The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the revenue that will accrue to the Exchequer from the insurance premium tax on health cash plans; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
In 2014-15, total Insurance Premium Tax receipts were approximately £3bn. HM Revenue and Customs estimates that £10.9 million in revenue was received from Insurance Premium Tax on health cash plans in 2014-15.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 19988, what progress he has made on finalising monitoring arrangements; and if he will support monitoring of the use of public transport and investment in the North East’s bus and rail networks as part of those arrangements.
James Wharton
The Government is working with the North East Combined Authority on the implementation plan for its devolution deal, which will cover monitoring arrangements. The devolution deal will create an elected mayor, who will be directly accountable to local people and will have powers over transport among other things. It is for the future mayor to decide how to monitor transport policy, and for local people to hold the mayor and the Combined Authority to account.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to introduce mandatory electrical safety checks for private rented sector properties.
Brandon Lewis
The Government is committed to protecting tenants and has therefore agreed to carry out the necessary research to understand what, if any, legislative changes regarding electrical safety checks in the private rented sector should be introduced.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on improving tenants’ access to longer-term family friendly tenancies.
Brandon Lewis
The Government supports longer tenancies, and promotes them through its Model Tenancy Agreement. Some mortgage lenders incorporated clauses in their agreements with landlords preventing them from granting tenancies of longer than a year. We have continued to encourage lenders to permit family friendly tenancies, and consequently the majority have now changed their policies, and permit tenancies of up to two to three years. We are encouraging those remaining lenders, who have not changed their policies, to do so and to promote the use of our Model Tenancy Agreement to their landlord customers.
We also know that tenants value the flexibility that private renting offers and not all want longer tenancies. A recent report by Knight Frank reported that the majority of Private Rented Sector tenants (53%) favour a six month or one year tenancy. The average length of residence, according to the English Housing Survey 2013-14, was three and a half years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what response she has made to the recent letter from the Chair of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire and Rescue Authority detailing improvements in that Authority’s pay and recruitment arrangements following Ministerial intervention; and if she will make a statement.
Mike Penning
Melanie Dawes, the Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer for the Department for Communities and Local Government, replied to Sir Peter Brown the chairman of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority, on 30 December. That letter reiterated the Government’s position that all parts of the public sector should continue to demonstrate restraint in the pay and reward offered to senior staff, and should ensure that the way that their workforces are managed is truly in the interests of taxpayers.
While fire and rescue authorities are independent employers and it is for their leadership to make local decisions about the pay, reward and appointment of their staff, the Government has taken a number of steps to increase the transparency and accountability of these local decisions, not least through the Localism Act 2011 and its associated guidance.
These measures have helped create the conditions in which decisions on senior remuneration are rightfully subject to significantly greater scrutiny, ensuring the public have the information they need to hold councillors to account at the ballot box.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of changes in local authority funding announced in the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015 on road safety strategies in local authorities.
Andrew Jones
Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network.
They are required by statute to promote road safety which will involve undertaking collision/casualty data analysis and to devise programmes, including engineering and road user education, training and publicity that will improve road safety.
It is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their “statutory duty”.
Following the 2015 Spending Review the Government will continue to provide funding through the Integrated Transport block for local highway authorities to support small-scale initiatives, including road safety schemes. This funding is not ring-fenced and gives local authorities the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit their localities. Funding for local safety schemes is also available through both the Local Growth Fund and the Government’s Cycle City Ambition Grants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has been approached by (a) Stockport local authority, (b) Tameside local authority and (c) the Greater Manchester combined authority to approve the re-designation of school land for housing development in the last three years.
Edward Timpson
Since January 2013, the Secretary of State for Education has received:
These figures include applications in those local authorities relating to land held by Academy Trusts under a lease from the local authority.
The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. Secretary of State consent is also required under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 where local authorities wish to dispose of playing field land that has been used by a school in the last ten years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new school.
There are a range of reasons for these disposals. Some disposals are leases from the academy trustees back to the local authority, which allow a children’s centre on site to continue or which provide land for another school. A substantial number of consents refer to local authority maintained school sites for outright disposals where the school has closed or relocated to a new build site.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what factors she takes into account when considering a request from a local authority to dispose of school sites for redevelopment for new housing.
Edward Timpson
Since January 2013, the Secretary of State for Education has received:
These figures include applications in those local authorities relating to land held by Academy Trusts under a lease from the local authority.
The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. Secretary of State consent is also required under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 where local authorities wish to dispose of playing field land that has been used by a school in the last ten years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new school.
There are a range of reasons for these disposals. Some disposals are leases from the academy trustees back to the local authority, which allow a children’s centre on site to continue or which provide land for another school. A substantial number of consents refer to local authority maintained school sites for outright disposals where the school has closed or relocated to a new build site.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from Calderdale Council since 2010 on the level of local authority funding from central Government.
Mr Marcus Jones
Calderdale Council have submitted a representation each year since 2010 as part of the annual consultation on the local government finance settlement.
The annual local government finance settlement sets out details of central government funding for local authorities, including Revenue Support Grant, as well as considering councils’ locally raised funds, and represents the main funding source for local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from Calderdale Council since 2010 on the level of the Revenue Support Grant.
Mr Marcus Jones
Calderdale Council have submitted a representation each year since 2010 as part of the annual consultation on the local government finance settlement.
The annual local government finance settlement sets out details of central government funding for local authorities, including Revenue Support Grant, as well as considering councils’ locally raised funds, and represents the main funding source for local authorities.