Asked by: Andrew Jones (Conservative - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his Department considers the minimum population size to be for a newly-established unitary authority for that authority to achieve (a) value for money and (b) quality service delivery.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper to be published this Autumn will set out our transformative plans for economic recovery and renewal, and for levelling up opportunity, prosperity, and well-being across the country. Whilst traditionally various population ranges for unitary councils have been referred to, where a unitary council is proposed its particular circumstances need to be considered when assessing whether its population would be appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Jones (Conservative - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much was spent by his Department's public bodies on employees partly or wholly employed on trade union duties in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
This Government has taken action to tackle the taxpayer-funded subsidies that previously were handed to the trade unions. Such payments were poor value for money and represented an unhealthy relationship between the state and voluntary sector.
Trade union activities and campaigning in the public sector should be funded by members' subscriptions, not bankrolled by the taxpayer. Greater freedom from state dependency will help ensure that trade union bosses better reflect and respond to the wishes and views of the grassroots members who pay the bill.
Following the Cabinet Office review of the use of facility time and facilities in the civil service, the Department for Communities and Local Government has made a series of reforms:
In 2013-14, the first year of the new regime, departmental facility time staffing costs were reduced to £47,620. To place in context, previous years were £153,814 in 2012-13, £140,687 in 2011-12, £177,100 in 2009-10 and £245,644 in 2008-09.
Figures for our public bodies are shown in the attached table, and show a total reduction of £222,303 in 2013-14 on the year before. There are additional further sayings from a reduction in union expenses (now zero across the Department and our public bodies).
We have also issued guidance to councils to follow our example in delivering sensible savings. We have amended the local government Transparency Code to increase openness and accountability over such taxpayer-funded payments to the trade unions.
Asked by: Andrew Jones (Conservative - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the funding provided to local government by central government was ring-fenced in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
A recent National Audit Office report on Local Government Funding stated that, adjusting for recent changes in local government duties as far as possible, due to changes made by DCLG since 2010 the share of ringfenced revenue funding fell from 7 per cent to less than 1 per cent. This figure has remained at less than one percent for the last three years.
Asked by: Andrew Jones (Conservative - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many properties have been listed as an asset of community value under the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 since that act entered into force.
Answered by Stephen Williams
The Government is not obliged to keep a list of assets which have been accepted as being of community value; this is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. However, we know that over 1,500 assets have been listed and these range from pubs (over 500), museums, parks and green spaces, post offices and village shops and an iconic cold war era control tower at Greenham Common. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/milestone-reached-as-community-rights-uses-hit-3000.