Julia Goldsworthy

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses since its inception.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses since its inception.

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that parish councils, which are an important part of local democracy as they are the closest to the communities that they serve, have been specifically and explicitly excluded from the process?

As my hon. Friend has said, the experience of the process has been difficult for all parties. I well remember our debates on some of the unitary authorities that now exist, when there were divisions between all the parties. I think that this is a missed opportunity. If we want to engage people in politics, should we not encourage them to unite on the changes that they want rather than being fractured over those that they do not want?

The problem is that the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinks that that is simply not possible, and that deep cuts will follow in years ahead. Given that no credible detail is forthcoming from either the Government or those on the Conservative Front Bench, should the right hon. Gentleman not be doing the responsible thing and advising councils to prepare for the worst-case scenario pointed out by the IFS-that is, reductions of up 23 per cent. over four years from 2011?

The Secretary of State seems very keen to talk about this year's Budget settlement, but less keen to talk about Government grants looking ahead. What guidance has he received from the Treasury about the scale of future cuts that councils will need to make? Does he really believe that efficiencies alone will be able to halve the deficit?

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much consultants employed by his Department have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses since its inception.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on (a) staffing, (b) administration and (c) publicity costs in respect of the New Deal for Communities programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on the New Communities Fund; and how many people have participated in the Fund since its inception.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on (a) staffing, (b) administration and (c) publicity costs in respect of the New Communities Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

(1) what estimate his Department has made of the cost of (a) local authority reporting to central Government and (b) local government inspection by external inspectors and auditors; and what recent research his Department has (i) conducted and (ii) commissioned on this matter;

(2) what estimate his Department has made of the cost to central Government of inspecting local government; and what recent research his Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned on this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated to assist first-time buyers with property purchases in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what programme budgets of each sponsoring Government department are administered by Government Offices for the Regions.

My hon. Friend is being very generous and I promise that this will be my last intervention. Does he share my concern that the Government have a tendency to work in silos? Some of these issues relate to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, others to the Department for Communities and Local Government and others to the Treasury. Given the lead that the Treasury has taken on Total Place, is it not ideally placed to co-ordinate the tackling of this problem?

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Is my hon. Friend aware of the measures that are being taken in Wales to tackle the problem of people trying to demonstrate that their holiday homes have been let for 70 days to qualify for business rates and business rate relief?

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. I apologise, but I will not be able to stay for the whole debate as I have another appointment.

I listened carefully to what my hon. Friend said about his survey of estate agents. That survey was made all the more necessary because it is difficult for councils to collect information about second home ownership, as many second home owners seem to be transferring their property to allow holiday lets-property that is available to let for 70 days. As a result, those properties fall off the second home register, which makes it difficult for councils to estimate the scale of the problem let alone take action to deal with it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated to the (a) Supporting People programme, (b) New Communities fund, (c) New Deal for Communities fund, (d) Safer and Stronger Communities fund, (e) Local Enterprise Growth Initiative and (f) Working Neighbourhoods fund in each financial year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on the Working Neighbourhoods Fund; and how many people have received assistance from the funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on (a) staffing, (b) administration and (c) publicity for the Working Neighbourhoods Fund.