Download or read book ODPM Annual Report and Accounts 2005 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-01-26 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HCP 680, session 2005-06.
Download or read book Is There a Future for Regional Government written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-03-15 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is there a future for regional Government? : Session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Written Evidence
Download or read book Re licensing written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-03-17 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Licensing Act 2003 brought ten existing licensing schemes administered by local authorities into one new regime, and created more flexible licensing hours. This report concentrates on the technicalities of licensing: all those applying for a licence for the first time or needing a new licence under the Act had to submit applications by a certain date. The transition period was in 2005, and it soon became apparent that people involved in the 're-licensing' process were encountering difficulties. The Committee finds that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has failed to administer the transition period effectively. Despite a two-year gap between the passing of the legislation and the implementation of the Act, regulations and guidance were issued late, and proved to be contradictory and confusing. Local authorities were unable to train staff or prepare application materials in good time. There was inadequate support from central government for local authorities. Many licensing fees rose dramatically, leading to concerns that some small businesses might abandon their licensable activities. The regulatory burden on residents, licensees and local authorities appears to have increased. The government does not appear to recognise some of the issues hindering the smooth operation of the Act. Overly-prescriptive regulations and unhelpful constraints on local government structure are both causing difficulties.
Download or read book Affordability and the Supply of Housing written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-06-20 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee's report finds that the Government's plans for a major house-building programme are based on the widespread belief that increasing the volume of housing stock is the most important way to tackle the crisis of unaffordable housing in the UK; however, as housing policy is increasingly based on household growth projections, it is important that these projections are kept under review as firmer information becomes available. Promoting homeownership is an underlying objective of the Government's programme, but although it offers unparalleled opportunities for some households to accumulate wealth, it is not a viable option for many others, and therefore the provision of social housing for rent should be given equal priority. A simple supply and demand model cannot be applied to the housing market, and the multitude of factors affecting house prices means that it is very difficult to support an increase in housing supply simply on the basis of improving affordability. The report also highlights concerns that local authority powers to prioritise developments on brown field sites in urban areas should not be eroded; and that the house-building programme in the wider South East will have to be carefully managed as it is an area with major water shortages and significant flood plains.
Download or read book Supporting Vulnerable and Older People written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the Government's Supporting People Programme, launched in April 2003 to provide housing related support services to help vulnerable people to live as independently as possible in the community. In particular, the Committee's report focuses on: the reasons behind the commissioning of a review less than one year after the programme's launch; capital and revenue funding allocation and the need for fairer distribution of grants; Home Improvement Agencies; and the significance of the transfer of administrative responsibility for the programme within ODPM. Conclusions reached by the Committee include: Home Improvement Agencies are good value for money and should be expanded; although the tighter financial controls introduced by the ODPM are welcome, any effects on services should be minimised by targeting grant reductions on authorities with excessive spending; and that, given the chequered history of the programme to date and its scale and significance for vulnerable people, the ODPM should give a full account of its management of the programme in its 2005 Departmental Report.
Download or read book Draft Planning Policy Statement 6 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Draft planning policy Statement 6 : Planning for town centres, twelfth report of session 2003-04, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written Evidence
Download or read book Gypsy and Traveller Sites Thirteenth Report of Session written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee's report examines the provision and management of Gypsy and Traveller sites within England, focusing on the following aspects: current provision and location of sites; demand for, and use of sites; existing funding arrangements; the Gypsy Site Refurbishment Grant scheme; site characteristics and facilities; management of unauthorised camping; and ODPM statistical information on caravans, sites and families. The Committee's report notes the contradictory views held about Gypsies and Travellers, and the public opposition to their encampment in local areas for fear, whether real or not, of crime and anti-social behaviour. In light of this, the report seeks to assess the extent of problems faced both by Gypsies and Travellers and the settled community, and suggests ways to reduce the conflict, misery and nuisance being caused. Recommendations made include, due to the lack of sites available, that the Government should re-introduce a statutory requirement for local authorities to provide suitable accommodation, based on an assessment of need at regional level, and funded through a capital grant.
Download or read book Comparative Electoral Management written by Toby S. James and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-04 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers the first comparative monograph on the management of elections. The book defines electoral management as a new, inter-disciplinary area and advances a realist sociological approach to study it. A series of new, original frameworks are introduced, including the PROSeS framework, which can be used by academics and practitioners around the world to evaluate electoral management quality. A networked governance approach is also introduced to understand the full range of collaborative actors involved in delivering elections, including civil society and the international community. Finally, the book evaluates some of the policy instruments used to improve the integrity of elections, including voter registration reform, training and the funding of elections. Extensive mixed methods are used throughout including thematic analysis of interviews, (auto-)ethnography, comparative historical analysis and, cross-national and national surveys of electoral officials. This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners interested and involved in electoral integrity and elections, and more broadly to comparative politics, public administration, international relations and democracy studies. Chapters 1 and 4 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Download or read book The Role of Historic Buildings in Urban Regeneration written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee's report examines the contribution of historic buildings to urban regeneration; the role and effectiveness of public agencies responsible for the built environment; the impact of the planning system and listing of historic buildings on urban regeneration; the role played by government departments to promote the historic environment; and fiscal and legislative reform options. The Committee concludes that regenerating historic buildings can reinforce a sense of local community and act as a catalyst for urban regeneration. However, historic buildings cannot be retained as relics of a bygone age, but new uses and sensitive adaptations allowed where the original use is no longer viable. The report highlights the shortage of conservation officers and the skills deficit in knowledge of regeneration and funding issues. It also call on the DCMS and the ODPM to working more closely together on their cross-cutting responsibilities, in order to boost the potential contributions made by historic buildings to the local economy. The current planning system is also criticised for causing delays and uncertainty, with developers being subject to as many as nine different regimes, including planning controls, listed building consent and conservation area controls.
