The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homes for which planning permission has been granted but on which construction has been stalled for more than one year.
Brandon Lewis
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 October 2014, to Question, UIN 207630.
We do not hold the requested figures on planning permission and the length of time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homes for which planning permission has been granted but on which construction has been stalled for more than five years.
Brandon Lewis
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 October 2014, to Question, UIN 207630.
We do not hold the requested figures on planning permission and the length of time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on improving access standards for new homes as part of the Housing Standard Review.
Stephen Williams
The Government believes it is vital that people have access to housing which supports them in being independent and living life to the full. We want to see the right housing provision for everyone including older and disabled people and this is already clearly set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Housing Standards Review technical consultation, which closed last November, explained how we are taking forward legislation to enable the introduction of higher optional levels of accessibility in Part M of the Building Regulations, including for the first time a fully wheelchair accessible standard, as well as an intermediate standard similar to the Lifetime Homes Standard. This is a significant step forward for accessible housing in England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential (a) number of job losses at and (b) redundancy costs to local authorities as a result of the proposed takeover of responsibility for LLC1 searches by the Land Registry.
Matthew Hancock
At this stage it is not possible to quantify whether there will be any redundancies at local authorities or if so, how many there could be.
Land Registry’s current research suggests approximately 850 local authority staff deal with Local Land Charges as all or part of their roles. Land Registry acknowledges the possibility that there may be redundancies among these staff, but they will typically have additional responsibilities alongside their Local Land Charges role.
Further work is required to understand exactly how much time is spent by each individual officer on the Local Land Charges service. Land Registry will, of course, fulfil any TUPE obligations if applicable in any particular case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding had been drawn down by successful bidders to the Regional Growth Fund by 31 December 2014; and what proportion of the overall allocation for each round that funding represents.
Greg Clark
The table sets out the total amount drawn down by operational RGF awards to date and the financial years in which the remaining RGF and eRGF is committed through to 31 March 2017.
Unless otherwise agreed, projects and programmes in Rounds 1 to 4 have until 31 March 2015 to draw down their funding and projects and programmes in Round 5 and 6 will be able to draw down funding until 31 March 2017. The Department agrees a draw down profile with each organisation when they sign their grant offer letter that matches the beneficiary’s own investment schedules and job commitments. The subsequent rate of draw down is then subject to the beneficiaries meeting these conditions.
RGF Drawn Down by year (£m)
|
Financial Year |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
Total |
|
Actual paid – year to date |
464 |
159 |
551 |
875* |
2,048 |
||
|
Remaining/ Planned for whole financial year |
16 |
459 |
305 |
780 |
|||
|
Total |
2,829 |
*This is the actual amount paid to beneficiaries and claims awaiting payment as of 24 March 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding was awarded by the (a) Arts and Humanities Research Council, (b) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, (c) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, (d) Economic and Social Research Council, (e) Medical Research Council, (f) Natural Environment Research Council and (g) Science and Technology Facilities Council to institutions and Reseach Organisations in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) each government office region in England in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12, (C) 2012-13, (D) 2013-14 and (E) 2014-15.
Greg Clark
This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding was awarded by the (a) Arts and Humanities Research Council, (b) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, (c) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, (d) Economic and Social Research Council, (e) Medical Research Council, (f) Natural Environment Research Council and (g) Science and Technology Facilities Council to each university in the UK in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.
Greg Clark
This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of commissioners from local government have attended the Commissioning Academy; and by which local authorities those commissioners are employed.
Mr Francis Maude
Through its programme of Civil Service Reform, the Government is taking urgent action to address long-standing skills gaps in the Civil Service. Our pioneering Commissioning Academy is building commercial capability across the public sector, and improving how public services are delivered.
To date 392 individuals have attended the central Commissioning Academy programmes, including 206 (52%) from central government. In the last year there was a 50% increase in demand for places on the programme, and it will be expanded to deliver 1,500 places by March 2016.
Commissioners have attended from the following local authorities:
Basildon Borough Council
Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council
Birmingham City Council
Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council
Bristol City Council
Canterbury and Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group
Cheltenham Borough Council
Cherwell District, South Northants and Stratford on Avon Councils
Cheshire East Council
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Cheshire West and Chester (a place-based group)
Cumbria County Council
Devon County Council
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
Essex County Council
Fenland District Council
Gloucestershire County Council
Harborough District Council
Horsham District Council
Kent County Council
Knowsley Council (Health and Social Care Integration)
Lancashire County Council
Leicestershire County Council
London Borough of Barnet
London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Lambeth
London Borough of Lewisham
London Borough of Sutton
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Lowestoft Rising (Place based group)
Manchester City Council
Milton Keynes Council
Norfolk County Council
Northamptonshire County Council
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Shropshire
Somerset County Council
Southend-on-sea Borough Council
Staffordshire County Council
Stoke-On-Trent City Council
Suffolk Coastal
Sunderland City Council
Surrey County Council
Swindon Borough Council
Tamworth Borough Council
Tri-borough councils: Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Walsall Council
Warrington Borough Council
Waverley Borough Council
West Sussex County Council
Westminster City Council
Wirral Council
Worcestershire County Council
A number of other programmes sit alongside the central programme under the Commissioning Academy umbrella. 78 officials have attended local programmes in Norfolk and Staffordshire, modelled on the central programme, with participants drawn from local authorities and other public sector bodies in the local area. In addition, 8 councillors have attended a streamlined programme for Local Authority elected members.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of 15 January 2015, Official Report, Public Bill Committee, column 386, when and in what ways part M of the building regulations have been strengthened as a baseline accessibility standard since 2010.
Stephen Williams
The statutory guidance in Approved Document M was most recently updated in 2013. The changes in Approved Document M resulted from a rationalisation of guidance supporting Parts M, K and N (Access, Protection from falling, collision and impact and Glazing respectively) to address areas of conflict and overlap to make it easier to comply with requirements. At the same time the guidance on Access Statements in Approved Document M was amended to promote a more proportionate, risk-based approach and guidance relating to Changing Places toilets was strengthened.
New, improved guidance will be issued as part of the Housing Standards Review and we are also introducing new optional Building Regulations requirements for wheelchair adaptable and accessible housing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the amount of undeveloped brownfield land which his Department considers suitable for development.
Brandon Lewis
The National Land Use Database provides data from local authorities on all previously developed land in England that may be available for development.
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