Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of voting rights on the integration of refugees; and if he will publish any such assessment.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The entitlement of resident Commonwealth citizens to vote reflects our close historical ties with Commonwealth countries. The right to reside, whether under refugee status or any other status, does not confer the right to participate in democratic processes in the UK.
Accordingly, the Government has no plans to review such voting rights.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will undertake a review of the rules on voting eligibility to equalise voting rights between refugees from Commonwealth countries and those from other countries.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The entitlement of resident Commonwealth citizens to vote reflects our close historical ties with Commonwealth countries. The right to reside, whether under refugee status or any other status, does not confer the right to participate in democratic processes in the UK.
Accordingly, the Government has no plans to review such voting rights.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he has taken to communicate information on voting rights to eligible commonwealth citizens resident in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The entitlement of resident Commonwealth citizens to vote reflects our close historical ties with Commonwealth countries. The right to reside, whether under refugee status or any other status, does not confer the right to participate in democratic processes in the UK.
Accordingly, the Government has no plans to review such voting rights.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 businesses that were eligible for business rates relief in the 2023-24 financial year are no longer eligible in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The department does not hold the data required to answer this question. Information on the number of hereditaments eligible for business rates relief is available here.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much levelling up funding his Department has allocated to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
BCP Council have received a variety of levelling up support since 2019, including through some specific awards such as:
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure organisations listed under the new definition of extremism are (a) subject to an impartial review process and (b) able to appeal being listed under the new definition.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Further to the Secretary of State’s oral statement on Extremism Definition and Community Engagement of 14 March 2024 (Official Report HC, Volume 747, Column 452), details of ministerial meetings and engagement are published on gov.uk. Further details relating to the Government’s work in this area, including in relation to naming individuals and organisations, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what consultation his Department undertook with (a) faith groups (b) civil society and (c) local councils on the new definition of extremism; and whether the findings will be published.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Further to the Secretary of State’s oral statement on Extremism Definition and Community Engagement of 14 March 2024 (Official Report HC, Volume 747, Column 452), details of ministerial meetings and engagement are published on gov.uk. Further details relating to the Government’s work in this area, including in relation to naming individuals and organisations, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the counter-extremism centre of excellence will take to assess organisations under the new definition of extremism.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Further to the Secretary of State’s oral statement on Extremism Definition and Community Engagement of 14 March 2024 (Official Report HC, Volume 747, Column 452), details of ministerial meetings and engagement are published on gov.uk. Further details relating to the Government’s work in this area, including in relation to naming individuals and organisations, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the new definition of extremism on public bodies.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Further to the Secretary of State’s oral statement on Extremism Definition and Community Engagement of 14 March 2024 (Official Report HC, Volume 747, Column 452), details of ministerial meetings and engagement are published on gov.uk. Further details relating to the Government’s work in this area, including in relation to naming individuals and organisations, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing developers participating in the self-remediation scheme with a list of firms from which the Cladding Safety Scheme will accept Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls assessments.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The developer remediation contract requires that relevant assessors are suitably experienced, qualified, independent and competent. The department also requires the developer and the assessor to sign statements confirming that they are separate financial entities, in line with guidance issued by authorities including RICS, the International Arbitration Board, the International Bar Association and ISO/IEC 17020:2012 Conformity assessment.
The department does not recommend a list of assessors to developers. The British Standards Institution’s PAS 9980 standard and the developer remediation contract make clear that relevant assessors must meet the required standard, and the department regularly commissions independent audits of assessments obtained by developers to make sure that those standards have been met.