Download or read book The creation of the Ministry of Justice written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Constitutional Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-07-26 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The creation of the Ministry of Justice made significant changes to the Lord Chancellor's responsibilities, which may affect, in practice or public perception, the core responsibility of being the guardian of judicial independence. This report looks at the way these changes were made and finds the Government underestimated the significance of the changes it announced. The lack of sufficient consultation led to a public conflict between the senior judiciary and the previous Lord Chancellor, which could have been avoided if the lessons from the way changes to the Lord Chancellor's office were announced and effected between 2003 and 2005 had been learnt.
Download or read book Beyond decent homes written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-23 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The £40bn Decent Homes Programme has had a positive effect on the living conditions of most social housing tenants, this report finds, but the Government has failed to invest enough resources in the parallel programme to improve homes occupied by vulnerable people in the private sector. The Government must also clarify future funding: it is still unclear how the elimination of the remaining backlog of disrepair (around 3 per cent of social homes) will be funded; and how much will be available to maintain standards in the future. The Government must prevent another backlog of disrepair from building up after the current programme comes to an end in 2010. Carbon emissions reduction targets mean that the entire UK housing stock must be made more energy efficient. The decent homes standard has an important part to play and should be updated to enable this. The use of arm's-length management organisations (ALMOs) to manage council housing has led to improved standards and better planning, though not all councils were able to follow this model. The decent homes standard remains a low benchmark, however. The target for decency applied to private housing should be retained and strengthened by creating a National Indicator for private sector accommodation. A clear long term target should be set at a national level to bring all private sector homes (not just those occupied by vulnerable people) up to the decent homes standard.
Download or read book The constitutional role of the Attorney General written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Constitutional Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-07-26 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report identifies the inherent tension within the role of the Attorney General where political, ministerial functions have to balanced with the provision of independent legal advice and the supervision of the prosecution service. Although there is a need for accountability to Parliament and the public for the duties carried out, there is also a need for reform to ensure clear lines of responsibility and remove the suspicion of political pressure. The Committee therefore recommend that the duties of the Attorney General be split. The purely legal functions should be carried out by an official who is outside party political life, whilst a minister in the Ministry of Justice should carry out the ministerial duties.
Download or read book Would You Live Here written by Jim Bennett and published by Institute for Public Policy Research. This book was released on 2006 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue written by Stationery Office (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Planning Gain written by Tony Crook and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-01-26 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Royal Town Planning Institute award for research excellence This critical examination of the development and implementation of planning gain is timely given recent changes to the economic and policy environment. The book looks both at the British context as well as experience in other developed economies and takes stock of how the policy has evolved. It examines the rationale for planning gain, how it has delivered substantial funds for infrastructure and affordable housing and, in the light of this, how it might continue to play a role in the funding of these. It also draws on overseas experience, for example on impact fees and public sector land assembly. It looks at lessons from the past for future policy, both for Britain and for countries overseas. Mechanisms to tap development value are also a global phenomenon in developed market economies - whether through formal taxation or negotiated contributions. As fiscal austerity becomes an increasingly challenging issue, ‘planning gain’ has grown in importance as a potential source of funding for infrastructure and new affordable housing, with many countries keen to examine, learn from, and adapt the experience of others. a critical commentary of planning gain as a policy timely post credit crunch analysis addresses recent planning policy changes
Download or read book The Draft Regional Assemblies Bill written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The document contains written evidence submitted to the Committee in relation to its scrutiny of the Government's proposals for the creation of elected regional assemblies in England, as set out in the draft Bill (Cm 6285, ISBN 0101628528) published in July 2004. This draft Bill seeks to implement the policy proposals contained within the Government's White Paper (Cm 5511, ISBN 0101551126) published in May 2002, as part of its overall agenda of constitutional reform and devolution. Written evidence includes memoranda from the Electoral Commission, the Greater London Authority, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Association of Police Authorities; as well as from a number of regional bodies, local councils and local government bodies, charities and regional business organisations.
Download or read book The Operation of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission SIAC and the Use of Special Advocates written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Constitutional Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new system of control orders established by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (2005, c.2, ISBN 0105402052) will extend the role of Special Advocates (lawyers appointed to represent appellants within the closed hearing system before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) who have security clearance to examine material kept secret from the appellant and his/her ordinary lawyers). In light of this, the Committees report examines the operation of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) over the last eight years and the use of Special Advocates, in order to identify lessons to be learned to ensure the adequacy of procedural safeguards in the future system. Issues considered include: the background to SIAC and the passing of the 2005 Act; the operation of SIAC and its impact on the legal and human rights of appellants; the Special Advocate system as it operated under SIAC and its extension into the High Court. The Committee concludes that there are a number of defects with the Special Advocate system as it operated through SIAC, and a number of improvements can be made to improve its use under the 2005 Act, including the establishment of an Office of the Special Advocates to ensure provision of appropriate expert support and facilities, and that appellants are offered, where practical, a choice of Special Advocate from a security-cleared pool.
