Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much from the public purse the Government has provided to (a) the South Tees Development Corporation and (b) Teesworks Joint Venture as of 7 June 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
On 7 June, the Department published letters appointing three reviewers to the independent review into the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks Joint Venture, alongside a copy of the review's terms of reference. This followed my Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 25 May, announcing the review (HCWS813).
As set out in Parliament on 7 June, in line with existing practice, we have matched the skills, expertise, and experience of the panel, all of whom have held senior positions in local government, to the specific requirements of the review.
Details of the government funding provided to Tees Valley Combined Authority for the development of South Tees Development Corporation site are available on gov.uk. No funding has been provided by the Government to the Teesworks Joint Venture.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what set of criteria he plans to use to appoint panellists to the Independent review: Teesworks Joint Venture.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
On 7 June, the Department published letters appointing three reviewers to the independent review into the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks Joint Venture, alongside a copy of the review's terms of reference. This followed my Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 25 May, announcing the review (HCWS813).
As set out in Parliament on 7 June, in line with existing practice, we have matched the skills, expertise, and experience of the panel, all of whom have held senior positions in local government, to the specific requirements of the review.
Details of the government funding provided to Tees Valley Combined Authority for the development of South Tees Development Corporation site are available on gov.uk. No funding has been provided by the Government to the Teesworks Joint Venture.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the planned duration is of his Department's advertising and marketing campaign for levelling up; and what the cost of that campaign will be.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Levelling Up campaign ran from February to April 2022 and has now ended. We will be publishing its expenditure as part of routine transparency commitments in due course.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the cost has been to his Department of the recent advertising campaign for levelling up (a) in newspapers and (b) on billboards.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Levelling Up campaign ran from February to April 2022 and has now ended. We will be publishing its expenditure as part of routine transparency commitments in due course.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timeline is for the implementation of the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government has committed to creating a UK Shared Prosperity Fund to succeed European structural funds and bind together the whole of the United Kingdom, tackling inequality and deprivation in each of our four nations. The Government recognises the importance of reassuring local areas on the future of local growth funding and of providing clarity on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Final decisions on the design of the fund will need to be taken after a cross-Government Spending Review. In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with interested parties whilst developing the fund.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government what his plans are for the consultation on the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government has committed to creating the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as the successor to EU structural funds. The fund will bind together the whole of the United Kingdom, tackling inequality and deprivation in each of our four nations. The Government recognises the importance of reassuring local areas on the future of local growth funding now we have left the European Union, and of providing clarity on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Government officials have held 25 engagement events across the UK, attended by over 500 representatives from a breadth of sectors, which has helped inform progress on policy design. Government looks forward to continuing to work closely with partners as we develop the fund.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds information on the amount of Government funding allocated to women's refuges for each calendar year after 2013.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Since 2014 MHCLG has invested £55.5 million in services in England to support victims of domestic abuse, including refuges.
Our £10 million fund to local authorities (2014-2016), where we released £3 million in 2014 and £7 million in 2015, helped 148 local authorities strengthen refuge provision for victims and offer support to women from outside their own area.
The £3.5 million fund (2015-2016), also released in 2015, supported 46 local authorities and their partners to deliver 710 new bed spaces for 3,798 victims of domestic abuse.
Through our £20 million fund (2016-2018) we released £3.2 million in 2016 and £17.2 million in 2017. This supported 80 projects across the country, helping to create more than 2,000 bed spaces and giving support to over 19,000 victims and their families.
My Department’s current £22 million fund (2018-2020) is supporting 63 projects across England to provide support for over 25,000 victims, and their families, and over 2,200 additional bed spaces in accommodation-based services, including refuge. To facilitate this, we released £9.8 million in 2018 and on 30 April 2019 we released the final instalment of £12.2 million to cover the 2019 to 2020 financial year. Funding beyond March 2020 is for decision at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds information on the amount of Government funding planned for women's refuges for the next calendar year.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Since 2014 MHCLG has invested £55.5 million in services in England to support victims of domestic abuse, including refuges.
Our £10 million fund to local authorities (2014-2016), where we released £3 million in 2014 and £7 million in 2015, helped 148 local authorities strengthen refuge provision for victims and offer support to women from outside their own area.
The £3.5 million fund (2015-2016), also released in 2015, supported 46 local authorities and their partners to deliver 710 new bed spaces for 3,798 victims of domestic abuse.
Through our £20 million fund (2016-2018) we released £3.2 million in 2016 and £17.2 million in 2017. This supported 80 projects across the country, helping to create more than 2,000 bed spaces and giving support to over 19,000 victims and their families.
My Department’s current £22 million fund (2018-2020) is supporting 63 projects across England to provide support for over 25,000 victims, and their families, and over 2,200 additional bed spaces in accommodation-based services, including refuge. To facilitate this, we released £9.8 million in 2018 and on 30 April 2019 we released the final instalment of £12.2 million to cover the 2019 to 2020 financial year. Funding beyond March 2020 is for decision at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department allocated to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.
Answered by Jake Berry
This Department has not provided the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) with any direct funding since 2015. Our investment in the CRT from 2010 to 2015 was designed to assist the organisation to become self-sustaining, supporting them to respond to needs and opportunities in coalfield communities.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what Department plans he has to replicate the infrastructure investment priorities of the European Regional Development Fund once the UK leaves the EU structural funds.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government will create the UK Shared Prosperity Fund once we have left the European Union. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will strengthen the foundations of productivity as set out in our modern Industrial Strategy to support people to benefit from economic prosperity. This new Fund will ensure that investments are targeted effectively to align with the challenges faced by places, creating a fresh opportunity to focus investment according to our own priorities. We are continuing to work on the design and priorities and we will consult widely on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This will give all interested parties the chance to contribute their views to Government. Final decisions are due to be made during the Spending Review.