Tag: Rushanara Ali

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice provided to the Housing Minister prior to authorisation of the stock transfer of the Parkside estates 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, how many refugees from Syrian have been accepted into the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme to date.

Richard Harrington

The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the lifetime of this Parliament. The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 refugees brought to the UK by Christmas.

The first charter flights arrived earlier this month and represent a significant upscaling of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. We will not be giving a running commentary on numbers. Details are published in the regular quarterly immigration statistics. The statistics published on 26 November include the number of arrivals from July to the end of September 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 33503, in what locations his Department plans to deliver the 400,000 affordable homes referred to in that Answer; and at what level a home will be defined as affordable in (a) London and (b) England.

Brandon Lewis

The 400,000 affordable homes will include:

• 200,000 Starter Homes
• 135,000 Help to Buy: Shared Ownership homes
• 10,000 homes which allow tenants to save for a deposit while they rent
• 8,000 specialist homes for older people and people with disabilities.

We do not pre-determine how much affordable housing funding is allocated to different areas. Local Authorities will set out their affordable housing requirements as part of the planning process.

The definition of affordable housing is set out in Annex 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6077/2116950.pdf.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff of her Department work on Local Air Quality Management support matters.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

As of 13 September this year there were five staff working on local air quality management in Defra. The Environment Agency also has a team of two people in its Local Authority Unit who provide technical advice to local authority environmental regulators and an environmental permitting Helpdesk service for local authorities.