Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the trends in the levels of penalties charged by private parking operators.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
In order to access Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data, parking operators must belong to one of two trade bodies, the British Parking Association (BPA) or the International Parking Community (IPC). Both the BPA and the IPC cap the maximum penalty a private parking operator can apply at £100, with a mandatory 40 per cent reduction if payment is received within two weeks of a Parking Charge Notice being issued.
The Government supports Sir Greg Knights’ Parking (Code of Practice) Bill, which seeks to create a single code of practice for the parking industry. Should the Bill pass, there will be an opportunity to consider obligations on private parking operators, including the maximum level of penalty they can charge.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to protect vulnerable road users from inappropriate parking penalties in private car parks.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The Government supports Sir Greg Knight's Private Members’ Bill, the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill, which seeks to create an independent code of practice for private parking companies and a single body for parking appeals. If a parking company was to repeatedly break this code, then their access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data would be blocked. This data includes information on the vehicle keeper, so a company blocked from accessing it would be unable to pursue parking charges. I spoke at the Bill’s Third Reading in the Commons to voice the Government’s support and it has now passed to the House of Lords.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of use of private parking operators by GP surgeries.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
GPs are independent contractors, and are responsible for their own premises, as well as any arrangements they make for providing and managing car parking or other aspects of accessing their estate.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.88 of Budget 2018 Red Book, what powers the Government plans to confer on the South Tees special economic area.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The South Tees site will be designated as a Special Economic Area which will enable the local retention of additional business rates growth. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will continue to collect 50 per cent of all business rates in respect of those properties currently situated within the proposed boundary of the Special Economic Area, in line with the current operation of the Business Rates retention System.
In addition, once the Special Economic Area is established in statute, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will retain 100 per cent of all business rates growth obtained within that same area. This additional funding can then be used by the South Tees Development Corporation and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to reinvest in local economic growth.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.88 of Budget 2018 Redbook, whether business rates that will be transferred to the proposed South Tees special economic area will include business rates currently retained by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The South Tees site will be designated as a Special Economic Area which will enable the local retention of additional business rates growth. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will continue to collect 50 per cent of all business rates in respect of those properties currently situated within the proposed boundary of the Special Economic Area, in line with the current operation of the Business Rates retention System.
In addition, once the Special Economic Area is established in statute, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will retain 100 per cent of all business rates growth obtained within that same area. This additional funding can then be used by the South Tees Development Corporation and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to reinvest in local economic growth.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has he made of the effect of the business rates retention by the proposed South Tees special economic area on the financial sustainability of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The South Tees site will be designated as a Special Economic Area which will enable the local retention of additional business rates growth. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will continue to collect 50 per cent of all business rates in respect of those properties currently situated within the proposed boundary of the Special Economic Area, in line with the current operation of the Business Rates retention System.
In addition, once the Special Economic Area is established in statute, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will retain 100 per cent of all business rates growth obtained within that same area. This additional funding can then be used by the South Tees Development Corporation and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to reinvest in local economic growth.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish its post-legislative memorandum on the Localism Act 2011.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Work is currently underway on a memorandum setting out the Department’s post-legislative scrutiny assessment of the Localism Act 2011. This will be submitted to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee and published in due course.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people sleeping rough in (a) Redcar and Cleveland, (b) the North East and (c) England for each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Annual rough sleeping counts and estimates data can be found in table 1 of our published live table:
This Government is determined to do more to reduce the number of people sleeping rough. We have established a new Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State, which will drive forward the implementation of a cross-Government strategy to tackle this issue.
We have allocated over £1 billion through to 2020 to support these efforts including piloting a Housing First approach for some of the most entrenched rough sleepers in the 3 major areas of England – including the Liverpool City Region. We are also implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act, the biggest change to homelessness legislation in decades, which will require councils to provide early support to people at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of local authorities' budgets have been spent on children's services by (a) Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, (b) local authorities in the North East and (c) local authorities in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Annual expenditure data by each local authority for all services, including children’s services, are published on the Department’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the deliverability of the recommendations of the independent report, Tees Valley: Opportunity Unlimited, published in June 2016; and what the timetable is for his Department to respond to those recommendations and set out a schedule for the implementation of any recommendations which are accepted.
Answered by Andrew Percy
Government is currently working with Tees Valley Combined Authority on progressing Lord Heseltine's recommendations. The report was debated in Parliament on 15 June.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-06-5/debates/16061550000002/TeesValleyInwardInvestmentInitiative#contribution-16061550000452