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  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consultation took place with patient representative groups and charities representing older people on the changes to attendance allowance proposed in the provisional local government finance settlement 2016-17.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    In December, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that the Government will be consulting on giving councils in England “more responsibility to support older people with care needs – including people who, under the current system, would be supported through Attendance Allowance”. We want to explore if there is a better way to provide support for older people with care needs through local integration and we intend to launch a consultation on this in due course. Any change would not affect those already receiving Attendance Allowance. The consultation will be an open process that will give everybody a voice in determining the nature of any reform and will inform the decision about whether and how to proceed with any reform.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what final estimate of damage in the Yorkshire and Humber region caused by recent flooding his Department has provided to the EU Commission.

    James Wharton

    The UK Government submitted an initial application to the European Union Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February which included a provisional estimate of the costs of direct damage incurred by storms Desmond and Eva. We are in the process of refining our cost estimations and figures, and will update Parliament once the application is finalised.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been purchased in (a) England, (b) the East Midlands and (c) Ashfield constituency through the Help to Buy Scheme in each year since that scheme was introduced.

    Brandon Lewis

    Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan, Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee and Help to Buy: NewBuy schemes, the total number of homes sold under all schemes total 138,997 in England, of which 15,684 are in the East Midlands.

    Figures for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan and Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee show 494 homes sold in the Ashfield constituency. Figures for the total number of homes sold under the Help to Buy: NewBuy schemes are not published at this level.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy that provisions to end lifetime tenancies in the Housing and Planning Bill will maintain the secure tenancies of tenants who choose to move to more suitable accommodation because of a disability.

    Brandon Lewis

    Where existing lifetime tenants transfer to another social home, local authorities will retain a discretion to offer the tenant a further lifetime tenancy. We will set out the circumstances in regulations, and will give serious consideration to whether these should include disabled tenants who need to move to more suitable accommodation.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of transitional funding grants on adult social care provision in areas that (a) receive additional funding and (b) have not been allocated a transitional funding grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The 2015 Spending Review considered a wide range of factors that could impact on the costs local authorities face in delivering local services. It recognised the important priority and growing costs of adult social care and offered a package of measures worth up to £3.5 billion a year by 2019-20 to address these pressures. This includes a dedicated social care precept of up to 2% a year and £1.5 billion additional funding by 2019/20 through the improved Better Care Fund.

    The 2016/17 Local Government Finance Settlement included a new approach to allocating funding that ensures councils delivering the same set of services receive the same percentage change in settlement core funding for those services. The Transition Grant supports those local authorities that did not benefit from the new approach, helping them transition to a world where local resources instead of central government grant fund local services. An explanatory note on the method of allocation of the Transition Grant has been published and copies have been made available in the Library of both Houses.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding formula and criteria were used by his Department to assess which local authorities would receive a transitional funding grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    An explanatory note on the method of allocation of the Transition Grant has been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/510870/Explanatory_note_on_the_allocation_of_the_Transition_Grant.pdf

    Copies have been made available in the Library of both Houses.

    “

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that starter homes are affordable; and how his Department determines its definition of affordability of such homes.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government expects starter homes to be entry level properties; where the value reflects the average first time buyer price in an area. We are introducing maximum price caps after the discount has been applied to ensure that they are in reach of the typical first time buyer; and are working with the sector to secure a transparent valuation process to ensure starter homes are valued fairly in each area with a genuine discount.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that like-for-like replacements are provided in the same local authority area for (a) properties sold under the Right to Buy scheme and (b) properties sold to fund the discounted sale of properties sold under the Right to Buy scheme.

    Brandon Lewis

    The voluntary Right to Buy agreement with the National Housing Federation states that housing associations will have the flexibility to replace nationally.

    The 2012 Reinvigorated Right to Buy scheme introduced for the first time ever, a requirement to provide a new affordable home for every additional sale nationally. There is a rolling 3 year deadline for local authorities to deliver additional affordable homes through new build or acquisition under the reinvigorated Right to Buy, and so far they have delivered well within sales profile.

    The Government is committed to using a portion of every receipt from our value vacant housing policy to fund the building of additional homes. The Housing and Planning Bill currently going through Parliament allows the Secretary of State and a local authority to enter into an agreement for the local authority to retain part of its receipts from the policy to lead on the delivery of more homes that meet housing need. Recognising London’s particular housing need, where these agreements are with a local authority in London, every empty dwelling assumed sold will be replaced by at least two new affordable homes.

  • David Mowat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    David Mowat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of residential addresses in the parish of Hatton are currently within reach of superfast broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department does not hold parish level data.

    However, current estimates suggest that almost 85% of premises in the Warrington South constituency are subject to commercial rollout, and a further 9% of premises (4,615) now have coverage as a result of this Government’s Superfast Broadband programme.

    Based on DCMS modelled estimates and current delivery plans, 97.7% of premises in the Warrington South constituency will have access to superfast broadband by December 2017. Early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, could help extend coverage further.

    In addition, the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation will give people the legal right to request a broadband connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament. Our ambition is that this should be set at 10 Mbps.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by what date he estimates there will be universal access to high-speed broadband services in Easington constituency.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Current estimates suggest that almost 90% of premises in the Easington constituency are subject to commercial rollout, and a further 6% of premises (2,410) now have coverage as a result of the Government’s Superfast Broadband programme.

    Based on DCMS modelled estimates and current delivery plans, 97.2% of premises in the Easington constituency will have access to superfast broadband by December 2017. Early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, could help extend coverage further.

    In addition, the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation will give people the legal right to request a broadband connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament. Our ambition is that this should be set at 10 Mbps.