§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the 2003 annual monitoring report on the costs of local authority building control functions. [183682]
§ Phil HopeNo. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Welsh Assembly Government carry out an annual monitoring exercise whereby local authorities in England and Wales are asked voluntarily to provide a return stating their total charges income and costs in carrying out their prescribed building control functions under the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 1998, but formal 'annual210W monitoring reports' are not prepared. The information derived from the annual returns is primarily used for internal monitoring purposes, although it is shared with the Local Government Association (LGA). Moreover, a commitment has been given to individual local authorities and the LGA that the annual monitoring exercise will be earned out on an in-confidence basis. This arrangement is currently being reviewed in the light of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which comes fully into force on 1 January 2005.