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  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department has allocated to the maintenance of war memorials in each of the next three years; what steps it takes to ensure that war memorials are maintained to a high standard; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The DCMS-run Memorial Grant Scheme has a budget of £543,000 for this financial year. Grants are available to charities and faith groups, and can be used to repair and maintain war memorials. The Government has today announced that it will give the War Memorials Trust up to £3 million over the First World War centenary period to boost the funds available to local communities for the repair and conservation of war memorials. English Heritage, Imperial War Museums and Civic Voice will together be given £1.5 million over the same period to deliver better protection through Listing, a greater pool of specialist skills, a national register of war memorials, and a network of trained volunteers.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The table sets out the percentage of employees, within each performance category, who have declared a disability, and the percentage of all other staff in each performance category for the 2013-14 reporting year for assessments received to date. The percentage of all other staff includes staff who have either explicitly declared that they do not have a disability, have chosen the ‘prefer not to say’ option, or have not responded to the question at all.

    Percentage

    Excellent

    Good

    Must Improve

    Percentage of employees who have declared a disability in each performance rating

    1%

    4%

    0%

    Percentage of all other staff employed in each performance rating

    35%

    58%

    2%

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. All staff have been asked to provide personal diversity data to be held anonymously, and we continue to encourage increased declaration by staff. As such these figures will not be fully representative of workforce diversity.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the (a) number and (b) location of memorials to commemorate the war dead in the (i) First World War and (ii) Second World War; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    DCMS holds no records on the number or location of memorials to commemorate the war dead. Information about war memorials throughout the UK is held by both the Imperial War Museum and the War Memorials Trust. The Imperial War Museum is working with its partners to make this information more easily accessible to the public.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has for the issuing of further licences for local television.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As part of our Local TV licencing programme, Ofcom advertised the following locations with a deadline of 7 January 2014: Barnstaple, Basingstoke, Derry/Londonderry, Gloucester, Guildford, Limavady, Luton, Maidstone, Plymouth, Reading and Salisbury and Ofcom is in the process of considering the resulting applications. Out of these locations, Ofcom only received applications for five: Reading, Basingstoke, Guildford, Salisbury and Maidstone. The licences for Reading, Salisbury and Guildford have been awarded by Ofcom (on 3 June 2014) and Ofcom expects to be able to make a decision on the remaining two locations, namely Basingstoke and Maidstone shortly.

    Ofcom plans to invite applications for further areas later this year.

  • Ben Wallace – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ben Wallace – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Wallace on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend paragraph 98 of the National Planning Policy Framework to require applicants for onshore wind energy developments to demonstrate an overall national need for renewable energy.

    Kris Hopkins

    Inappropriately sited wind turbines can cause significant harm to the local environment. Hence, last year, we changed planning guidance to strengthen the protection of landscape and heritage in relation to onshore wind.

    Looking forward, we are keeping planning policy on renewable energy under review and will consider whether any further steps are appropriate in the light of this monitoring. We are open to representations.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.

    Kris Hopkins

    The table below provides a summary of the performance results for non-Senior Civil Service staff for whom the DCLG process applied, where disability has been declared, and whose performance markings have been entered into the HR database:

    Number of staff

    Exceptional

    Good

    Development

    Needed

    Not Disabled

    217

    824

    94

    Disabled

    7

    45

    15

    Due to changes in methodology in the manner in which such assessments are undertaken, these figures are not comparative with those given to the hon. Member in the answer to her of 4 November 2013, Official Report, Column 22W.

    The small sample sizes may mean the results are not statistically significant. We will be undertaking further analysis of the wider performance outcomes across both performance years and all protected characteristics. We will consider whether action is required to address any clear findings.

    The Department provides a reasonable adjustments service, which has recently been subject to a review, to allow staff to ensure that a person with a disability is not put at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled persons generally, who work under the same conditions. The Department’s Disability Champion also continues to work closely with the Disability Staff Network in raising awareness of disability issues to the wider Department.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what grants have been given by the Coastal Communities Fund to date; which town, county and parliamentary constituency received each such grant; and what the size and purpose of each grant was.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Coastal Communities Fund supports economic growth and jobs in coastal communities across the United Kingdom. We have awarded a total of 104 grants under the Fund to date in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at a total value of £53.6 million. A table has been placed in the Library of the House giving the details requested for all 104 grants.

    Decisions on grant awards in England are taken by Government Ministers. In Wales and Northern Ireland grant awards are taken by panels involving officials from the BIG Lottery Fund and Devolved Administrations, and in Scotland by independently appointed panels.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether levels of poverty and deprivation in coastal towns are considered by his Department when making grants from the Coastal Communities Fund.

    Brandon Lewis

    Grant applicants submitting bids to the Coastal Communities Fund are expected to demonstrate the need for their project, which can include levels of poverty and deprivation in their area. This information is one of a range of factors that are taken into account in the assessment of grant applications. However, the Fund is not specifically targeted on deprived coastal towns. Its aim is to support jobs and growth in coastal communities across the United Kingdom where projects can best exploit local assets and opportunities to unlock their growth potential. In addition to demonstrating need, applications to the Fund must be clearly linked to an economic opportunity to create and safeguard jobs within the coastal community. Coastal flooding and erosion risk management and repair are also priorities for grant aid where proposed works support economic development.

  • Lyn Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lyn Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish his assessment of the workability of the protocol agreed between his Department and the Fire Brigades Union on recall to duty in the event of a major incident or national disaster.

    Brandon Lewis

    The levels of crewing available for each authority, whether or not during periods of strike action, are dependent upon a number of factors. These include the duty system being worked locally, availability of on-call firefighters and, during strike periods, local contingency arrangements, which are the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority. The Department collects details of appliance availability from local fire and rescue authorities on a confidential basis. The arrangements for business continuity planning during strike action are kept under review by the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser.

    The principles of the recall to duty protocol, published as National Joint Council for Fire and Rescue Services Circular NJC/09/13, were agreed between the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, the Fire Brigades Union and the National Employers. Appendix 1 applies to fire and rescue authorities in England and makes clear that the Chief Fire Officers are responsible for arrangements locally, in accordance with their service’s major incident policies. I am confident that should there be a major disaster, striking firefighters would return to work.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Cheryl Gillan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether a local planning authority which rejects a housing development application which is subsequently approved on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate are still eligible for the New Homes Bonus.

    Kris Hopkins

    Yes.