Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many Freedom of Information requests his Department has declined to answer in full since 2010.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistical reports on the handling of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for central government. These reports include statistics on the numbers of requests granted in full and those where information was partially or fully withheld. These reports can be accessed on the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on legal fees over prevention of release of information requested by Freedom of Information requests since 2010.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
I refer the hon. Member to to my answer to him of 22 July 2014, PQ 204271.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions his Department has had requests for appointments by exception to the Senior Civil Service turned down by the Civil Service Commission since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my rt. hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General (Francis Maude) today, PQ 213040.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in his Department since 2010 were previously (a) political appointees within that Department and (b) employed by a political party.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what professional development courses are made available to staff of his Department; and what the cost to the public purse is of each such course.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
There are currently 26 approved professions across the Civil Service. The majority of development courses available to support the continuous professional development of those concerned are provided through the central training portal, Civil Service Learning. This means all available course costs are centrally negotiated, ensuring economies of scale and best value for Government. The individual cost of these courses range in price depending on profession and the training require and it would involve disproportionate cost to provide the detailed information requested.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on what occasions each Minister within his Department has taken domestic flights on official business since May 2010.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
This information could only be provided at disproportional cost. Details of ministerial overseas travel and meetings with external organisations are routinely published every quarter and information can be accessed on the Department's web page via the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on the decision to withdraw the local welfare provision grant in 2015-16; and what consultation he undertook prior to making that decision.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
[Holding Reply: Thursday 30 January 2014]
DCLG Ministers and officials talk regularly to elected members and officers of local authorities about a range of issues.
The nationally run Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans were poorly targeted and failed to help those most in need. So, in 2012 as part of wider welfare reform, the Department for Work and Pensions abolished these national discretionary schemes and transferred responsibility to local authorities so they could deliver and tailor new local support as part of their existing services to their communities.
Councils can continue to provide support to those in their community who face financial difficulties or who find themselves in unavoidable circumstances, but there is no requirement to replicate the previous approach adopted by central government.
In contrast to a centralised grant system that was poorly targeted, under the Department for Work and Pensions' reforms, councils can now choose how best to support local welfare needs within their areas – what is right for, say, Barrow and Furness may not be for other authorities. Some councils have already chosen to wind down their dedicated schemes following underspends.
In the next Spending Round period, from April 2015, central government continues to provide support to local authorities through general funds as part of the Coalition Government's commitment to reducing ring-fencing and ending top-down Whitehall control.
The Department for Work and Pensions provided a separate fund for 2013-2015 and are carrying out a review of the provision to date.