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  • 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 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reduction to local government spending announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on (a) local and (b) national arts and culture organisations.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    TheSpending Review settlement puts national arts and culture organisations on a strong footing. It will ensure continued free access to national museums and galleries and allow them to pursue an ambitious agenda across this Parliament. As the Chancellor said in his Spending Review speech, "one of the best investments we can make as a nation is in our extraordinary arts, museums, heritage, media and sport".

    Forecast increases to other sources of income (including business rates and council tax) mean that local government spending is forecast to be higher in cash terms in 2019/20 than in 2015/16 . Local authorities understand the importance of investing in cultural activities in their areas, and are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending.

  • 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 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the proportion of libraries which have reduced their opening hours in the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such changes on (a) library users and (b) community groups who use library premises.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Each local authority is responsible for providing a comprehensive and efficient library service that meets the requirements of their communities, including consideration of opening hours.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many first-time house buyers there were in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each of the last six years.

    Brandon Lewis

    Statistics on the numbers of first-time house buyers are published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and can be found at:

    https://www.cml.org.uk/home/

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many incident response units for the mass decontamination of members of the public there are in England which could be used in the event of a CBRNE attack; and how many such units are able to be deployed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    Greg Clark

    The Fire and Rescue Service provide a mass decontamination response capability on behalf of the Ambulance Service, which is deployable 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as part of the DCLG New Dimensions Programme.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which listed properties owned in London by the Government are leased out; and to whom and on what terms such properties are leased.

    Matthew Hancock

    Records held by the Cabinet Office show that New Burlington House, Piccadilly is leased out via five separate leases for ten years, renewable, at a market rent to each of the five Learned Societies (Geological Society of London, Linnean Society of London, Royal Astronomical Society, Society of Antiquaries of London, Royal Society of Chemistry). Records also show that 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road is part sub-let by the National Audit Office to commercial sub-tenants.

    Information is only held centrally on the Government Estate in London. Any information outside of this is held locally by departments.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people are employed in the Property Asset Management Unit; and how many such people are (a) civil servants and (b) secondees from outside bodies.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not employ any civil servants, or secondees from outside bodies within the Property Asset Management Unit.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which former Government-owned listed properties have been sold either as freehold or on a long lease in London in the last 10 years.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cabinet Office records show that two buildings listed have been sold in central London on a long lease in the last 10 years.

    The first is Admiralty Arch, which is leased on a 250 year long lease,generating over £65 million in capital receipts for the exchequer.

    The second is the Old War Office, leased on a 250 year long lease. Both freeholds remain with Cabinet Office for the perpetuity.

    Information is only held centrally on the Government Estate in central London. Any information outside of this is held locally by departments.

  • Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new homes of each type of tenure he plans will be funded by measures announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Spending Review and Autumn Statement made last week reaffirmed this Government’s commitment to keeping the country building, to delivering the homes communities want and supporting hard-working people who aspire to own their own home to be able to do so.

    Over £20 billion was secured for housing from the Spending Review. This includes £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable starts, and a further £12 billion of housing investment which will support our 1 million homes ambition by 2020/21.

    The Spending Review package announced last week supports a variety of tenures, including affordable homes for rent, shared ownership schemes and starter homes. It also supports home ownership through supporting custom build, the extension of Help to Buy, and extending the Right to Buy to tenants of housing associations.

    Precise splits between differing types of tenure will depend on the nature and quality of bids recieved for new funding programmes, and on the type of sites coming forward.

  • Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new social rented homes he plans will be funded by the resources identified for housing in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    Through the Spending Review the Government has committed to investing £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts, doubling our investment from 2018-19.

    This funding includes £1.7 billion for around 100,000 homes for affordable or intermediate rent, which will be delivered between 2015 and 2021.

  • Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of social rented homes that will be completed in (a) 2015-16 and (b) each of the succeeding four years.

    Brandon Lewis

    Through the Spending Review the Government has committed to investing £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts, doubling our investment in affordable housing from 2018-19.

    This includes £1.7 billion to deliver around 100,000 homes for affordable or intermediate rent. Already through the 2015-18 Affordable Homes programme we have allocated over £1 billion to deliver affordable housing, with the majority being for rented housing.

    Since April 2010 we have delivered over 260,000 affordable homes. Under Labour the stock of affordable homes fell by 420,000, with 1.8 million families on social housing waiting lists. More council housing has been built since 2010 than in the previous 13 years of a Labour Government.

    The funding allocated to housing associations and local authorities will depend on the bids submitted to the Affordable Homes programme.