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  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support infrastructure development in West Yorkshire.

    Mr David Gauke

    The government is taking steps to improve infrastructure across the UK, including committing to over £100 billion capital investment by the end of the Parliament.

    Since 2010, more than 200 schemes have been delivered in Yorkshire and the Humber. The National Infrastructure Pipeline sets out 29 projects and programmes worth £6.6bn for the region. This includes nearly £1bn for the West Yorkshire Plus transport fund, to help increase employment opportunities and economic growth by creating 20,000 jobs.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the ability of local authorities to support business growth and economic development within their areas ahead of them fully retaining business rates.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is committed to reforming the local government finance system to make local authorities more self-sufficient, including by allowing them to retain locally-raised business rates. This will ensure that authorities benefit from business rates growth providing them with an important incentive to support and develop their local economies. The reforms including the nature of the incentives to boost growth are subject to an ongoing consultation.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support local authorities can provide to British families returning to the UK after a long period living abroad.

    Gavin Barwell

    Above the statutory duties which they must fulfil, local authorities can provide families and individuals with what additional support they judge appropriate.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the UK’s sixth periodic report in relation to social housing supply and homelessness; and if he will make a statement.

    Gavin Barwell

    In paragraph 73 of the UN recommendations, the UN requested that the UK submits its next period report under the Covenant (inclusive of a response to all the recommendations from this year’s examination) by 30 June 2021; it would therefore not be appropriate for me to pre-empt this report by anticipating what we, or indeed a future UK government in 2021, might say.

    This government remains committed to tackling homelessness. That is why we have increased central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Spending Review period. We have also maintained and protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities through the local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20. In the Budget we announced further commitments to prevent homelessness including £100 million to provide at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living; £10 million to support initiatives to prevent and reduce rough sleeping; and an increase from £5 million to £10 million to launch a Social Impact Bond to support the most entrenched rough sleepers off the streets.

    This will be supported by the government’s broader commitments to increase the overall supply of housing. We remain committed to building more affordable housing, including shared ownership. More than 277,000 affordable homes have been delivered since April 2010, and the housing budget has been doubled to more than £20 billion to support the largest housing programme by any government since the 1970s, which includes £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable homes.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Work and Pensions on proposed changes to housing benefit and the exemption of supported housing.

    Gavin Barwell

    DCLG is working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions, and with the supported housing sector and other partners to develop a sustainable and workable future for supported housing.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Consultancy spend for the Department over the past three years is listed in the attached spreadsheet.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a list of all secondees to his Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    My department has not had any secondees in the last three financial years from any of the named companies requested.

    However, my department has had a total of seven secondees from other consulting firms. Five of the seven roles were to help advise on specific housing and property issues, including three roles on the Private Rented Sector Taskforce. One other secondee is working in my Implementation Unit implementing reviews on housing and planning, and one secondee was working as a Crown Premises Fire Inspector. Only three of the seven secondees are still working in DCLG.

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

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

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to implement the actions identified for it in the Government’s Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategy 2016-2020, published in March 2016; and when a member of staff from his Department last attended a Violence against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting chaired by the Home Office.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    DCLG is working with partners, including the Local Government Association, local authorities and women’s sector organisations to implement its commitments in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. These are to launch a two-year fund for specialist accommodation-based support and services, and to help local areas meet the National Statement of Expectations which will set out for the first time what we expect from local areas in commissioning violence against women and girls services. DCLG is also committed to launching a new programme to support domestic abuse victims with complex needs.

    The last Violence Against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting took place on 11 July 2016. DCLG officials did not attend as that meeting was between Home Office and third sector stakeholders. However, DCLG officials will be attending forthcoming meetings on this topic.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps his Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.

    Sajid Javid

    The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including DCLG, and a wide range of other interested parties.

  • 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 estimate his Department has made of the cost of retrospective planning applications to local councils in (a) Devon and (b) the UK in the last five years.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Department does not collect the data requested.