Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his current policy is on the wearing of face coverings in his (a) Department, (b) departmental agencies and (c) related bodies during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department makes the wearing of face coverings in its offices optional other than when using the security access pods in 2 Marsham Street where one must be worn. We encourage people to wear face coverings in particular situations such as being in crowded or enclosed spaces or if asked to by a competent authority. Individual Arm’s Length Bodies determine their own policy with regard to wearing face coverings.
The QEII Conference Centre requires staff to wear face coverings in public areas of the building whilst all other bodies make wearing face coverings optional. The Department’s staff and those of our ALBs also follow the requirements of Landlords with regard to wearing face coverings in those buildings where they are a minor tenant.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of working days lost to his Department as a result of staff sickness with covid-19 in each of the last 18 months.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department has made no estimate of the number of working days lost as a result of staff sickness related to positive cases of Covid-19.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of officials working in his Department who have tested positive for covid-19 and needed to self-isolate in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We do not routinely disclose the Covid-19 test results of officials employed by the Department.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of long-term funding for disabled children's health and care services.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Treasury Ministers and officials regularly meet with other government departments and a range of stakeholders, which includes discussions around support for disabled children.
The government has to date provided the NHS with over £27bn to support its response to and recovery from Coronavirus, which includes the provision of healthcare services to disabled children. This is part of the overall £87bn support for health services since the start of the pandemic.
The government has also given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services. At last year’s Spending Review, we provided councils with access to over £1bn of spending for social care through £300m of new social care grant and the ability to introduce a 3% adult social care precept. This funding was additional to the £1 billion social care grant announced in 2019 which was maintained in line with the government's manifesto.
We will continue to work with other government departments, including the Department for Health and Social Care and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, to ensure the upcoming Spending Review reflects the requirements of disabled children’s health and care services in the longer term.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a ministerial taskforce to support the creation of forms of retirement housing.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Both the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health and Social Care are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people. We are engaging closely with both the sector and a range of other stakeholders on this issue. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-government taskforce.
Asked by: Lord Gilbert of Panteg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Berridge on 2 June (HL434), and on 20 July (HL1599), whether they still intend to publish "a new national strategy for English language in England", as set out in the Integrated Communities Action Plan, published on 9 February 2019; what role the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will have in the formulation of this strategy; and what steps they are taking to ensure a cross-government approach to the development of the strategy.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 July 2021 to Question HL1599.
We remain committed to English language, as demonstrated by the manifesto commitment to boost English language teaching. However, our response to the COVID-19 outbreak is our priority at present. We will provide an update on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in due course.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government continues to work closely with the Department for Education and other government departments on the provision of ESOL.
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - South West Surrey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that carers have access to breaks from their caring responsibilities.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Act 2014 secured important rights for carers, including an assessment of, and support for, their specific needs where eligible. Local authorities have been able to access the £1.49 billion Infection Control Fund which has been used to help day services reopen safely or be reconfigured to work in a COVID-19 secure way. We have also committed at least £6.9 billion in 2021-2022 to the Better Care Fund, which includes funding that can be used for respite services. In addition, we have worked with the Social Care Institute for Excellence to publish guidance for day care managers, commissioners, and providers, to help them make decisions on the safe operation of day services.
We will continue to work with local authorities, in collaboration with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure, where possible, the safe resumption of these services.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2021 to Question 29805 on Local Government: Coronavirus, what budget has been made available for enforcement activities in respect of ventilation of council-managed buildings in each of the last ten years; what enforcement action has been taken in respect of ventilation of council-managed buildings in each of the last ten years; and when he most recently discussed the ventilation of council-managed buildings with (a) the Local Government Association, (b) other local government representative bodies and (c) trade unions recognised in English local government.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcing health and safety law in council operated buildings.
HSE allocates resources based on planned levels of activity to deliver it's published strategy and plans. It does not allocate budgets by specific risk areas such as business premises ventilation, but inspectors will take action to respond to poor ventilation if identified during regulatory activity.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the risks associated with poor general ventilation in a workplace increased due to the risk of transmitting coronavirus. HSE has carried out more than 300,000 interventions since the start of the pandemic, to check how employers are implementing measures to reduce transmission of coronavirus at their sites, including whether employees are working in poorly ventilated spaces. Where contraventions are identified, HSE inspectors will take action to secure compliance by providing verbal advice, written correspondence or serving enforcement notices.
HSE has also updated their guidance to support employers in addressing the issue of ventilation- www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/index.htm.
HSE does not collate information about enforcement action taken specifically in respect of ventilation in council managed buildings.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) continues to lead the Government's significant and regular engagement with councils and local government sector bodies including the Local Government Association to ensure information is getting to councils and that we are made aware of any areas of concern:
Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that people can easily access advice on home insulation measures and services.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Simple Energy Advice Service (SEA) provides impartial and tailored advice to help people improve their household’s energy efficiency and make their homes greener. SEA consists of an easy-to-use website supported by a call centre and the website has been accessed by over 1.5 million users. The Government is currently undertaking user research into improving the service.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) also published an EPC Action Plan detailing a series of commitments to engage consumers to support policy and drive action. The Government is also working with Local Authorities through the Local Energy Programme to develop support for retrofit programmes by addressing local barriers to clean growth activity.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the finding of the Disabled Children’s Partnerships report, Left Behind, published 16 July 2021, that over half of local authorities have failed to meet their targets for providing Education, Health and Care plan assessments, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing long-term funding for disabled children’s social care services.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Treasury Ministers regularly meet with other government departments and a range of stakeholders, which includes discussions around support for disabled children and young people.
To support local areas, the government has given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services. At last year’s Spending Review, we provided councils with access to over £1bn of spending for social care through £300m of new social care grant and the ability to introduce a 3% adult social care precept. This funding was additional to the £1 billion social care grant announced in 2019 which was maintained in line with the government's manifesto.
We are also increasing education funding for children with complex special educational needs and disabilities by nearly a quarter in two years, to £8 billion this year.
We will continue to work with other government departments, including Department for Education and the Ministry of Housing, Communities &
Local Government, to ensure the upcoming Spending Review reflects the needs of children’s social care services.