Tag: Clive Betts

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how he plans that the section 31 grant to compensate councils for the extension of small business rate relief will be funded.

Mr Marcus Jones

By raising £8 billion through a package of measures to counter tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by multinational enterprises, Government has been able to announce in the Budget a £6.7 billion reduction in business rates. This is the biggest ever cut in business rates in England. The funding for these section 31 grants was provided for in Budget 2016 through the Budget scorecard (lines 15-17). This additional funding is included in the DCLG Local Government DEL budget figures on page 91 of the Budget Report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how the proposed cost savings outlined in the BIS 2020 programme have been calculated; and what estimate he has made of projected savings of relocating staff from the office in Sheffield to London.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has committed to delivering 30-40% reductions in the Department’s operating expenditure which equates to around £350m by 2020. Savings of this magnitude can only be delivered by changing the Department’s overall business model so that it is simpler, cheaper and better for users of BIS services. This involves reducing the number of offices, our number of partner bodies, and our headcount as well as rationalising customer support, grant giving and digital service delivery. The proposed move of policy teams into a single centre and proposed closure of the Sheffield office forms part of a larger programme to change our business model.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of retaining his Department’s office at St Paul’s Palace, Sheffield.

Joseph Johnson

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 27113 from the Hon Member for Sheffield Central.

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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 much funding the Government plans to make available (a) to housing associations, (b) to local authorities and (c) in total in each of the next four years to build social rented housing.

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

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 Government does not publish annual delivery targets for the affordable housing programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 2 of Budget 2016, whether the £3.5 billion savings to public spending to be achieved by 2012-20 will affect the four year funding settlement to local councils announced by his Department in December 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones

While the Government has not yet completed its departmental efficiency review to help identify further savings in 2019-20, we expect the four year allocations confirmed in the final settlement on 10 February 2016 to be the amounts presented to Parliament each year, should councils choose to accept the offer.

We look forward to councils publishing efficiency plans by 14 October 2016 that demonstrate how the greater certainty on offer can bring about opportunities for further savings. However, if councils prefer not to have a four year settlement we cannot guarantee their future levels of funding.

We have been clear that funding allocations in 2019-20 may be subject to the implementation of 100% business rate retention, something councils have asked for over decades and which we are working with the sector to deliver.

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how he plans that the section 31 grant to compensate councils for the extension of small business rate relief will be funded.

Mr Marcus Jones

By raising £8 billion through a package of measures to counter tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by multinational enterprises, Government has been able to announce in the Budget a £6.7 billion reduction in business rates. This is the biggest ever cut in business rates in England. The funding for these section 31 grants was provided for in Budget 2016 through the Budget scorecard (lines 15-17). This additional funding is included in the DCLG Local Government DEL budget figures on page 91 of the Budget Report.

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what further steps he plans to take to ensure that local government pension scheme members are consulted on proposed guidance on the ability of local government to account for non-financial factors in pension scheme investment decisions; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that that proposed guidance will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government’s response to the consultation, which will set out our next steps in relation to these issues, will be published shortly.

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.