UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Hilary Benn

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities affected by flooding can claim under the Bellwin scheme for the cost of disposing of sandbags that have been contaminated with sewage.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Thursday 3 April 2014]

    Local authorities can claim the costs of removing sandbags used during the flooding emergency, under the Bellwin scheme. This includes sandbags that have been contaminated with sewage.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications he has (a) received and (b) approved for the disposal of allotment sites in each year since 2010 in England; and in what local authority each such site was located.

    Stephen Williams

    Further to the Allotments Act 1925, applications for consent to dispose of allotment land are submitted to the Department by local councils (parish councils and principal authorities). The table below shows the breakdown of applications since May 2010.

    Granted

    Withdrawn

    Refused

    May 2010- March 2011

    18

    6

    0

    2011-12

    17

    5

    0

    2012-13

    15

    2

    1

    2013-14

    17

    1

    4

    2014-15 to date

    1

    1

    0

    To place this in context, the Secretary of State granted 34 allotment disposals in 2007, granted 22 in 2008 and granted 18 in 2009, whilst only 2 were declined, which is a greater rate than under this Administration.

    I observe that the rt. hon. Member has been quoted in the media attacking such consents. He would have been wiser however to have undertaken a closer examination of the 68 individual consents granted to the local councils since May 2010.

    The table below provides some context to help explain why there was a reasonable case by the representative local bodies for changing the statutory status of the land.

    In January 2014, my Department published Allotment Disposal Guidance: Safeguards and Alternatives replacing the previous guidance from 2002. The new guidance strengthens allotment protection, as the requirement for waiting lists to be taken into account must now be rigorously applied to all that council’s waiting lists, not just the waiting list for the site to be disposed of. This aims to ensure that poorly maintained sites are not used to justify disposal. Ministers will be closely monitoring to ensure that this new guidance is followed.

    Notwithstanding, I have taken the opportunity to analyse these previous cases in the table below. The National Allotment Society was consulted in every case, and nine out of ten decisions were consistent with advice from the National Allotment Society (where advice was given); the remaining cases where the advice diverged related to land not actually in use as allotments, requiring a judgement call on whether it was realistic to bring the land back into productive use.

    Having analysed these approvals, I can note that half of the land disposed was not actually in use as allotments. Moreover, in every case where existing allotment plot holders were displaced, evidence from local authorities indicates that alternative plots were made available to them.

    More new plots were proposed to be created and/or vacant sites proposed to be brought back into use than the number of proposed disposals of in-use allotment plots. Consequently, the statutory disposal process overseen by the Secretary of State since May 2010 should have resulted in an increase in allotment provision not a reduction. This reflects this Government’s commitment both to supporting local communities grow their own food and to protecting important community assets.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 196308, tabled on 10 April 2014 for answer on 28 April 2014.

    Stephen Williams

    [Holding Reply: Monday 12 May 2014]

    Question 196308 has been answered today.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities affected by the recent floods are offering council tax discounts to flooded-out householders under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Thursday 3 April 2014]

    My rt. hon. Friend, the PrimeMinister announced on 19 February 2014 that Government will reimburse local authorities for providing council tax discounts for flooded homes. 48 local authorities have reported that they had already offered discounts by 17 March, with a further 63 planning to do so in using their discretionary powers under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. It is for local authorities to determine whether they wish to take up the Government’s offer of funding, depending on the precise scale and extent of local flooding.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of his Department’s staff excluding non-departmental public bodies were (a) women in top management posts women, (b) women, (c) black and minority ethnic and (d) disabled.

    Brandon Lewis

    The current proportion of women in DCLG top management posts is 36.8%. Whilst there is more to do to ensure the Civil Service has the very best possible mix of existing and future talent, I would observe that this is an increase from 33.0% from 2009-10, and is higher than the Civil Service workforce target of 34.0%.

    I also refer the rt. hon. Member to my answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, Column 398-400W.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 196666, tabled on 25 April 2014 for answer on 30 April 2014.

    Brandon Lewis

    Question 196666 was answered on 6 May, Official Report, Column 29W.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department’s (a) catering and (b) hospitality budget was in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013.

