Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the governance arrangements they require from the freeports established in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
English Freeports are required to have robust and effective governance structures in place to manage their operations and deliver on the policy objectives. These requirements are set out in the Full Business Case guidance on Gov.uk and following the submission of a full business case were subject to a thorough appraisal process by government. As part of full government approval, Freeports are required commit to these structures through the agreement of an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and provide evidence of their implementation and good functioning.
Freeports governing bodies must adhere to the Seven Principles of Public Life (the Nolan principles) and commit to appropriate levels of transparency, propriety, and inclusivity with respect to governance. This includes but is not limited to the publication of board papers, minutes, and register of members' interests to ensure any actual or perceived conflicts of interest are recorded and managed appropriately.
Government will monitor this through its performance management and assurance processes, formally set out in a document known as the Freeports Framework. This document sets out what is expected of local authorities and Freeport governing bodies in receipt of government funding and other support to provide UK government, stakeholders, and the public, with assurance that Freeports will be subject to vigorous stewardship and their benefits will be fully realised. More detail on this can be found in the Freeports Annual Report.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Harrington of Watford on 13 July (HL1433), why the response given in that answer does not also appear on the gov.uk page 'Afghan citizens resettlement scheme'.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
We are looking into updating the page in question so that UK phone numbers are not needed in order to receive updates on to the gov.uk page on Afghan Resettlement.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of barriers to removing the requirement to have a UK phone number to sign up for email updates to the gov.uk page 'Welcome: a guide for Ukrainians arriving in the UK'; and whether they will place a copy of that assessment in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Individuals can signup to receive email updates to the gov.uk page via email without having to enter to UK mobile number via the following link (attached):
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Rural Services Network's Rural Lens Review of the Levelling Up White Paper, published in March; and what subsequent consideration they have given to the scope of the levelling up policy.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government has reviewed in detail the work of the Rural Services Network and officials have been in contact with the Network regarding the Rural Lens Review.
Building on the Levelling Up White Paper, the Rural Proofing Report will be published later in the year. This report will outline how government departments are working to develop levelling up in rural areas through targeted approaches where necessary. This report will also set out how we are strengthening the rural economy, developing rural infrastructure, delivering rural services and managing the natural environment.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of specialist BME refuges for victims of domestic violence that have closed in the last 12 months as a result of local authorities switching contracts to larger generic charities.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government does not hold this data centrally. Local authorities often make commissioning decisions based on their specific local needs.
The Government recognises the support that BAME specialist refuges provide for victims of domestic abuse and their children. During 2020/21 we have funded and supported specialist refuges, including BAME specialist services, through our £10 million domestic abuse COVID-19 emergency funding.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with local authorities about the case for changing procurement policies to ensure that local specialist services including BME refuges for victims of domestic violence continue to receive contracts.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Depending on the value of any specific contracting opportunity, local authorities will need to comply with the general principles of procurement outlined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This includes a regulatory responsibility to apply equal treatment to bidding organisations. Local authorities are also required to consider the Social Value Act as part of their contracting processes.
My officials have held workshops with local authorities from across the country to support them in preparing for the implementation of the new duty, including discussions on the importance of assessing the needs of all victims and providing specialist domestic abuse services as required. We will continue to work closely with local authorities and the sector.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to local resilience forums about engagement with voluntary organisations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The role of the voluntary sector in supporting the preparation, response and recovery from emergencies is set out in Chapter 14 of the Cabinet Office’s publication on Emergency Preparedness. Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) have well established structures in place to work with voluntary sector organisations and we expect them to do so.
To support their work, Government published advice on how the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector can safely and effectively support the country through Covid-19. Furthermore, we announced a £750 million package of support for charities to ensure they can continue their vital work during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government wat assessment they have made of the research conducted by Which? into the effectiveness of carbon monoxide alarms, published in June 2018.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
In 2019, the Office for Product Safety and Standards examined a small sample of carbon monoxide and smoke alarms for compliance with safety requirements. It found that nine out of ten were compliant and the remaining carbon monoxide product was over-sensitive which did not give rise to safety concerns.
UK product safety legislation requires products, including carbon monoxide alarms, to be safe before they can be sold to consumers. Where the installation of carbon monoxide alarms is required by law or recommended, Government advice is that they should comply with British Standard BS EN 50291.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of planning legislation to allow for the assessment of (1) the potential increase of mobility scooter use, and (2) any increase in risk to users of mobility scooters and others arising out of that increase, due to the building of care properties.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that applications for development should address the needs of people with disabilities and reduced mobility in relation to all modes of transport, and that developments should create places that are safe, inclusive and accessible. These policies should ensure that when considering planning applications, such as the building of care properties, local authorities take account of the needs of all users, including users of mobility scooters, and satisfy their obligations under the equalities legislation.
The department's officials have been working closely with officials at DfT to produce planning practice guidance on sustainable transport and accessibility which will be published shortly, and will sit alongside the National Design Guide which provides guidance on designing movement networks that are safe and accessible for all.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for a statutory maximum height for care homes to enable reasonable escape provisions in the event of fires, particularly taking into account the prevalence of (1) reduced mobility, and (2) dementia, of such residents.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 18 December, the Government published, a call for evidence to form the basis for a technical review of Approved Document B (Fire Safety). Paragraphs 35 to 36 address the issue of means of escape for disabled people. The call for evidence closed on 15 March 2019 and the Department published in September 2019 an analysis of the responses to the call for evidence which is available (attached) at:
The Secretary of State announced in his letter to the House on 20 January 2020 that he will set out detailed plans for the full technical review of fire safety guidance in February, including a review of means of escape for disabled people.