Written question asked by Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative) on Monday, 25 January 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 27 January 2010. It was answered by Barbara Follett (Labour) on Friday, 29 January 2010 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Shops: Empty Property

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. member for Meriden of 15 October 2009, Official Report, columns 1073-4W, on shops: empty property, what information his Department used to assess (a) levels of deprivation and (b) shop vacancy rates.

Answer: The Department for Communities and Local Government is providing £5.6 million to 107 local authorities to support approaches for making use of vacant shops and other ideas for boosting high streets and town centres affected by the recession. We have targeted this funding at councils showing relatively high levels of deprivation as these areas have been hit hardest by the recession.The local authorities receiving funding are in the top half of the index of multiple deprivation (IMD) and show relatively high shop vacancy rates based on data provided by the market analysts Experian.

Secondary information