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  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 7 July 2015 to Question 5576, on social rented housing: EU nationals, whether it remains his Department’s policy to introduce a four-year residency requirement for EU migrants following the decision of the UK to leave the EU.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Government remains of the view that social housing should be for those with a strong connection to the local community. Statutory guidance issued in December 2013 already ensures that only people who have lived in their area for at least two years can apply to their council for social housing.

    We are considering whether to go further and adopt a stronger residency test by extending this to four years.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the causes of the increase in homelessness in 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Homelessness is rarely a housing issue alone. The causes are varied and driven by issues such as health, education, justice, welfare, and employment.

    That is why the work we have undertaken supports action across these. For example, we invested £5 million in the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, run by the Greater London Authority to turn round the lives around of 830 of London’s most entrenched rough sleepers. Over half have achieved accommodation, employment or reconnection outcomes.

    In addition we have invested £15 million to improve outcomes for young people through the Fair Chance Fund. This funding is turning around the lives of around 1,900 18 to 25 year olds with complex and overlapping needs, by supporting them into accommodation, education, training and employment.

    Since 2010 we have invested over £500 million to enable local authorities and the voluntary sector to support those vulnerable and at risk of homelessness.

    We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We are working with homelessness organisations to consider all options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support.

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of indefinitely vacant properties.

    Gavin Barwell

    Our strong record on the economy has created a strong buoyant housing market where owners of empty properties are bringing these homes back into use without government intervention. As a result the number of empty properties are at their lowest since records began.

    Local authorities have powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus they earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. Councils may also charge up to 150% council tax for homes empty over two years. We have extended permitted development rights to make it easier to convert property from business to residential to give life to thousands of empty buildings.

  • Mark Pawsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mark Pawsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pawsey on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has given to support children and young adults in social care in (a) Warwickshire and (b) Rugby constituency in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We do not provide funding specifically for children and adults in social care. Local authorities were provided with formula grant in the period 2010-11 to 2012-13, and Revenue Support Grant from 2013-14 onwards, both of which are unringfenced and it is a matter for local discretion how this is spent.

  • Mark Pawsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mark Pawsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pawsey on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were in the care of the local authority in (a) Warwickshire and (b) Rugby constituency in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

    Edward Timpson

    There were 1,010 children looked after by Warwickshire local authority during the year ending 31 March 2014, and 995 during the year ending 31 March 2015. This information is published in table LAB1 of the statistical release, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2014-to-2015. Information on the numbers of children looked after on the 31 March of each year is published in table LAA1 of the same release. There were 695 children looked after in Warwickshire on 31 March 2014 and 690 on 31 March 2015. Figures for the year ending 31 March 2016 will be published on 29 September 2016.

    Numbers of looked after children are not available at a constituency level.

    “

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which agencies perform child protection checks prior to a self-employed adult being permitted to provide extracurricular activities to children for which activity or sport there is no governing body.

    Tracey Crouch

    The current system relies on parents to ask self-employed coaches or private providers whether DBS checks have been obtained and what their safeguarding arrangements are.

    Sport England has recently provided input on safeguarding into Baroness Grey-Thompson’s Duty of Care Review, which is exploring issues around the duty of care that sport has towards its participants. The terms of reference for the review are wide ranging, covering many aspects relating to safety and wellbeing, and safeguarding is one area under consideration.

    Sport England is also currently looking at how it can improve safeguarding through its sponsorship of and investment into the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU), a partnership between the NSPCC, Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland and Sport Wales.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the rollout of superfast broadband in the B91 1 postcode area.

    Matt Hancock

    Nine out of ten UK homes and businesses can now access superfast broadband and we’re on track to reach 95 per cent of the UK by the end of next year. We’re committed to a Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband.

    We want a USO at a speed of 10Mbps as an absolute minimum, enough to meet the needs of a typical family or small business so no-one is left behind.

    We estimate that approximately 98% of premises in the Solihull constituency now have access to superfast broadband. We do not hold data specific to each postcode.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel in each of the armed forces were affected by the increase in the qualifying age for an armed forces pension.

    Mark Lancaster

    Just over 90% (155,511) of all Armed Forces personnel transferred to the new Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 on 1 April 2015 and were therefore affected by the change in the qualifying age. For those who had to move to the new pension scheme it was agreed that those pension benefits already earned in existing schemes, up to the implementation date of the new scheme would be retained. The numbers of affected personnel, by Service, are provided below:

    Royal Navy

    31,101

    Army

    92,588

    Royal Air Force

    31,822

    The change of qualifying age was set out in detailed communications materiel published in the run up to, and following, the introduction of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015. This change followed a review carried out by Lord Hutton in 2011 which concluded that all public sector workforces should change their pension ages for new schemes to reflect that people are living longer. The Armed Forces, along with other uniformed public sector schemes, gained agreement that this should be set at age 60.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what procedures his Department has in place for the regular receipt of information on non-combatant casualties arising from US airstrikes which are conducted from UK airbases.

    Mike Penning

    Airstrikes from UK airbases are not a routine occurrence. The Secretary of State would approve such a request only if satisfied that the operation was compliant with UK and international law. Individual permission is granted for each operation. Similarly, battle damage assessments of such operations are shared with the UK on a case-by-case basis.

  • Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers are calculated.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Net Pay Deduction (NPD) for Fire Officer grades, or abatement in the case of Fire-fighters, is the adjustment to the salaries of DFRS personnel to allow for the differences between their pension arrangements and those of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Service (LAFRS) employees. Ministry of Defence (MOD) Fire-fighter and Fire Officer grades are members of the Civil Service Pension Schemes and the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), whereas LAFRS staff belong to Local Authority Fire Pension Schemes (LAFPS).

    The MOD Fire-fighter abatement is a single blended abatement figure based on a weighted comparison of member contributions rates between the PCSPS and the LAFPS. The abatement calculation makes allowance for the impact on the value of pension benefits which arises because the MOD Fire-fighter pension is based on an abated salary. The calculation of the abatement ignores differences in pension benefits between the schemes being compared.

    The pay abatement level for Fire-fighters is calculated on behalf of the MOD by the Government Actuary Department (GAD). The current abatement of 7.1% is being reviewed by GAD to take account of the introduction of the new Civil Service Pension Scheme on 1 April 2015 and the Local Authority Fire-fighters Pension Scheme 2015.

    For Fire Officer Grades the NPD has been calculated primarily by considering the differences in member contribution rates between the different pension schemes. The current NPD was implemented in 1993 and according to available information the calculation ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes but may have taken account of wider pay issues. The current NPD is 5.9% of pre-tax basic pay. In practice, an adjusted NPD, equal to 3.54% of pre-tax pay, is applied to Fire Officer salaries. This does not reduce the tax payable by the officer. For Fire Officers the NPD does not affect the salary used for pension purposes, so both pension benefits and member contributions are calculated based on salary before application of the NPD.

    The MOD is currently reviewing the rate of the NPD for Fire Officer grades.