Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
Answered by Simon Hoare
DLUHC is a Disability Leader at Level 3 and we have ongoing work to detail and monitor our progress regarding Disability Confidence, this includes improving accessibility of recruitment, providing learning & development opportunities for disabled staff and building a more inclusive workplace culture for disabled staff.
We look at a range of data sets to assess the effectiveness of this work including recruitment and turnover data and People Survey responses. The staff who work on this initiative do so as part of their wider responsibilities.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Government response to the Women and Equalities Committee’s ninth report of Session 2017-19, Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, HC 2411, published on 2 July 2019, what progress the Government has made on developing a cross-Government strategy to improve outcomes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We are not currently developing a standalone cross-Government strategy for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. The Levelling Up White Paper sets out this Government’s plan to support everyone in this country to reach their full potential, irrespective of background, race, ethnicity or any other characteristics.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to help support local authorities to find accommodation for UK citizens who have fled Gaza.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
On 27 October the Government introduced emergency legislation to ensure British citizens and those eligible for support fleeing the violence in the Gaza Strip will be exempt from the Habitual Residence Test. This legislation will ensure those fleeing the conflict are eligible for benefits, social housing and homelessness assistance, where needed, without delay.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer to Question 189778 on 20 June 2023 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Disability, how many projects his Department have commissioned to increase high street accessibility for disabled people through local growth funding in the last three years by location.
Answered by Jacob Young
We have engaged extensively with stakeholders including local authority officers, the LGA, charities and networks representing disabled people and sector leads to develop the pavement licensing measures. Pavement licence provisions were amended to ensure that the impacts on disabled people are fully taken into consideration by local authorities when making decisions.
The needs of disabled persons must be taken into account by the authority when determining whether furniture put on the highway would be an unacceptable obstruction. In doing so, authorities are required to have regard to the needs of disabled people and the recommended distances required for access by disabled people, as set out in guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities does not centrally collect data on the number of projects delivered by local authorities which seek to increase high street accessibility.