Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 23 November 2021 to Question 77410 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Meetings, when the predecessor departmental board, for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government last met; and when his Department plans to publish minutes of those board meetings held since December 2016.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Prior to becoming the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) held its last full Departmental Board meeting in March 2021.
There are no plans to publish MHCLG’s Departmental Board minutes from 2016 onwards.
Asked by: Baroness Wheatcroft (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ministerial Directions have been issued in Her Majesty's Treasury since October 2020; and what matters they related to.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
None.
There have been two Ministerial Directions issued since October 2020: one by the Secretary of State in Defra concerning a Movement Assistance Scheme to support traders moving agri-food commodities and equines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; and one by the Secretary of State in the then Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government concerning the funding of fire alarms and walking watches for private and social sector buildings over 18 metres with unsafe cladding.
Asked by: Baroness Wheatcroft (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ministerial Directions have been issued since October 2020.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
There have been two Ministerial Directions issued since October 2020: one by the Secretary of State in Defra concerning a Movement Assistance Scheme to support traders moving agri-food commodities and equines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; and one by the Secretary of State in the then Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government concerning the funding of fire alarms and walking watches for private and social sector buildings over 18 metres with unsafe cladding.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what funds have been paid by his Department to Stonewall in each of the last five years; and to what projects those funds were allocated.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) , formerly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, became a member of Stonewall Diversity Champions in 2010. DLUHC is no longer a member of Stonewall UK Diversity Champions Programme, it concluded its membership with the 2018/19 subscription which was also the year MHCLG last applied to be included on Stonewall's "Workplace Equality Index. Detailed below is the funds allocated to Stonewall by project for each of the last five financial years
2016/17 FY | 2,400.00 | Stonewall Diversity Champions Annual Membership 16/17 |
2017/18 FY | 7,506 | Stonewall In House Allies Programme (£6,000) Stonewall – Leadership Program (£1,506) |
2018/19 FY | 3,000 | Stonewall - Diversity Champions Annual Membership 18/19 (£3,000) |
2019/20 FY | Nil |
|
2020/21 FY | Nil |
|
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when officials in his Department were made aware of the presence of flammable cladding on buildings in the Defence Estate.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Ministry of Defence Officials were first made aware that one Single Living Accommodation block at HMS Nelson was not compliant with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government guidance on cladding in July 2019.
The Grenfell Tower fire occurred on 14 June 2017. In response to the concerns about building cladding and following advice from MHCLG, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) surveyed the defence estate to establish if any MOD-owned sleeping accommodation blocks over 18m in height were clad with Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) during July-August 2017. This found that MOD had no buildings that met the criteria or that were clad with ACM.
In December 2018, the MHCLG issued an updated Advice Note which changed and extended the requirement, recommending that all buildings with any external cladding at a height in excess of 18m and containing residential accommodation should be assessed to ascertain the type of cladding used.
All relevant buildings on the Defence Estate were re-surveyed (surveys completed in July 2019), which identified 28 buildings (subsequently reduced to 27 buildings) which had cladding and required further investigation as there was no evidence to confirm the external wall systems had a BR135 classification that was required under MHCLG Advice Note 14 to determine that the external wall system is safe.
As part of this process Ministry of Defence Officials were first made aware that one Single Living Accommodation block at HMS Nelson was not compliant with MHCLG guidance on cladding in July 2019.
In November 2019, Defence Fire and Rescue (DFR), the Defence Fire Safety Regulator (DFSR) and Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) agreed that the 28 buildings identified should have the cladding removed, and letters notifying of the risk and need for removal were sent to the relevant Heads of Establishments in December 2019. DFR provided advice on how to operate the buildings to enable them to be safe to occupy. DFR, DFSR and DIO agreed that occupation of the buildings could continue until the appropriate measures were implemented subject to maintaining and adhering to the conditions within the buildings Fire Risk Assessments. Subsequent advice from Fire Engineering Specialists confirmed that the buildings and cladding could be assessed to determine if the cladding needed to be removed.
In Jan 2020 a consolidated advice note was issued by MHCLG, which advised all buildings containing sleeping accommodation (at any height) with external cladding should be assessed.
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: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) Substitute Single Service Accommodation and (b) Substitute Service Family Accommodation meet the standards required.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Department's management contract for the provision of all substitute accommodation from the private rental market, requires a minimum standard of accommodation to be achieved in line with Departmental specification. All accommodation will meet the Decent Homes Standard as determined by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, at the date of occupancy.
As part of the standard contract compliance checks, the Department formally approves the use of properties before they are allocated to Service personnel and Families.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will (a) identify and (b) repurpose and make adequate all accommodation on his Department's estate that could be used for the resettlement of Afghan refugees.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The relocation of Afghan refugees is a significant undertaking. Whilst the provision of accommodation is clearly a crucial part of the resettlement programme, of equal importance is ensuring that Local Authorities have the capacity to provide the right level of access to health and education provision to ensure the integration of Afghan evacuees. The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, and the Home Office on a cross-Government effort to identify where we can best support this endeavour. This includes the provision of additional Defence accommodation where appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of the Union Jack flags purchased by his Department in each of the last two years were manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Four Union Jack flags have been purchased during this time, but the Department does not hold information on where the flags were manufactured.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which companies have supplied Union Jack flags to his Department since 2019.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Since 2019 the Department have purchased flags from Flagmakers, a division of Specialist Canvas Services Ltd; 21st Century Office Concepts Ltd trading as Cupaz; and Harrison Flagpoles.