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  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding from the European Regional Development Fund is currently committed to projects in each region of the UK.

    Anna Soubry

    European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programmes for 2007-2013 have still to be formally closed by the European Commission. A list of projects in each region of England and the amount of funding awarded to each project under the 2007-2013 ERDF programmes can be found on GOV.UK at ‘2007 to 2013 ERDF programmes: achievements’.

    A list of projects in Scotland and the amount of funding awarded to each project under the 2007-2013 ERDF programmes can be found on the Scottish Government website under ‘Structural Funds 2007-2013’ for ‘Highlands & Islands Programmes’ and ‘Lowlands & Uplands Scotland Programmes’.

    A list of all projects in Wales and the amount of funding awarded to each under the 2007-2013 ERDF programmes can be found on the Welsh Government website under ‘Funding’, ‘European funds in Wales’, ‘Previous European Structural Funds programmes’, ‘Approved project database 2007-2013’.

    A list of projects in Northern Ireland and the amount of funding awarded to each project under the 2007-2013 ERDF programme can be found on www.eugrants-successes.org.

    Implementation of the 2014-2020 ERDF programmes is at an early stage. For the 2014-2020 period, England has an allocation of €3.6bn from the ERDF. This has been notionally allocated on the basis of Local Enterprise Partnership areas rather than regions. Information on the allocations to each Local Enterprise Partnership area, which include also the European Social Fund, can be found on GOV.UK.

    Information on the 2014-2020 ERDF programme in Scotland can be found on the Scottish Government website under ‘Structural Funds 2014-2020’, ‘Scotland’s 2014-2020 Programmes’.

    Information on the ERDF programme for 2014-2020 for Wales can be found on the Welsh Government website under ‘Funding’, ‘European funds in Wales’, ‘European Structural Funds 2014-2020’, ‘West, North Wales, and Valleys Programmes’ and ‘East Wales programmes’.

    Information on the 2014-2020 ERDF programme in Northern Ireland can be found on the Department of Finance & Personnel website of the Northern Ireland Executive at ‘Finance’, ‘Funding’, ‘EU Funding Allocations’, ‘EU allocations to NI (07-13 & 14—20).

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25439, on regional planning and development in Greater Manchester, when the consultation on the call for sites closed.

    Brandon Lewis

    We understand that no end date has been published and that the call for sites for the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework is still open. Further details can be found at: https://www.greatermanchesterca.gov.uk.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish from the Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse of 18 February 2016, on accountability of combined authorities, whether the scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 apply to combined authorities.

    James Wharton

    The scrutiny requirements for combined authorities are set out in Schedule 5A to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as inserted by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, which provide that overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities have powers to call in decisions and to involve other persons in their work. Schedule 5A also provides for secondary legislation which must ensure that the majority of members of an overview and scrutiny committee will be members of the combined authority’s constituent councils and that at least one member of an audit committee is an independent person. The scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 do not apply to combined authorities.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish from the Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse of 18 February 2016, on accountability of combined authorities, what his policy is on the appointment of hon. Members from the constituent districts to the scrutiny, overview and audit panels of combined authorities.

    James Wharton

    The scrutiny requirements for combined authorities are set out in Schedule 5A to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as inserted by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, which provide that overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities have powers to call in decisions and to involve other persons in their work. Schedule 5A also provides for secondary legislation which must ensure that the majority of members of an overview and scrutiny committee will be members of the combined authority’s constituent councils and that at least one member of an audit committee is an independent person. The scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 do not apply to combined authorities.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish from the Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse of 18 February 2016, on accountability of combined authorities, if he will introduce call-in procedures for individual constituent district councils to scrutinise the decisions of combined authorities.

    James Wharton

    The scrutiny requirements for combined authorities are set out in Schedule 5A to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as inserted by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, which provide that overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities have powers to call in decisions and to involve other persons in their work. Schedule 5A also provides for secondary legislation which must ensure that the majority of members of an overview and scrutiny committee will be members of the combined authority’s constituent councils and that at least one member of an audit committee is an independent person. The scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 do not apply to combined authorities.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish from the Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse of 18 February 2016, on accountability of combined authorities, if he will make provision for public involvement in the key decision process within the scrutiny arrangements for combined authorities.

    James Wharton

    The scrutiny requirements for combined authorities are set out in Schedule 5A to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as inserted by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, which provide that overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities have powers to call in decisions and to involve other persons in their work. Schedule 5A also provides for secondary legislation which must ensure that the majority of members of an overview and scrutiny committee will be members of the combined authority’s constituent councils and that at least one member of an audit committee is an independent person. The scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 do not apply to combined authorities.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on how the BBC defines talent for the purposes of non-disclosure of salaries and contractual payments.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Remuneration of talent is an issue for the BBC, which publishes information around its talent spend and definitions as part of its Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found here (http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/pdf/2014-15/bbc-annualreport-201415.pdf) .

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of his Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    On 1st March 2016, 97.8% of senior civil servants and 98.7% of core policy civil servants employed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport were based in London.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase participation in the arts by people from low income backgrounds.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to experience and participate in culture and the arts whatever their background and the Prime Minister acknowledged the importance of this in a speech in January 2016 on life chances. Government is maintaining the same level of funding for Arts Council England throughout the next spending period which will include support for arts programmes in areas where participation is low.

    Arts Council England funds a number of community arts organisations that look to engage disadvantaged people, such as Cinderford Artspace and Helix Arts which focus on encouraging unemployed adults and employed people on low incomes to participate in the arts. Arts Council England also places responsibility on every funded organisation to make their programme of work more reflective of the communities they serve.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.

    Mark Lancaster

    In the Ministry of Defence (MOD), 31.3% of Senior Civil Servants and those of an equivalent grade, primarily Senior Medical Specialists, are based in London.

    The proportion of MOD civil servants employed in policy roles is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.