Tag: Rushanara Ali

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding Circle Housing Group and its subsidiaries have been provided by (a) the Homes and Communities Agency, (b) the Greater London Council and (c) other government agencies in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis

The Government has provided Circle Housing Group and its subsidiaries with the following grant funding to develop affordable housing:

a.) Through the Homes and Communities Agency:

	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Total
Grant	£25.3m	£5.3m	£5.5m	£8.8m	£4.6m	£2.2m	£51.7m

b.) Through the Greater London Authority:

	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Total
Grant	£50.3m	£86.4m	£38.1m	£10.2m	£15.6m	£5.1m	£205.7m

c.) We are not aware that any funding has been provided to Circle Housing Group and its subsidiaries through other government agencies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many cases referred to the Housing Ombudsman since 2015 have (a) not yet been concluded and (b) been awaiting consideration for more than 12 months.

Brandon Lewis

There are no cases which have awaited consideration for more than 12 months. Six cases over 12 months old have not yet been determined but are under active consideration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students are supported by universities through the Student Opportunity Allocation fund.

Joseph Johnson

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocates the Student Opportunity Fund to Higher Education providers as part of the teaching grant.. Although the different elements of the fund are calculated on the basis of the number of students within an institution with particular characteristics, institutions have been able to use the funding in whichever way they feel is most appropriate for their students. Therefore, there is no centrally collected data on the numbers of students supported by the fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will instruct the Homes and Communities Agency regulator to investigate concerns raised by Tower Hamlets Council on tenants of Old Ford Housing Association suffering serious detriment as a result of Circle Housing Group’s failure properly to manage its gas repairs contract with Kier Group during the winter of 2015-16.

Brandon Lewis

The Social Housing Regulator is statutorily independent, the Secretary of State cannot, therefore, intervene in this matter.

The Social Housing regulator is aware of the issue and as is normal practice is working closely with Circle as it continues to recover its repair service. The Regulator currently has sufficient assurance of Circle’s intention to address the issues and its progress in doing so, such that the Regulator considers it does not need to apply enforcement powers at this point. The Regulator will of course continue to examine any new information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35113, what powers his Department can exercise if the Social Housing Regulator is failing to protect tenants from serious detriment by registered providers.

Gavin Barwell

The Social Housing Regulator may use its enforcement powers if a Registered Provider of Social Housing has failed to meet a regulatory standard. This includes ensuring that thier stock is adequately maintained and there is no serious detriment to their tenants.

However, if tenants of Registered Providers are not satisfied with the way the Regulator has handled their case, they will have to access the Regulator’s complaint process. This involves complaining directly to the Regulator, the Regulator will reply within 20 working days. If the tenants are unhappy with the way their complaint was handled at the first stage, they can escalate their complaint to the Regulator’s legal service team as an independent review of the original complaint. If they are still unhappy with the response, then they can refer their complaint to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, who will carry out an independent review.

If following the Regulator’s complaint procedure they are still unhappy, they can ask their MP to take their complaints to the independent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to review the handling of their complaint. Full details of how to make a complaint against the Regulator can be found on the Homes and Communities Agency’s website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to IR35 tax regulations on (a) self-employed people and (b) people who own small businesses.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is considering responses to the discussion document published in July on how to improve the effectiveness of the existing intermediaries legislation (IR35). As set out in the discussion document, the Government’s objective is to find a solution that protects the Exchequer and improves fairness in the system without creating disproportionate burdens on business.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department plans to allocate to assist developing countries in tackling tax evasion in each of the next three years.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK is one of the leading international donors on tax and development and contributes considerable resources to build tax capacity in developing countries including to tackle tax evasion. Through the Addis Tax Initiative, DFID has committed to doubling its financial support for tax by 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government was involved in the legal agreement drawn up in 1998 to transfer the estates involved in the Tower Hamlets Housing Action Trust to Old Ford Housing Association.

Gavin Barwell

We do not know whether Government was involved in drafting the legal agreement itself – this could only be determined at disproportionate cost – but the Government was involved in the development of, and preparatory work leading to, the transfer to Old Ford Housing Association.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the Syrian resettlement scheme is funded through (a) Official Development Assistance and (b) funds from the EU.

Richard Harrington

All of the first year costs of the Syrian Resettlement Scheme are funded through Official Development Assistance. None of the costs are currently met using EU funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage UK companies to sign up to the Bangladesh Safety Accord.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has repeatedly called for companies to take responsibility for the working conditions of all those that make their clothes. This has included the Westminster Debate on 30 April, repeat Ministerial visits to Bangladesh, communications around the Rana Plaza anniversary, and numerous meetings with retailers and buyers.