The comments made on Twitter by Sir Jake Berry, the Conservative MP for Rossendale and Darwen, on 7 March 2023.
This is an absolute disgrace.
Hancock should be dragged to the bar of the House of Commons first thing tomorrow morning to be questioned on this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications to buy public owned land for residential development made between 2009 and 2015 were (a) made, (b) granted and (c) developed as set out in those applications.
Brandon Lewis
As part of the Public Sector Land programme between April 2009 and March 2015, a total of 838 central Government-owned sites were sold. The Department does not hold information on the numbers of applications for sale or disposal of central government land, nor the build-out rates for individual sites.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many sites granted planning permissions for residential development in each year from 2009 to 2015 were subsequently developed in accordance with the submitted plan.
Brandon Lewis
The Department does not currently hold information centrally on the build-out rate or compliance with permission for individual sites.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many sites were available for residential development in each year from 2009 to 2015.
Brandon Lewis
The Department does not hold information centrally on the number of sites that are available for residential development. Local planning authorities are required to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much it cost his Department to send out winter fuel allowance payments in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.
Justin Tomlinson
The information is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportional cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications by grandparents for permission to apply for a contact order to see their grandchildren were successful in each year since 2010.
Caroline Dinenage
Under the Children Act 1989 the court may make a child arrangements order to determine with whom a child is to live or spend time. Prior to 22nd April 2014 such orders were called contact and residence orders. The Department collates figures on the numbers of applications made by grandparents for child arrangements orders and the figures for such applications since 2010 are shown below.
Number of child arrangement (contact) order applications made by grandparents in England and Wales
|
Year |
Applications by grandparents |
|
2011 |
2403 |
|
2012 |
2574 |
|
2013 |
2755 |
|
2014 |
1624 |
|
2015 – 3 quarters only |
1335 |
Unlike parents, grandparents and other family members can only make an application for a child arrangements orders with the permission of the court. The requirement to apply for the court’s permission is not designed to be an obstacle to grandparents, or other close relatives, but to act as a filter to sift out those applications that are clearly not in the child’s best interests. Experience suggests that grandparents (or other interested relatives) would not usually experience difficulty in obtaining permission where their application is motivated by a genuine concern for the child.
The Department does not collate figures on applications for a child arrangements order where the court’s permission has been sought. This information could only be obtained by manually checking each case file at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the Department does not collate figures centrally on family members named in a child arrangements order. Details of the numbers of child arrangements orders issued specifically for grandparents to see their grandchildren could only be obtained by checking each file at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contact orders for grandparents to see their grandchildren were issued in each year since 2010.
Caroline Dinenage
Under the Children Act 1989 the court may make a child arrangements order to determine with whom a child is to live or spend time. Prior to 22nd April 2014 such orders were called contact and residence orders. The Department collates figures on the numbers of applications made by grandparents for child arrangements orders and the figures for such applications since 2010 are shown below.
Number of child arrangement (contact) order applications made by grandparents in England and Wales
|
Year |
Applications by grandparents |
|
2011 |
2403 |
|
2012 |
2574 |
|
2013 |
2755 |
|
2014 |
1624 |
|
2015 – 3 quarters only |
1335 |
Unlike parents, grandparents and other family members can only make an application for a child arrangements orders with the permission of the court. The requirement to apply for the court’s permission is not designed to be an obstacle to grandparents, or other close relatives, but to act as a filter to sift out those applications that are clearly not in the child’s best interests. Experience suggests that grandparents (or other interested relatives) would not usually experience difficulty in obtaining permission where their application is motivated by a genuine concern for the child.
The Department does not collate figures on applications for a child arrangements order where the court’s permission has been sought. This information could only be obtained by manually checking each case file at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the Department does not collate figures centrally on family members named in a child arrangements order. Details of the numbers of child arrangements orders issued specifically for grandparents to see their grandchildren could only be obtained by checking each file at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications by grandparents for rights of access to their grandchildren there were in each year since 2010.
Caroline Dinenage
Under the Children Act 1989 the court may make a child arrangements order to determine with whom a child is to live or spend time. Prior to 22nd April 2014 such orders were called contact and residence orders. The Department collates figures on the numbers of applications made by grandparents for child arrangements orders and the figures for such applications since 2010 are shown below.
Number of child arrangement (contact) order applications made by grandparents in England and Wales
|
Year |
Applications by grandparents |
|
2011 |
2403 |
|
2012 |
2574 |
|
2013 |
2755 |
|
2014 |
1624 |
|
2015 – 3 quarters only |
1335 |
Unlike parents, grandparents and other family members can only make an application for a child arrangements orders with the permission of the court. The requirement to apply for the court’s permission is not designed to be an obstacle to grandparents, or other close relatives, but to act as a filter to sift out those applications that are clearly not in the child’s best interests. Experience suggests that grandparents (or other interested relatives) would not usually experience difficulty in obtaining permission where their application is motivated by a genuine concern for the child.
The Department does not collate figures on applications for a child arrangements order where the court’s permission has been sought. This information could only be obtained by manually checking each case file at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the Department does not collate figures centrally on family members named in a child arrangements order. Details of the numbers of child arrangements orders issued specifically for grandparents to see their grandchildren could only be obtained by checking each file at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for Contact Orders submitted by people to see their grandchildren were granted in each of the last three years.
Caroline Dinenage
Under the Children Act 1989 the court may make a child arrangements order to determine with whom a child is to live or spend time. Prior to 22nd April 2014 such orders were called contact and residence orders. The Department collates figures on the numbers of applications made by grandparents for child arrangements orders and the figures for such applications since 2010 are shown below.
Number of child arrangement (contact) order applications made by grandparents in England and Wales
|
Year |
Applications by grandparents |
|
2011 |
2403 |
|
2012 |
2574 |
|
2013 |
2755 |
|
2014 |
1624 |
|
2015 – 3 quarters only |
1335 |
Unlike parents, grandparents and other family members can only make an application for a child arrangements orders with the permission of the court. The requirement to apply for the court’s permission is not designed to be an obstacle to grandparents, or other close relatives, but to act as a filter to sift out those applications that are clearly not in the child’s best interests. Experience suggests that grandparents (or other interested relatives) would not usually experience difficulty in obtaining permission where their application is motivated by a genuine concern for the child.
The Department does not collate figures on applications for a child arrangements order where the court’s permission has been sought. This information could only be obtained by manually checking each case file at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the Department does not collate figures centrally on family members named in a child arrangements order. Details of the numbers of child arrangements orders issued specifically for grandparents to see their grandchildren could only be obtained by checking each file at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications by grandparents for permission to apply for a child arrangement order were active in the final quarter of 2015.
Caroline Dinenage
This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.