Tag: Lord Greaves

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is a requirement of the new Northern Rail franchise that the Pacer trains that will be withdrawn from service in the North of England will be scrapped or whether they can be redeployed elsewhere.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There is no such requirement in the new Northern Franchise Agreement. As the Pacers are owned by two Rolling Stock Companies, any future use is for them to decide.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have commissioned or have plans to commission a review of the activities and achievements of the Big Society programme since its inception; if so, who is conducting this review and when it will report and to whom; and if not, why not.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Big Society programme remains a key manifesto commitment for the Government. The 2015 Spending Review saw this commitment reaffirmed with, for example, funding for the National Citizen Service increased to over a £1 billion creating the next generation of community minded volunteers. An additional £100 million in funding for Social Impact Bonds has also been pledged to reduce demand on public services. These programmes are helping to create a stronger, more engaged nation where people and neighbourhoods are able to take greater responsibility with improving the country.

These programmes are regularly reviewed and reports are publicly available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5309), when Louise Casey’s review into boosting opportunity and integration amongst isolated groups started work; what are its terms of reference; who is directing its work; what is the estimated cost of the review; when it is expected to report and to whom; and whether its findings will be made public.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Prime Minister commissioned Louise Casey CB to carry out a review of how to boost opportunity and integration in isolated and vulnerable communities in July 2015. She is considering issues including: how we can ensure people learn English; how we can improve academic and employment outcomes, especially for women; and how state agencies can work more effectively with these communities to promote integration and community cohesion. Louise will provide an interim report to the Prime Minister and it will be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what government funds now exist to support brownfield housing; how much is available and for what purposes; what are the procedures for distribution of these funds, and how much has so far been disbursed from each of them.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We are making available £1.2 billion through the Starter Home Land Fund to prepare suitable brownfield sites to support at least 30,000 Starter Homes. A prospectus about the Starter Home Land Fund was published at the Budget in March 2016. £9 million has already been invested since the Fund’s establishment in April 2016.

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 per cent of this funding to support housing on brownfield sites. Full bidding guidance will be available when the fund is launched.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for the introduction of a 50 mile per hour speed limit on single-carriageway rural roads, and whether they plan to consult on such a proposal.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There are no plans to decrease the speed limit to 50 mph on single carriageway rural roads.

The Department for Transport has provided guidance to traffic authorities in the Speed Limit Circular 01/2013 – Setting Local Speed Limits. This encourages traffic authorities to keep speed limits under review, and to consider lower speed limits than the default, especially where there may be a relatively high number of bends, junctions or accesses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the ability to raise council tax by up to 2 per cent to fund social care applies to districts that are not social care authorities, and if so, on what services the resulting income can be spent.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The two percent council tax flexibility has been offered for authorities with adult social care responsibilities, for all years of the Spending Review, provided that they use the additional funding for adult social care. The flexibility does not apply to non-metropolitan district councils. Details of how the two percent flexibility will operate will be confirmed alongside the provisional local government finance settlement in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the expected yield of an increase of two per cent in the council tax levied by each local authority with adult social care responsibilities, and in each case how much that is per (1) head of population, and (2) number of households.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government announced on 17 December 2015, Official Report, Column 2238-2241, that Local Authorities with social care responsibilities will be able to increase their council tax by up to 2% above the core referendum principles of 2% (4% in total) which is expected to raise an extra £2billion by 2019/20. A breakdown of the £2billion, by how much individual local authorities could raise, has been made and can be viewed at the following link or in the attached document.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486708/Core_spending_power_supporting_information.xlsx

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the current funding levels of (1) the Environment Agency, (2) lead drainage authorities, and (3) district councils, on (a) small scale flood alleviation schemes, (b) preventive and regular maintenance of drainage systems, and (c) the ability of these bodies to respond to emergencies.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government confirmed in the Spending Review that the Environment Agency’s maintenance budget would be protected, in real terms, over the life of this Parliament.

Under the Land Drainage Act, internal drainage boards assess how much funding they need in order to carry out works and then charge this to rate and levy payers accordingly. Internal drainage boards receive funding from agricultural rate payers in their drainage district and from district and unitary authorities via a special levy which they place on those bodies.

The Government provides funding to lead local flood authorities to carry out their duties under the Flood and Water Management Act but local authorities decide what to spend on drainage and flood prevention according to local priorities. As part of a consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2016-17, the Government has proposed protecting this funding in real terms over the life of this Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their technical or legal definition of a rogue landlord”.”

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The term "rogue landlord" is widely understood in the lettings industry to describe a landlord who knowingly flouts their obligations by renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation to tenants, many of whom may be vulnerable. The Housing and Planning Bill contains a number of measures to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords and force them to either improve or leave the sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is permissible for the ballot papers sent to postal voters to be a different colour to the ballot papers issued in a corresponding polling station.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Ballot papers for any given poll have a consistent appearance in order to reduce the risk of completed votes being identifiable as having been submitted by a particular voter or voters when they are verified and counted. That could happen if, for example, coloured ballot papers were used for postal voting (but not voting in person) and there was low use of them. Different coloured ballot papers are already used to help voters distinguish between different polls where polls are combined, and further use of different colours could lead to confusion.