§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many(a) staff and (b) staff engaged in inspection work have been employed by (i) the Single Housing Inspectorate and (ii) the Planning Inspectorate in each year since 1997. [105871]
§ Mr. McNultyHousing inspection between 1997 and March 2003 was carried out by the Audit Commission (for local authorities) and the Housing Corporation (for registered social landlords). Both functions will be carried out by a single housing inspectorate within the Audit Commission as from 1 April 2003. The figures are shown in table 1.
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Table 1 Total staff employed by the Audit Commission on inspection Estimated number of staff in Inspection Directorate engaged in housing inspection work (full-time equivalents) Total staff employed by the Housing Corporation on inspection 1997–98 4 1 — 1998–99 18 3 — 1999–2000 73 11 — 2000–01 324 59 — 2001–02 438 66 43 Notes:
1. The Audit Commission's financial year runs from 1 November to 31 October.
2. The Housing Corporation's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March: figures in column 4 therefore refer to 2002–03
The Audit Commission is responsible for carrying out inspections of local authority planning functions. The Planning Inspectorate deals with appeals and other casework under planning, housing, highways and allied legislation: the figures in shown in table 2, the Planning Inspectorate are not therefore directly comparable with those in table 1.
Table 2 Full-time equivalents Total stuff employed Number of inspectors 1997–98 828 410 1998–99 766 373 1999–2000 803.8 378 2000–01 780.8 346.3 2001–02 783.2 344.4 2002–03 (as at 3 March 2003) 876.9 429.2 Note:
The Planning Inspectorate's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March.