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  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Culture and Digital Economy of 23 May 2016, Official Report, column 371, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households that will not request broadband access under the broadband universal service obligation.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    We do not yet have a specific estimate for the future take-up under the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO). Once in place the USO will act as a safety net giving homes and businesses the right to a fast broadband connection of at least 10 Mbps where superfast broadband is not available. Superfast broadband is available to 90% of premises, up from 45% in 2010 and roll-out will continue when the Government’s target of at least 95% superfast broadband coverage by the end of 2017 has been met. The Government is committed to reinvesting funding to extend superfast broadband to as many rural homes and businesses as possible.

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of his Department’s progress on improving municipal statutory notices since his Department’s press release, Councils and media invited to bring statutory notices into 21st century, published on 23rd December 2014.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Statutory Notices Pilots project is now complete. We are currently in the process of giving careful consideration to the findings of the final reports of the 24 pilots, before drawing any conclusions and deciding what action, if any, to take.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues on housing renewal in former industrial areas and the replacement of dilapidated housing when it no longer meets the needs of the local community.

    Brandon Lewis

    The current government is committed to increasing the supply of new housing, including through £8 billion announced at the spending review to support the delivery of 400,000 affordable homes and the £140 million to kick start estate regeneration.

    We announced at Spending Review that £2 billion in loans will be made available to invest in infrastructure needed for major housing developments. We would expect at least 50% of this funding to support housing on brownfield sites. Full bidding guidance will be available when the fund is launched.

    In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework sets out the expectation that local planning authorities should identify and bring back into residential use empty housing and buildings in line with local housing and empty homes strategies. Planning applications for change to residential use from commercial buildings in areas where there is an identified need for additional housing should be approved provided that there are not strong economic reasons why such development would be inappropriate.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to provide (a) refuges and (b) other support to family members in rural areas experiencing domestic abuse and other relationship problems; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Domestic Abuse is a devastating crime and we are determined to ensure that no one is turned away from the support they need irrespective of where they live. Government has committed £80 million of extra funding up to 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls. In the strategy to end violence against women and girls published on 8 March, we set out our ambition to improve services for women suffering from domestic abuse committing to a new Statement of Expectations to set out for the first time what we expect from local areas. To support this, we are launching a new two year fund, which will be open to local authorities across the country including those from rural areas, to bid for funding for refuges and other forms of accommodation based support and to help local areas take the steps they need to meet the National Statement.

    This builds on the £3.5 million funding in 2015/16 and is on top of the £10 million funding to strengthen the provision of safe accommodation in the last spending review period. The Government does recognise the distinct challenges faced by victims of domestic abuse in rural areas and has supported bids for funding from rural areas for example Suffolk, Shropshire and Somerset.

    Our Troubled Families Programme is about transforming the way local services support families with multiple problems. It incentivises services to come together, working with and understanding the needs of the whole family instead of constantly reacting to their individual problems. 29% of families in entry to the programme between 2012 and 2015 were experiencing domestic violence or abuse.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much he has allocated for housing regeneration in (a) Easington constituency, (b) Country Durham and (c) the North East.

    Brandon Lewis

    The government is committed to delivering new homes. The table below sets out allocations under the Affordable Homes Programme for 2015/18.

    Funding allocated for 2015/18

    County Durham

    £5,164,746

    North East region

    £65,013,147

    Please note that these figures are indicative and further new homes may be delivered as proposals are firmed up. It is not possible to breakdown the figures further.

    In addition to this, the local authorities and developers in the North East will be able to benefit from:

    • £140 million for Estate Regeneration
    • £4.7 billion fund to deliver affordable housing, including Shared Ownership Homes
    • £1.2 billion allocated to bring forward land for Starter Homes
    • £3 billion Home Building Fund, to be launched shortly
  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 33341, when he plans to publish his Department’s analysis of the compliance testing of local authorities with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We are considering the work undertaken on the testing of local authorities compliance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015 in the context of the wider work on strengthening local government transparency, including proposals on changes to the Transparency Code, which is currently out to consultation until the 8 July 2016.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34913, on planning, if he will publish the analysis of the responses on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations.

    Brandon Lewis

    A consultation on specific changes to the Framework, aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations, closed on 22 February. We are currently analysing the responses.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made in his review of the effects of the one per cent rent reduction on small almshouse charities.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Social Housing Rents (Exceptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2016 provided a one year exception for almshouses from the one per cent rent reduction. We are carefully considering the approach for the second year of the reduction onwards, and my officials recently met the Almshouse Association to discuss this. Our aim is to ensure there is a workable and sustainable solution for almshouses, their residents and for taxpayers.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to approve the draft selective licensing scheme for landlords for Peterborough City Council; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    My department is reviewing the evidence submitted by Peterborough City Council in support of their proposed selective licensing scheme and will make a decision on this in due course.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on how many money service businesses had their bank accounts closed in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The FCA have recently published a report on the nature and scale of de-risking in the UK. The report reinforces the view that de-risking is driven by a variety of factors, not just anti money-laundering compliance or a fear of regulatory action. From a data set of 23 banks the report noted that “tracking the proportionately tiny number of closures linked to financial crime concerns within this immense dataset is thus inherently challenging, especially if the reason for closure is primarily commercial, with a small component of the equation relating to ‘increased compliance costs’.”

    However the report does indicate that the rate of customer exits has accelerated over the last 2-3 years.

    Data from HM Revenue and Customs (the supervisor of Money Service Businesses outside the banking sector) shows that there are about 2000 MSB’s principals registered to trade with approximately 45,000 agents around the UK. It is a large and diverse sector. HMRC does hold data on the number of de-registered MSB’s, however given that MSB’s are not required to provide HMRC with information on when they have had their bank accounts closed, data on MSB’s effected by de-risking is not available.