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  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 222144, if he will take steps to prevent Gateshead Council from proceeding with proposals to build on green belt land in Blaydon constituency until after the publication of Household Projections 2012 to 2037; and when he expects those projections to be published.

    Brandon Lewis

    The statistical publication on new household projections will be published this Thursday (26 February).

    As I said in my previous answer, there are no central government proposals to build on the Green Belt in Blaydon. The Coalition Government has ensured that strong protections for the Green Belt are in place. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that Green Belt boundaries can be altered only in exceptional circumstances following local consultation and independent scrutiny of the Local Plan at the instigation of the local council. In October we issued additional guidance that underlined the importance of Green Belt protection.

    If the hon. Member disagrees with the planning proposals of the local council, he should take issue with the decisions of the Labour councillors who run and control it.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to better enforce building regulation inspections to ensure quality housing builds.

    Stephen Williams

    The duty to comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations lies on the person carrying out the building work. The duty of the building control bodies, local authorities and approved inspectors, is to take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that the requirements have been satisfied. Where they have not been complied with a compliance certificate should not be given. It is also possible for building control bodies to take formal enforcement action in the courts against builders for non-compliance where they consider this would be justified. Issues relating to warranties which may be provided for new homes are matters for the relevant warranty body.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons spending data for his Department for most months of 2014 has been published later than such data for the previous three years.

    Kris Hopkins

    My Department is more transparent than other parts of Whitehall, as we publish all spending over £250 and every item spent on Government Procurement Cards. This can result in slightly longer lead times to check and publish the data compared to other departments, but we believe that this enhanced transparency is in the public interest.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons ministerial returns for his Department for quarters two and three of 2014 have not yet been published.

    Kris Hopkins

    Updated detail of Ministerial hospitality, overseas travel and meetings with external organisations will be published in due course on the same day as other government departments.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the reasons were for the change in his Department’s performance in meeting deadlines for responding to Freedom of Information requests between 2010 and quarter three of 2014.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Department for Communities and Local Government, recognise the value of the Freedom of Information Act and as part of our commitment to transparency we aim to respond to these requests as quickly as possible.

    Freedom of Information Act requests by their nature can prove complex to answer and, notwithstanding the statutory guidance on the amount of time that must be spent in responding, we sometimes take longer to reply in order to gather the information requested.

    The change has been driven at least in part by an increased complexity of requests and we have responded to this in recent months by increasing the resources we devote to this area. Early indications show a significant improvement in performance, which we expect will be reflected when figures for cases received after 1 January 2015 are released.

    Ministry of Justice statistics are published on a quarterly basis, approximately three months in arrears, so the next figures to be published will refer to cases received in October to December 2014. The figures showing the improvements we have made will be visible in the following quarter when data for cases received in January to March 2015 are made available.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with the English Premier League on increased investment in grassroots football, in response to the recent sale of broadcasting rights.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.

  • Steve Baker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Steve Baker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Baker on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to arrange for licensing of the Wycombe Sound radio station to be expedited.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom is responsible for licensing community radio stations and has awarded over 270 licences to date.

    Ofcom conducts licensing in rounds and invites applicants from each region of the UK in turn. Ofcom has published timetables for the latest round of community radio licensing and anticipate inviting applications from the South East of England outside the M25 in the first half of 2015.

    For reasons of fairness, Ofcom assesses all the applications it receives in a region before awarding any licenses.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to encourage the English Premier League to increase its investment in grassroots football in line with the increase in revenue arising from the recent sale of broadcast rights.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Cathy Jamieson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on issues arising from the measures contained in the Football Governance Bill.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    I have had no such discussions. It would be for the Scottish Government to work with the key football bodies in Scotland on governance matters as they saw fit. I continue to encourage the football authorities in England to introduce improved measures around regulation and governance to their sport.

  • Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the Digital Single Market.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I have regular discussions with the EU Commissioners on a range of matters. The UK wants the EU to create an open, flexible digital single market with a regulatory framework that reflects the dynamic nature of the digital economy.