Tag: Mark Williams

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the UK Government voted against the establishment of a Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived.

Esther McVey

The UK did not refuse any money, it simply voted against adopting the regulation establishing the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived on the basis that we think MemberStates, and not the European Union, should decide how the money is spent. This was in line with the reasoned opinions adopted by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Bank of England has engaged in any selling, leasing, loaning, hypothecating or re-hypothecating either independently or in conjunction with other parties, which could have had the effect of lowering or suppressing the quoted market price of gold since May 2010.

Andrea Leadsom

The Bank of England has not been active in the gold market during or since May 2010, either in its own capacity, or acting as agent for Her Majesty’s Treasury for the UK’s official reserves (the “Exchange Equalisation Account” or EEA).

As a result, the Bank did not engage in any selling, leasing, loaning, hypothecating or re-hypothecating of gold during this period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to ensure that people do not face delayed discharge from hospital because there is no suitable housing for them to be discharged; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb

The Government is committed to supporting the availability of suitable accommodation for those who are being discharged from hospital. It has already taken steps to demonstrate this commitment and is in the process of establishing new opportunities and mechanisms by which this can be done. Examples of these include:

– The recently passed Care Act consolidates duties on local authorities in relation to wellbeing, which specifically include consideration of “suitable living accommodation” as a component of that duty.

– Housing has also been classified as a “health related service” so that housing and suitability of accommodation should be considered in any assessment (including on discharge from hospital).

– The Better Care Fund (BCF), which this Government has established with £3.8 billion funding provides a vehicle to enhance and increase the pace of effective integration between health and social care. Clearly where suitable housing is identified as a barrier to the achievement of key measures within the BCF localities can choose to use funding within the BCF to address this. The opportunity to do this is the inclusion within the BCF of the Disabled Facilities Grant with £220 million being made available within 2015-16.

– The Disabled Facilities Grant is for the provision of adaptations to the homes of disabled people to help them to live independently. Disabled Facilities Grant adaptations include things like stair-lifts, level access showers, winches and ramps. Many people apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant upon exit from hospital because their home is no longer suitable to meet their needs.

– In terms of the Disabled Facilities Grant and the period of the last Spending Review, £785 million was made available by the Department for Communities and Local Government. They funded an organisation called Foundations, which is the national body for Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) which help older, disabled and vulnerable people to live independently in their own homes for longer. HIAs deliver around 50% of all Disabled Facilities Grants in England.

– HIAs also provide additional services for older and vulnerable people such as handyperson services, to carry out small jobs around the home also known as minor adaptations, which are things like grab rails, ramps and moving furniture eg; moving a bed downstairs. Many HIAs provide a bespoke service called “home from hospital” or “hospital discharge” services which adapt people’s homes allowing them to be discharged from hospital more quickly and freeing up hospital beds. £50 million was also made available for handyperson services during the period 2011 to 2015.

– Under the homelessness legislation a household will be considered homeless if a local housing authority determines that it would no longer be reasonable for them to continue to occupy their accommodation. This can clearly apply to an individual’s change in circumstances following a stay in hospital. If a local housing authority has reason to believe that an applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness then they must make enquiries in order to establish if they are owed a duty.

– If a person is homeless through no fault of their own, eligible for assistance and in priority need then the local housing authority will have a duty to secure suitable accommodation for the household’s occupation. Priority need is defined in legislation to include applicants with children and households that include someone who is vulnerable, for example because of old age, or physical or mental disability, have a priority need for accommodation.

– The Department of Health has supported the resource "Hospital to Home" pathway which we know many areas consider in terms of supporting an individual’s recovery and preventing readmission. The resource contains information, suggestions for action, case studies and checklists for considering older patients’ housing situations in hospital discharge and transfer of care.

– The Shared Commitment for integrated care and support, published in May 2013 and which the Department of Health, the NHS, local government and the voluntary sector were involved in signing up to specifically highlighted the importance of suitable housing being available as part of safe and effective discharge from hospitals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 29W, if he will make an assessment of the effect of US regulatory authorities’ interventions in the gold market on gold market-related securities in ISAs.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government monitors developments in the gold market including, where relevant, regulatory action in other jurisdictions. The Government is committed to taking action, whenever necessary, to ensure the efficient functioning of these essential markets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many houses built in each of the last five years are (a) wheelchair accessible and (b) built to lifetime homes standards.

Stephen Williams

DCLG does not collect information on the number of wheelchair-accessible or lifetime homes standard properties built each year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many houses not compliant with Part M building regulations were built (a) in the last two years and (b) since 2010.

Stephen Williams

My Department does not hold the information requested.

Building control bodies (local authorities or private sector approved inspectors) assess new dwellings for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations, including Part M, at both plans stage and throughout the course of building work on site. If at any stage the building control body considers that a new dwelling would not be compliant on completion it will give the person carrying out the work advice and guidance on what is needed to make the dwelling compliant and a warning that a failure to comply might result in formal enforcement action. In almost all cases this is sufficient to achieve compliance. At the completion of work, if the work complies, the building control body will give a compliance certificate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities in the UK maintain a register of accessible or adapted homes; and what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on registers of accessible housing.

Kris Hopkins

The Department does not hold this information.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities are able to access suitable accommodation which meets their needs.

Accessible housing registers can be useful and we are aware that some councils and social landlords have incorporated such an approach within their lettings scheme.

The Government believes it is more important that people who require accessible housing are given the right level of priority under a council’s housing allocation scheme, and that councils and social landlords are able to make the best use of affordable housing in their area, including accommodation which is accessible or has been adapted.

That is why, through the Localism Act, we have retained the statutory reasonable preference requirements which ensure that priority for social housing is given to those who need to move on medical and welfare grounds (including grounds relating to a disability). We have also made sure that council and housing association landlords have the flexibility to use their social housing stock in a way which best meets the needs of individual households and their local area.