Tag: Roberta Blackman-Woods

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, what support he has given to commissioners in local government to attend the Commissioning Academy.

Kris Hopkins

The Government worked very closely with the Local Government Association to set up and develop the Commissioning Academy.

Since June 2012, 527 delegates have attended Commissioning Academy programmes. Of these 392 have attended the central Commissioning Academy programmes, including 206 (52%) from 53 local authorities.

A number of other programmes sit alongside the central programme under the Commissioning Academy umbrella. 78 have attended local programmes modelled on the central programme in Norfolk and Staffordshire, 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.

Feedback from participants has been consistently positive. Independent research by the Local Government Information Unit on the impact of the Academy found that 71.9% of survey respondents felt their involvement in the programme was already having a tangible impact and they were confident it would lead to a positive outcome for citizens.

The Government continues to work with the sector to encourage even greater local authority take up of the programme.

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 not yet under construction but for which planning permission has been granted.

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 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has published to ensure local authorities fulfil their duty to consider economic, social and environmental well-being through procurement.

Kris Hopkins

The Government published Best Value Statutory Guidance in September 2011. Under the Duty of Best Value local authorities should consider overall value, including economic, environmental and social value, when reviewing service. The Guidance can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5945/1976926.pdf

In addition, the Cabinet Office/Crown Commercial Service have also provided guidance on the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 , which the Department has distributed to all local authorities including fire and rescue authorities.

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 sites where planning permission for housing development has been granted but construction has not yet started.

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 2015-02-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken a post-legislative analysis of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Cabinet Office asked Lord Young of Graffham, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Enterprise, to conduct a review of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

The report, published on 13 February, shows the Act is having a positive effect where it is taken up. It finds that a number of local authorities have taken a leading role in implementing social value and names Durham Council as an example.

The report makes a number of recommendations. The Government is considering these to ensure that the Act fulfils its full potential.

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.