Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to maintain services supplied by Carillion plc to local councils.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Continuity of services is the Government and local councils’ top priority. All public sector services continue to be delivered and minimal disruption to public services has been reported.
We have been working through the Local Government Association over the past few weeks to ensure that affected English local authorities had robust contingency plans in place to manage the impacts of Carillion failing.
Councils have now put those plans into action, and will continue to deliver all public sector services. And all staff engaged on these public sector contracts will continue to be paid.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what reports he has received from local authorities of racist abuse by or towards electoral candidates during the 2017 General Election.
Answered by Sajid Javid
I am well aware of the many election candidates who suffered vile abuse and even death threats during the 2017 General Election campaign, many of whom shared their experiences in Westminster Hall last week. All such abuse is unacceptable no matter who it is aimed at.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which programmes his Department currently funds will have their funding affected by the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Department is responsible for the management of the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme.
The Government announced in October 2016 that it will guarantee EU funding for European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds projects that are signed before the UK's departure from the EU and which provide good value for money and support domestic priorities, even when these projects continue after we have left the EU. The England ERDF programme is covered by this guarantee.
As a result, British businesses and other organisations have additional certainty and can continue to apply for EU funding while the UK remains a member of the EU.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many investors who have brought back into use derelict town centre premises have been subject to the community infrastructure levy since it was was introduced.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Central Government does not collect this information. Local authorities are responsible for collecting the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and must report annually on the income received and how it is spent.
This Government is committed to supporting our high streets. CIL is specifically designed to ensure it does not act as a disincentive to re-use and redevelop empty buildings. Buildings returned to their former use generally do not pay CIL. Buildings re-developed for a new use may also not be charged CIL, subject to meeting certain requirements. This includes buildings in town centre locations.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been provided to the True Vision programme in each year from 2014 to 2017.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Department of Communities and Local Government has contributed £90,000 towards the True Vision Programme during the period 2014 to 2017.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reason responsibility for the True Vision programme was moved from the Ministry of Justice to his Department.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
True Vision is a facility owned by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) (and formerly by the Association of Chief Police Officers). Oversight of the scheme has been undertaken by the National Policing Lead, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton on behalf of National Police Chief’s Council. The manager of the scheme was temporarily accommodated by the Department for Communities and Local Government during an administrative transition from the Ministry of Justice to the Greater Manchester Police (on behalf of the National Police Chief's Council).
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much government funding has been provided to the hate crime programme in each year from 2014 to 2017.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
In 2012 we published ‘Challenge It, Report It Stop It’ which covered the period 2012-2014. This plan delivered real improvements in the way in which hate crime was reported. This was followed by the publication in July 2016 of ‘Action Against Hate’, the UK Government’s plan for tackling hate crime. In support of both action plans, the Department for Communities and Local Government has provided over £2.5 million to organisations during the period 2014-2017 to tackle hate crime.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning appeals to his Department on new housing projects have been (a) approved and (b) not approved in 2016.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Planning Inspectors determine each appeal on its individual merits, in light of the circumstances, and policy, applicable to each case.
We publish on a quarterly basis appeals decided and their outcome on PINS part of gov.uk, see link below (Table 2.5).
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planning-inspectorate-statistics
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many housing developments in England have roads or sewerage requiring adoption after more than five years of occupation by residents.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The Department does not hold the information you request because, although the Building Regulations require new housing to have adequate drainage and access, there is no requirement for all roads or sewerage to be adopted as a matter of course. This is a matter for the developer.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department's policy is on establishing new city region mayors after May 2017.
Answered by Andrew Percy
Devolution Deals are, and will remain, a key part of our plan to support growth up and down the country as we build an economy that works for everyone. To date, the government has adopted a bottom-up and iterative approach to agreeing devolution – through a “deal-making” mechanism. This process allows local areas to develop devolution proposals through the basis of local consent and dialogue.