Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to remove abandoned vehicles from Crown Estate land; and whether Crown Estate land is designated as off road for the purposes of vehicles in receipt of a Statutory Off Road Notification.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Crown Estate is an independent commercial organisation, and the Government is not involved in its operations and day-to-day decision making.

Removal of abandoned vehicles is primarily the responsibility of the relevant local authority; therefore, where vehicles are abandoned on land under the Crown Estate’s control and management, they will engage with the relevant authorities to address the issue.

Crown Estate land is not automatically considered “off road” for Statutory Off Road Notification purposes.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislative proposals to amend section 245 of the Local Government Act 1972 to extent the right for a local authority to apply for borough status to parish councils.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government has no intention to extend the right for a local authority to apply for borough status to parish councils.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many staff, broken down by grade, are in the Home Office adjudication team which considers matters relating to asylum accommodation and representations from local authorities.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has a dedicated function responsible for assessing matters relating to asylum accommodation and for considering representations made by local authorities.

Staff involved in this activity work across a range of grades and responsibilities, and their work forms part of wider operational roles rather than a separately recorded staffing group. As such, the Home Office does not hold a discrete breakdown of staff numbers by grade for this specific function.

The Department keeps staffing levels under regular review to ensure it can respond effectively and proportionately to operational demand, including the handling of local authority representations.