Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he and the Minister for the Cabinet Office plan to increase the number of staff who work in the Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit (JESP) works between DLUHC and GSG in Cabinet Office to coordinate election security and preparedness activity within government and externally. JESP carries out the majority of its work to track and mitigate risks through officials in other government departments and the UK intelligence community. The JESP also works with the devolved administrations, local authorities and the Electoral Commission.
Details of staffing are published in departmental organograms, which are updated periodically.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many members of staff were working in the Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit on 31 January 2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit (JESP) works between DLUHC and GSG in Cabinet Office to coordinate election security and preparedness activity within government and externally. JESP carries out the majority of its work to track and mitigate risks through officials in other government departments and the UK intelligence community. The JESP also works with the devolved administrations, local authorities and the Electoral Commission.
Details of staffing are published in departmental organograms, which are updated periodically.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 16 November 2023 to Question 1081 on Asylum: Rwanda, whether his Department has plans to conduct a review into the approach to disinformation within the UK's democratic procedures.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Government policy on countering mis and disinformation is a matter for the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. However, the Government as a whole is of course committed to protecting our democratic processes from the risks posed by disinformation.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what meetings his Department has had with (a) devolved mayoral authorities and (b) local authorities on national resilience in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department engages routinely with local authorities as integral partners (designated as Category 1 responders alongside emergency services in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004) in the 38 Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) in England. DLUHC support LRFs to plan for the risks their area faces, to prepare through training and exercising and during response and recovery. Engagement with devolved mayoral authorities varies according to the powers agreed with each authority.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many officials in his Department are working on supporting devolution deals with local and combined authorities in England.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the departmental organogram published here.
The breadth of the policy areas delivered through devolution means it is not possible to specify the number of officials supporting devolution and the important work of empowering local leaders and communities.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase investment into former coalfield communities.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This Government is committed to levelling up the UK by spreading opportunity more equally across the country, investing in places that need it most, including coalfield communities.
Several former coalfield communities are benefiting from our Towns Fund, our Community Ownership Fund, and our £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund.
Finally, every area of the UK will receive a share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which empowers local places to identify and build on their own strengths and needs. It provides £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which councils have received new funding to house refugees from (a) Ukraine and (b) Afghanistan; and how many refugees his Department plans to support with this funding.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We are announcing £35 million of new funding to enable local authorities to provide increased support for Afghan households to move from hotels into settled accommodation.
Further to the announcement made earlier today, the Department for Levelling Up is expanding the Local Authority Housing Fund for England with an additional £250 million, primarily targeted at Afghan arrivals. This is in addition to the £500 million already allocated to support areas with the highest existing housing pressures and those that are facing the most significant housing pressures as a result of the recent Ukrainian arrivals.
Where sponsorships can no longer continue for the financial year 2023/24, all councils will receive help to house Ukrainians through a one-off pot of government funding worth £150 million.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 provided feedback on bids to all (a) local and (b) mayoral combined authorities which were not successful in the second round of funding under the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Officials have provided feedback to local authorities and mayoral combined authorities whose bids have not received funding.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to work with mayoral combined authorities in preparation for the application process for investment zones.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As set out in the Investment Zones policy prospectus, officials will work in partnership with places, and their local stakeholders, to co-develop their Investment Zone proposals.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to establish a formal mechanism for Mayors with devolved powers to interact with his Department.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Ministers and officials in DLUHC meet regularly with the mayors and their officers.