Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is trades union representation on the Shadow Board of the South Tees Mayoral Development Corporation.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Shadow Board of the South Tees Development Corporation is at an early stage of its development, we have no plans to amend its carefully considered membership at this point.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people rough sleeping in Redcar and Cleveland in each year since 2010.
Answered by Marcus Jones
One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new £10 million fund to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, and a new £10 million Social Impact Bond to support rough sleepers with the most complex needs. We also announced at Budget £100 million of funding for low-cost move-on accommodation, including for rough sleepers leaving hostels.
DCLG publishes annual statistics on the number of people seen sleeping rough on a single night by local authority. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to business rate relief on the charity sector.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The Government is continuing to consider representations, including on business rates reliefs, to inform decisions on reform of the business rates system. The Government has confirmed the review will conclude by the end of the year.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Troubled Families programme.
Answered by Greg Clark
As the Prime Minister announced on 22 June, local authorities have just reported final results for the original Troubled Families Programme to us. They show that 99% of families targeted have had their lives turned around. My assessment is that is a great success.