Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the safety of the Jewish community in the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Antisemitism has no place in our society, and tackling it is a top priority for this government. We are particularly concerned about the steep increase in antisemitism we have seen since the abhorrent 7 October attacks.
The government is committed to protecting the safety of the Jewish community in the UK and making our streets and communities safer. That is why funding of £72 million has been allocated for the Community Security Trust to continue their vital work from 2024/25 until 2027/28, providing security to schools, synagogues and other Jewish community buildings.
The government works closely with the Independent Adviser on Antisemitism to provide independent advice to the Secretary of State on the most effective methods to tackle antisemitism and to ensure that the Jewish community’s concerns about antisemitism are heard and acted upon. We also work with the police to regularly review potential threats and ensure that everything is done to protect communities from hate crime.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate she has made of the number of small-scale landlords exiting the private rented sector due to incoming regulation and tax changes; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact on (a) housing availability and (b) rent prices.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the most recent release of the English Private Landlord Survey in 2024, 45% of landlords had only one property. This is similar to findings in 2021 (43%) and 2018 (45%).
Whilst landlords have been aware of successive governments’ plans to reform the private rented sector since 2019, the size of the sector as a whole has remained broadly stable since 2013-14.
The government is clear that it values the contribution of professional landlords who understand their responsibilities and comply with regulation, regardless of the size of their portfolios. The Renters’ Rights Bill will make sure good landlords have the confidence and support they need to continue to invest and operate in the sector.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of capping local authority landlord licensing fees in (a) rural and (b) low-income areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are responsible for setting fees for their licensing schemes, taking account of a number of factors. These include the initial set-up costs of the scheme, the cost of assessing applications and issuing licences, and, where necessary, the cost of inspecting properties . Licence fees will vary between areas to account for differences in costs, however local authorities are not expected to profit from licensing.
The government expects local authorities to make details of these fees, along with the rationale behind their determination, transparent and readily accessible.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
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 the speech entitled PM remarks on the fundamental reform of the British state, published on 13 March 2025, on what evidential basis the Prime Minister said that jumping spiders stopped the development of an entire new town.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the Swanscombe Peninsula was designated in 2021 due to the presence of a number of rare plant, bird and invertebrate species, including the rare Distinguished Jumping Spider. The SSSI includes a significant area of land that had been purchased by the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation to bring forward an important part of the new Garden City at Ebbsfleet.
As a consequence of the designation and the need to comply with National Planning Policy on SSSI’s the Development Corporation took the decision to re-masterplan the area leading to the loss of approximately 1,300 new homes and some 30,000sqm of commercial development.
The Ebbsfleet Development Corporation continues to progress its plans for c15,000 new homes and facilities across its wider development area.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason her Department publishes all Government Procurement Card transactions.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG’s spend publication thresholds were set by an historic Ministerial decision. We have been reviewing this and all future spend data will be published in line with Cabinet Office requirements.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 16 October 2024 to Questions 7018 and 7019 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Official Cars, which senior officials have access to a government car; and whether those officials had that access before the general election.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.
The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7018 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Official Cars, how many of those allocated two vehicles are electric cars.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.
The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) his officials have held with external stakeholders since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Details of ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 5 September 2024 to Question 2635 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Expenditure, what her policy is on (a) engagement with the organisations cited in the Written Ministerial Statement of 14 March 2024 on New Extremism Definition and Community Engagement Principles, HCWS342, and (b) and support for the (i) counter-extremism centre of excellence and (ii) Commission for Countering Extremism.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 5739 on 11 October 2024. This government takes the threat of extremism very seriously and we will continue to work with partners to tackle extremism in all of its forms. Following the conclusion of the rapid review ordered by the Home Secretary, we will be setting out our strategic approach to countering extremism, which will ensure that we have the strongest possible response.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 6 September 2024 to Questions 2306 and 2308 on Ministers: Official Cars, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have (i) been allocated a dedicated vehicle and (ii) access to use of a shared vehicle from the Government Car Service; what the (A) make, (B) model and (C) fuel type is for each car; and what the budget was for those cars in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles to its ministerial cadre/officials, as under previous administrations.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently allocated two vehicles including allocated and shared vehicles.
For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.
The average cost to a Department for a single DPC (Department Pool Car) in 2024/25 financial year is £108K per annum.