Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial resources they transferred to local authorities in 2015–16 which were designated to be spent on personal social services care; and what is their estimate of how much was spent on the provision of such services.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Central government does not determine the level of resources spent by local authorities on adult social care. Each local authority will budget for what it expects to require in order to deliver the services required for their population, drawing on funding from local taxes, unhypothecated central government grant and income from fees and charges.
However recognising the pressures on local authorities, the Spending Review 2015 announced that for the rest of the current Parliament, local authorities responsible for adult social care (“ASC authorities”) would be allowed an additional 2 percent on their current council tax referendum threshold to be used entirely for adult social care. 144 of 152 eligible authorities made use of this precept in 2015-16, raising £382 million for social care.
My department publishes data (attached) from local authorities on their spending on all services. Provisional data for 2015-16 suggests that local authorities spent a net figure of £14.4 billion on adult social care in 2015-16.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial resources they transferred to local authorities in 2015–16 which were designated to be spent on the provision of public health services; and what is their estimate of how much was spent on the provision of such services.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The public health grant is provided to give local authorities the funding needed to discharge their public heath responsibilities. The total allocation for 2015-16 was £2.80 billion. All details of this grant and the allocations which were made can be found at - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ring-fenced-public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2013-14-and-2014-15.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers they have, if any, to overrule local authorities that grant planning permission that allows residential or commercial properties to be built on land designated as a flood plain.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Secretary of State has specific intervention powers to consider an application for himself before a decision has been issued by the local planning authority and powers to revoke or modify a planning permission before the permission is implemented. Local planning authorities, through their Local Plans and planning decisions are expected to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. Between April 2011 and March 2015, over 99 percent of proposed new homes had planning outcomes in line with Environment Agency advice where they had been made aware of the decision.
All local planning authorities are expected to follow the strict tests set out in national planning policy and guidance. Where these tests are not met, national policy is very clear that new development should not be allowed.