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  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 33 of the Budget 2016, how much of the £520 million estimated to be raised by the new sugar levy she expects to be allocated to sporting initiatives through her Department’s budget or arms length bodies in each of the next four years.

    Edward Timpson

    As announced in Budget 2016, a new soft drinks industry levy is expected to raise £520 million in the first year.

    In England, revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the Physical Education (PE) and sport premium for primary schools from £160 million a year to £320 million from September 2017. Primary schools will be able to make further improvements to the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer, including introducing new activities, after school clubs and hiring specialist coaches to work alongside teachers.

    Revenue generated from the levy will also be used to provide up to £285 million a year to give 25% of secondary schools increased opportunity to extend their school day to offer a wider range of activities for pupils. This can include sports clubs.

  • 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 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 79 in the Autumn Statement 2015 and page 92 in the Budget 2016, for what reason the estimate of his Capital DEL budget for 2015-16 has changed from £0.4 billion to £0.3 billion.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Capital DEL budget for 2015-16 in the Autumn Statement 2015 reflected the Main Estimate cover of £402m; the Capital DEL budget for 2015-16 in the Budget 2016 reflected the Supplementary Estimate cover of £368m. The movements that make up the change of £33,928,000 are scheduled on page 509 of the Supplementary Estimate 2015-16.

  • 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 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 78 in the Autumn Statement 2015 and page 91 of the Budget 2016, for what reason the estimate of his Resource DEL budget for 2015-16 has changed from £1.1 billion to £1.2 billion.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Resource DEL budget (excluding depreciation) for 2015-16 in the Autumn Statement 2015 reflected the Main Estimate cover of £1,140m; the Resource DEL budget (excluding depreciation) for 2015-16 in the Budget 2016 reflected the Supplementary Estimate cover of £1,166m. The movements that make up the change of £25,899,000 are scheduled on pages 507-508 of the Supplementary Estimate 2015-16.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to Ofcom’s review of the Terms of Trade.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I am considering Ofcom’s report on the independent production sector regulations and will respond in due course.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the development of small sites by small builders; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of deferring payment of the community infrastructure levy for sites of less than 50 units until those properties are placed on the market on the development of such sites.

    Brandon Lewis

    Increasing the number of homes is a top priority for this Government and helping smaller builders to contribute is key. Self builders are exempt from the Community Infrastructure Levy and charging authorities may offer relief from the levy in exceptional circumstances where a specific scheme cannot afford to pay it.

    We brought forward policy to exempt sites of less than 10 units from making affordable housing and tariff style contributions through section 106 planning obligations, which was subsequently quashed by the courts. We have appealed this decision and we are awaiting the judgment from the Court of Appeal.

    The Government is currently undertaking a review of the Community Infrastructure Levy, through an independent panel, to assess the extent to which the levy provides an effective mechanism for funding infrastructure, and to recommend changes that would improve its operation in support of the Government’s wider housing and growth objectives. The review, amongst other issues, will be looking at the relationship between the levy and section 106, including how they work together in practice.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of encouraging increased residential density around business and transport hubs to reduce community demand on public and private transport.

    Brandon Lewis

    There are some specific circumstances where there are clear opportunities for having higher density housing development while creating high quality, safe and attractive places to live.

    Last December we consulted on changes to national planning policy to encourage higher densities around commuter hubs, and will publish our response to this consultation in due course.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of proposed changes to the National Planning Framework for London on the (a) availability and (b) affordability of housing in London.

    Brandon Lewis

    The proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework reaffirm this Government’s commitment to increasing the supply of housing in sustainable locations. Consultation on our proposed changes closed on 22 February and we are currently analysing the responses.

    We have doubled the housing budget to help deliver our ambition of one million new homes and are committed to spending £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2021. Negotiations over the financial settlement to deliver affordable housing within London are continuing.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many called-in planning decisions he made a decision in three months or longer in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    The attached table below shows the number of called-in planning decisions issued by the Secretary of State during each of the last 10 years issued more than three months after the report was received.

    Year decision was issued

    Decisions issued more than 3 months after Inspector’s report was received

    1 April 2006 – 31 March 2007

    10

    1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008

    9

    1 April 2008 – 31 March 2009

    13

    1 April 2009 – 31 March 2010

    4

    1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011

    5

    1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012

    2

    1 April 2012– 31 March 2013

    3

    1 April 2013– 31 March 2014

    2

    1 April 2014– 31 March 2015

    9

    1 April 2015– 31 March 2016

    4

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of rough sleepers has mental health issues; and what plans he has to address that issue.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why we have increased our central investment for homelessness to £139 million over the next four years, and protected homelessness prevention funding to local authorities, totalling £315 million.

    We know sleeping rough is rarely the result of a personal housing crisis alone and that the most entrenched rough sleepers often have complex needs, including mental health difficulties or addiction. That is why we are investing £10 million in an innovative new national Social impact Bonds Fund to help address these complex needs in order to help entrenched rough sleepers move off the streets. Through my Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness, I am working with ministerial colleagues across government including the Department of Health, to develop actions to address these underlying causes of homelessness.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of immigration on the level of economic productivity over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    As noted in the 2012 report by the Migration Advisory Committee the empirical literature suggests that the impact of migration on productivity may be mixed and heavily dependent on the type of migrant coming to the UK. Migrants may increase productivity either through a simple ‘batting average’ effect if they work in higher productivity roles relative to the average for non-migrants, or through increasing the productivity of UK workers through greater specialisation and knowledge transfer.