farm diversification. [20148]
§ Ms KeebleWe revised our planning policies for the countryside (PPG7) to reflect the importance this Government attach to effective planning for sustainable farm diversification projects. Local planning authorities are expected to be supportive of well-conceived farm diversification schemes for business purposes that are consistent in their scale with their rural location.
PPG7 should be taken into account by local authorities in preparing their development plans which form the framework within which decisions on proposals for development are taken. The guidance may also be material to decisions on individual planning applications and appeals.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew), of 27 November 2001,Official Report, columns 859–60W, on the rural White Paper, how many new affordable homes in rural settlements were occupied in 2001–02. [20033]
§ Ms KeebleInformation is not available in the form requested.
New affordable homes in rural settlements in England with a population of 3,000 or less are funded by the Housing Corporation and local authorities or through the planning system without public subsidy.
From 1 April to 31 October 2001, 379 affordable homes in rural settlements were approved, and 270 were completed, under the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme. Local authorities approved 142 units and completed 82 units in the same period.