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  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222916, what the total cost to Birmingham City Council will be of funding the Independent Improvement Panel.

    Kris Hopkins

    As indicated in the Panel’s Terms of Reference agreed with the City Council, it will be supported by a secretariat provided jointly by Birmingham City Council and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the expenses it incurs will be shared equally by the City Council and the Department.

  • John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have bid for each round of the Coastal Communities Fund but have so far received no funding.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Coastal Communities Fund has had three bidding rounds to date, across the United Kingdom. My answer of 9 February 2015, PQ 223748, provided a list of areas which had received grants. I have placed in the Library of the House, a table listing the local authority areas from which bids have been received.

    Ministers are not involved in the grant application or assessment process. The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for inviting and assessing applications to the Fund and makes recommendations to Ministers on which projects should be supported.

    Whilst the Coastal Communities Fund is currently closed for further applications, I hope there will be further opportunities to support local schemes which have not benefitted from Government support to date.

  • John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which coastal resorts have received support in more than (a) one round and (b) two rounds of coastal communities funding awards.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Coastal Communities Fund has had three bidding rounds to date. A table has been placed in the Library of the House giving details of 164 coastal communities across the UK that have received grants from the Fund in one, two or three bidding rounds. The table covers all grants awarded in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to date.

    In addition to the coastal communities in the table, 22 grants were awarded to projects in local authority areas, and a further five grants awarded to cross local authority projects including two long distance coastal footpaths, where we do not have details of the individual coastal communities they will help.

    Ministers are not involved in the grant application or assessment process. The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for inviting and assessing applications to the Fund and makes recommendations to Ministers on which projects should be supported.

    The Coastal Communities Fund is currently closed for further applications. No decisions have been taken yet on whether there will be further bidding rounds. This will be a matter for the next Spending Review. However, I hope there will be further opportunities to support local schemes which have not benefitted from Government support to date.

  • Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of population growth on local government finance needs.

    Kris Hopkins

    Parliament approved the Local Government Finance Report for 2015-16 on 10 February 2015. The settlement is fair to all; councils with the highest needs have higher spending power per household than those with lower needs.

    The focus of the settlement has deliberately changed away from keeping authorities dependent on grant, to providing them with the tools they need to grow their economies. As a result, although we took into account relative needs when setting the baseline for the new system, we have frozen this to maximise the incentive effect. All councils can benefit from the incentives for growth we have put in place – the New Homes Bonus and business rates retention.

    For example Newham’s retained income from Business Rates in 2013-14 was just under £7 million above its baseline funding level; and the authority’s own forecasts suggest it will be over £10 million above its baseline funding level in 2014-15. In addition Newham’s housing stock has increased by over 8,000 units over the period of the New Homes bonus scheme, providing a further £28 million of funding to the Borough in the years to 2015-16.

  • Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to link local government finance settlements to ONS population growth figures.

    Kris Hopkins

    Parliament approved the Local Government Finance Report for 2015-16 on 10 February 2015. The settlement is fair to all; councils with the highest needs have higher spending power per household than those with lower needs.

    The focus of the settlement has deliberately changed away from keeping authorities dependent on grant, to providing them with the tools they need to grow their economies. As a result, although we took into account relative needs when setting the baseline for the new system, we have frozen this to maximise the incentive effect. All councils can benefit from the incentives for growth we have put in place – the New Homes Bonus and business rates retention.

    For example Newham’s retained income from Business Rates in 2013-14 was just under £7 million above its baseline funding level; and the authority’s own forecasts suggest it will be over £10 million above its baseline funding level in 2014-15. In addition Newham’s housing stock has increased by over 8,000 units over the period of the New Homes bonus scheme, providing a further £28 million of funding to the Borough in the years to 2015-16.

  • Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to compensate (a) Newham, (b) other councils in East London and (c) other areas in the UK where population growth is above average for the increased demand for council services resulting from population growth.

    Kris Hopkins

    Parliament approved the Local Government Finance Report for 2015-16 on 10 February 2015. The settlement is fair to all; councils with the highest needs have higher spending power per household than those with lower needs.

    The focus of the settlement has deliberately changed away from keeping authorities dependent on grant, to providing them with the tools they need to grow their economies. As a result, although we took into account relative needs when setting the baseline for the new system, we have frozen this to maximise the incentive effect. All councils can benefit from the incentives for growth we have put in place – the New Homes Bonus and business rates retention.

    For example Newham’s retained income from Business Rates in 2013-14 was just under £7 million above its baseline funding level; and the authority’s own forecasts suggest it will be over £10 million above its baseline funding level in 2014-15. In addition Newham’s housing stock has increased by over 8,000 units over the period of the New Homes bonus scheme, providing a further £28 million of funding to the Borough in the years to 2015-16.

  • Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Heald on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 218966, whether he plans to publish financial data on national non-domestic rates before 12 February 2015.

    Kris Hopkins

    Financial data on national non-domestic rates to be collected by councils in England in 2015-16 will be published on 18 February 2015. The data will be available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/national-non-domestic-rates-to-be-collected-by-councils-in-engalnd-2015-to-2016.

  • Jim McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Jim McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McGovern on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the gender pay gap and (b) increase the number of women in the video games industry.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Changes to the national curriculum mean all children now have the opportunity to learn to code and initiatives such as the Your Life campaign, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassadors help challenge gender stereotypes and encourage more girls to consider careers in the video games sector.

    ‪We are working with industry on developing new routes into video games development, including the Next Gen Skills Academy and Creative Skillset’s trainee placement scheme. Initiatives specifically designed to help address barriers to women working in the video games industry include the Next Gen Skills Academy’s Gender Balance Workforce programme. This is investigating career challenges faced by women in the games industry and offering practical workshops and knowledge sharing, for employees and employers, based on the evidence collected.

    ‪For women in the workforce the Government has extended the right to request flexible working to all employees, and is introducing a new system of shared parental leave from April 2015. To help women return to the sector Government will provide support for a dedicated platform to match STEM trained women graduates to return to jobs in industry following career breaks and to provide them with advice and information about support on offer.

    The Government will make free software available to all UK companies later this year which will enable them to calculate their gender pay gap easily, and help them identify issues preventing women from progressing in their career

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2014 to Question 222384, on broadband, what the digital and video on demand outlets were and how much was spent with Facebook.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The digital outlets Facebook, Youtube, Google, Twitter, Mail Online, Telegraph Online, Money Supermarket, Spotify, Xbox, 4th Screen and Skype.

    The video outlets were Videology, ITV.com, 4OD and Demand 5

    Facebook spend is £14,898.95

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2014 to Question 222384, whether regional data is available on any of the campaign spend.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Regional data is not available on any of the campaign spend as media was bought on a national basis. The purpose of the campaign is to increase public awareness of, and interest in superfast broadband in order to drive take up. The Government’s Superfast Broadband programme is central to the economic growth agenda. Every £1 spent will see a return of up to £20 in net economic benefits with 89% outside of London and the South East.