Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to undertake a review of the publication by default of the home addresses of councillors in England.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Committee on Standards in Public Life published a report on Local Government Ethical Standards. One of their recommendations would ensure that councillors no longer need to publish their home address. We have been considering these recommendations carefully, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the purpose is of his review of his Department.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Levelling up is at the heart of the Government's agenda. Levelling up means empowering local leaders and communities to drive real change; boosting living standards, particularly where they are lower; spreading opportunity and improving public services, particularly where they are weaker. The Secretary of State is therefore looking at a number of areas of the department’s work to ensure it reflects these priorities.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2021 to Question 32407, on Landlords: Licensing, if he will provide a timescale for a decision to be made on the renewal of the Liverpool Council Selective Licensing application submitted in February 2021.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We have received Liverpool City Council’s application for a selective licensing scheme. Each application is assessed on its merits against the statutory criteria. Timings can be affected by the complexity of an application and whether further information is required. We will update on the outcome of the application in due course.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many bids were submitted to the first round of funding of the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The first round of the Levelling Up fund will invest £1.7 billion in 107 local infrastructure projects across the UK. Citizens across the UK can expect to see projects getting underway from early 2022.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding Cornwall will receive through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Budget and SR launched the UKSPF, worth over £2.6 billion, to help people access new opportunities in places of need.
The UKSPF will ramp up to £1.5 billion in 2024-25 and total funding will at a minimum match the size of EU funds in all nations, each year. As the Prime Minister previously said, the Government will also match EU funding levels in Cornwall.
Further details on the UKSPF will be published in due course.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what budget his Department has set to cover the costs of spending associated with changing the name of his Department from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Any necessary changes will be done in a cost-efficient way with expenditure being kept to a minimum.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many civil servants are employed by his Department.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department is committed to routinely publishing its workforce management information. The number of staff employed at 30th September 2021 can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dluhc-workforce-management-information-september-2021. All staff at AO-SCS levels are employed as Civil Servants.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the impact of the Government's social care plan entitled Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care on local authorities in England.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
My Department has been fully involved in developing the plan, including to make sure that the implications for local government are properly considered. The Government is working with care users, providers, local government and other partners to develop its plans and will publish further detail in a white paper for reform later this year.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2021 to Question 56314 on Towns Fund, if he will publish the heads of terms for each of the 101 towns offered Town Deals.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
It is for individual local authorities to decide how and when to publish this information.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2021 to Question 56314 on Towns Fund, how much of the referenced funding has been paid out as of 22 October 2021.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Both the Town Deal and Future High Streets elements of the Towns Fund are releasing funding on a rolling basis according to the financial profiles supplied by towns. All 101 Towns invited to submit proposals for a Town Deal have been provided with a Heads of Terms offer, worth a combined total of £2.4 billion; in addition, all 72 successful Future High Streets places have been allocated funding, worth a combined total of £830 million.