    Brandon Lewis

    My Department has no separate budget for catering and hospitality in 2012 and 2013.

    To assist the rt. hon. Member, I would note that this Government has dramatically cut spending compared to the last Labour Government and put in place far tighter rules and restrictions on spending.

    · The Department spent £553,230 on catering and hospitality in 2008-09, and £456,142 in 2009-10.

    · By 2012-13, spending had been reduced to £58,882 (plus £16,727 of delayed billing from the year before).

    · We anticipate spending in the region of £36,000 in the year 2013-14 (the precise figure will be audited at financial year end).

    The expenditure undertaken is essentially for light refreshments for a large number of small official events such as:

    · European Regional Development Fund events (meetings with external visitors and Local Management Committee meetings);

    · Conferences and workshops with representatives of local government, housing, planning and local communities;

    · Public roadshows and Portas Pilot events;

    · All-day recruitment assessment centres, training and induction courses.

    We do not routinely incur any expenditure on refreshments for Ministers other than de minimis expenditure on tea and coffee for Ministers’ meetings with external visitors, or on the rare occasion when Ministers undertake overnight stays on official business outside London.

    Our Departmental savings has also been assisted by terminating Ministerial group spending on Government Procurement Cards, as practiced by the Labour Government at taxpayers’ expense at the likes of Sky City Casino, the Cinnamon Club, the Wolseley, Brasserie 44, Boisdales, Inn the Park, Mango Tree, Shepherds, Incognico, Buffalo Bar, Mr Chu’s China Palace, Tantric Jazz and Fat Tuesdays.

    We have showed that there is considerable scope for the public sector to generate significant savings in this area, as evident from the ongoing saving of up to half a million pounds a year.

    To place our savings in context, as noted in the answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 270WA, when the rt. hon. Member was Secretary of State, he spent £444,891 on catering, hospitality and refreshments in 2008-09 and £552,367 in 2009-10.

    I know that the rt. hon. Member has a particular interest in biscuits, so to help quantify this amount, his spending in his last year in office is equivalent today to buying 720,479 packets of Jamie Dodgers from Waitrose (albeit, with a free cup of coffee thrown in).

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government’s target is for the proportion of (a) women, (b) people from black and minority ethnic communities and (c) disabled people in senior management posts in central government departments.

    Mr Francis Maude

    Appointments and promotion in the Civil Service should be made on merit through fair and open competition. To ensure our civil service delivers the best for Britain we must draw on the widest possible pool of talent. We want to ensure that the best people – irrespective of who they are – rise to the top of the Civil Service but are concerned that for too long the very top ranks do not reflect those further down. We have commissioned independent research to look at the blockages women face making it to the very top and will use this to drive a new strategy for managing talent.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which organisations involved in reporting hate crime his Department has funded in each financial year since May 2010.

    Stephen Williams

    DCLG supports a series of organisations who tackle hatred in all its forms. Reporting forms only one part of this, complementing the work of organisations such as the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Show Racism the Red Card and the Anne Frank Trust who DCLG support to tackle hate crime.

    DCLG has provided funding to the following organisations that report hate crime.

    Organisation

    Financial Year

    Amount of Funding

    Tell MAMA

    2011-12

    £91,567

    2012-13

    £223,517

    2013-14

    £80,457

    True Vision

    2012-13

    £75,000

    2013-14

    £25,000
  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the status is of the ICT Relet Project; what costs his Department has incurred; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    As I outlined to the rt. hon. Member in my answer to him of 29 January 2014, Official Report, Column 600W, the programme replaces computers which are seven years old, and also upgrades the systems from Windows XP which is no longer being formally supported by Microsoft with security patches.

    The last Administration failed to get value for taxpayers’ money due to poor management of IT contracts. Indeed, the Department published a contract tender in December 2009 for a desktop IT programme costing up to £160 million. This was subsequently cancelled under this Government as part of our wider reduction in departmental spending and reconfiguration of IT procurement policy.

    The fact that we have delivered a 40 per cent saving on our IT costs is an example of how all parts of the public sector can deliver sensible savings through better procurement.