§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the remit is of the Property Consultative Group; and if he will make a statement on its planned work load for the next four years. [167843]
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§ Keith HillThe terms of reference of the Property Consultative Group are to
provide an opportunity for dialogue with the property industries about delivery of the range of policies of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and to provide the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister with creative solutions to issue of common interest;initiate discussion of issues where the property industries are aware of potential improvements to Government policy and its delivery;secure in the public interest the industries' assistance in promoting the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's policies, and in particular their role in providing development to underpin the Sustainable Communities Plan;assist the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to fulfil its role as lead Government Department for the property/development industries, and in particular its specific responsibilities for policy and legislation on commercial property leases; andprovide advice (through its working groups) on specific, detailed issues.The Agenda for the main Group at present comprises ad hoc issues raised by members and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. So far, we have established working groups on commercial property issues and on funding and delivery mechanisms, and they will be reporting back to the main Group within the next year.