Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to make parish and town councils aware of the general power of competence in the Localism Act 2011.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We are proud of our parish and town councils and the role they play in transforming public services. Any parish or town council can take steps to become eligible to use the general power of competence. When the general power of competence was commenced in February 2012 the Government produced guidance on using the power to hold prayers as part of the formal business at council meetings and wrote to the Society of Local Council Clerks. In July 2013, the Secretary of State addressed the Local Government Association/National Association of Local Councils conference on the general power of competence, encouraging all councils to use the power innovatively without looking to Whitehall for permission.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/general-power-of-competence-speech
We have worked with the National Association of Local Councils to update the mandatory training module required for clerks to be qualified, as part of eligibility criteria for parish councils to be able to use the general power of competence.
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department provided to billing authorities for council tax support schemes in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government provided £3.3 billion to local authorities for localised council tax support in 2013-14 and has made available the same amount in 2014-15.
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the reason is for the time taken to make a decision on the Rushden Lakes development; and when he plans to announce that decision.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Secretary of State issued his decision on this case on 11 June. He has decided to grant planning permission for this development. A copy of the decision letter and the Inspector's report has been sent to the hon. Member and to other interested parties, and these documents are available on the GOV.UK website at:
https://www.gov.uk/planning-applications-called-in-decisions-and-recovered-appeals
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the creation of a Single Fraud Investigation Service on the level of fraud against local authorities.
Answered by Esther McVey
The introduction of single fraud investigation service will ensure that all allegations of local authority welfare benefit fraud are investigated appropriately in accordance with a single policy. As such the SFIS project strengthens the approach to investigating and tackling welfare benefit fraud in local authorities.
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the threat to human rights defenders and journalists in Honduras.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Government attaches great importance to the support of human rights and democracy around the world. The human rights situation in Honduras is undoubtedly of concern, particularly in regard to human rights defenders and journalists, who have been known to face particular threats. The limited investigative capacity of judicial institutions in Honduras means it is often difficult to determine who is responsible for such crimes. However, Her Majesty's Ambassador to Honduras set out in a recent statement to mark Press Freedom Day on 3 May, the British Government is working to support the efforts of the Honduran Attorney General's Office and other institutions to tackle impunity human rights abuses, including crimes perpetrated against journalists and human rights defenders.
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the President of Honduras about human rights abuses in Honduras.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Government has consistantly engaged with Honduran authorities on the issue of human rights. Soon after the new President of Honduras took office in January this year, representatives from the British Embassy met senior Honduran officials, including the Attorney General and the Commissioner for Human Rights. Our Embassy has since continued this dialogue with the appropriate Honduran authorities, including raising specific cases highlighted by a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Most recently, Her Majesty's Ambassador wrote to the newly appointed Human Rights Ombudsman and the Attorney General to highlight our ongoing human rights concerns. An official from the Crown Prosecution Service also travelled to Honduras in February to assess whether UK expertise can be used in support of EU work, to develop capacity in tackling impunity for human rights violations and abuses.
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the spending power is for (a) Wokingham Council and (b) Newcastle upon Tyne City Council in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
[Holding Reply: Thursday 1 May 2014]
Spending power figures by local authority are published as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, which is laid before the House each year. This information is also reasonably accessible to the hon. Member on my Department's website at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2014-to-2015 (2014-15 and provisional 2015-16)
www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/settle.htm (2013-14)
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from the (a) Local Government Association, (b) Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (c) Welsh Local Government Association on issues of staff protection, finance and timing in relation the proposal to establish a single fraud investigation service.
Answered by Esther McVey
DWP has worked very closely with the Local Government Association, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association throughout the life of the Project and continues to do so. All three organisations hold regular meetings with the Project and also have representatives on the key consultative and governance groups, for example the SFIS Project Steering Committee.
The subject of staff terms and conditions has been discussed and we have assured all our stakeholders that terms and conditions of employment will be protected. This protection will be documented in the transfer order and employees transferring will not be subject to less favourable terms and conditions when they join DWP. This is in line with the Cabinet Office Statement of Practise for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector.
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many whole-time equivalent podiatrists were employed in the NHS in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The annual National Health Service workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of chiropodists/podiatrists working in the National Health Service in England as at 30 September each year. The number of full-time equivalent chiropodists/podiatrists employed by the NHS in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table. It is not possible to separate out the podiatrists from the chiropodists/podiatrists figure.
The most recent annual workforce census, which includes data as at 30 September 2013 and was published on 25 March 2014, has been placed in the Library.
NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified Chiropody/Podiatry staff in England as at 30 September each year
full time equivalent | |||||||||||
2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
England | 3,027 | 3,117 | 3,103 | 3,056 | 3,095 | 3,146 | 3,207 | 3,190 | 3,106 | 3,067 | 3,028 |
Notes:
It is impossible to isolate the numbers of podiatry staff from the Chiropody/Podiatry staff workforce census data.
These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave.
Source:
Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
Asked by: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on trends over the last five years in the number of employees at (a) bands 5 and 6 and (b) bands 7 and 8 employed as podiatrists in the NHS.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Health and Social Care Information Centre annual National Health Service workforce census shows the number of chiropodists/podiatrists by Agenda for Change (AfC) pay band working in the National Health Service as at 30 September each year from 2010 to 2013. It is not possible to separate podiatrists from the chiropodists/podiatrists figures. An AfC breakdown is not available for 2009 census data but is available in the provisional monthly workforce statistics.
The number of employees at AfC bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 employed as podiatrists in the NHS from 2009 to 2013 is shown in the following table.
NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified Chiropody/Podiatry staff in England by agenda for change pay band as at 30 September each year
Full Time Equivalent | |||||
20091 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
All Pay bands | 3,215 | 3,190 | 3,106 | 3,067 | 3,028 |
of which | |||||
Band 5 | 281 | 284 | 265 | 313 | 383 |
Band 6 | 1,568 | 1,574 | 1,560 | 1,494 | 1,444 |
subtotal | 1,849 | 1,858 | 1,825 | 1,808 | 1,827 |
Band 7 | 904 | 877 | 854 | 837 | 808 |
Band 8a | 225 | 232 | 228 | 218 | 203 |
Band 8b | 88 | 81 | 70 | 64 | 59 |
Band 8c | 37 | 32 | 26 | 21 | 20 |
Band 8d | 25 | 26 | 30 | 31 | 28 |
subtotal | 1,278 | 1,248 | 1,207 | 1,171 | 1,119 |
Notes:
12009 figures will differ from the published Annual Workforce Census figure for qualified Chiropody/Podiatry staff (3,207) because this data is taken from the September 2009 Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics. AfC band data for 2009 is not available from the Annual Workforce Census.
2010-2013 figures are from the September Workforce Census each year.
It is impossible to isolate the numbers of podiatry staff from the Chiropody/Podiatry staff workforce census data.
Sources:
Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
Health and Social Care Information Centre Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics