Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with which other public sector bodies the Operational Efficiency Programme project team plans to work in its review of the Met Office.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeship places which have been created or safeguarded by social house-building projects to date.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) apprenticeships and (b) graduate trainee places offered by local authorities in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08, (iv) 2008-09 and (v) 2009-10.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities are able to require the creation of apprenticeship or trainee places as a condition of (a) granting planning permission for new developments and (b) allocating funding to new developments.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions the South West Regional Economic Task Group has met; what timetable that group has set for future meetings; and whether the agendas and minutes of such meetings are published.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities allow (a) an exemption from payment of council tax on a property for six months after probate has been granted and (b) an exemption from or discount on payment of council tax on a property for six months or more following a bereavement; and what exemptions or discounts apply in each case.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of redundancies in the local government sector in 2009-10.
Julia Goldsworthy: In March, the Prime Minister told us to expect a statement on compensation for pleural plaque sufferers after Easter. After Easter, the Justice Secretary told us to expect a statement before the summer recess, which is two weeks away. May we be assured that there will be a statement in the next two weeks, rather than an announcement of further delay?
Julia Goldsworthy: My hon. Friend is being generous in giving way. Although the hon. Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) identified a number of other issues that impact on pubs, the reality is that for many pubs, such as the Trengilly Wartha—I spoke to the landlord there just a few weeks ago—the margins are so small that these changes, which appear to be small on the surface, have a big...
Julia Goldsworthy: Does my hon. Friend agree that the beer duty increases will have an impact not only on rural communities where the pub is the hub, but on a lot of smaller breweries, which are very important employers? They will be indirectly affected by any such changes and we should seek to protect them too.
Julia Goldsworthy: I take this opportunity to welcome the Secretary of State to his new post and to congratulate the Housing Minister—although he is a familiar face in the local government Front-Bench team—on his elevation. I would also like to express my sorrow at the deaths of the six adults and children who died at the Sceaux Gardens estate the other day. I am sure that we all want to ensure that such a...
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to announce his decision on compensation for those with pleural plaques; and if he will make a statement.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) average and (b) maximum period between receipt of an application for (i) housing and (ii) council tax benefit and the first payment arising from such a claim was in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for (a) housing and (b) council tax benefit have been (i) made and (ii) processed in (A) 2007-08, (B) 2008-09 and (C) 2009-10 to date.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what regional strategies each regional development agency is participating in.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate her Department has made of the number of people seeking work in the construction industry at the latest date for which figures are available.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the average age of council tax benefit applicants in the last 12 months.
Julia Goldsworthy: What is the difference between a target and an entitlement?
Julia Goldsworthy: The Secretary of State has just said that the longer people are out of work the more difficult it is for them to get back into work. Is that not particularly true for young people? Unemployment rates have doubled in Cornwall over the past year. Does that not mean that help, such as training, needs to be introduced and to be available to people before they have been unemployed for a year, so...
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what dates the monitoring group established under the Local Government (Early Termination of Employment) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 has met; whether minutes of the meetings of that group are published; and what the names of the members of that group are.