Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many jobs have been created in each Enterprise Zone since May 2010.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Since they started in April 2012, Enterprise Zones have reported that they have created over 15,500 jobs, and over 480 businesses have been established.
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Department for Communities & Local Government currently employ 10 apprentices of which 4 are aged 16 to 18 and 6 are aged 19 to 24. None of the apprentices were previously employed by the Government.
The Department's executive agencies and associated bodies currently employ 11 apprentices of which 4 are aged 16 to 18 and 7 are aged 19 to 24. None of the apprentices were previously employed by the Government. Ministers have also engaged directly with apprentices through round table catch ups.
| Organisation | Age 16 to 18 | Age 19 to 24 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department for Communities & Local Government | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| The Planning Inspectorate | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Homes & Communities Agency | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions the Future High Streets Forum has met in the last 12 months; on what dates each such meeting took place; and which of the group's members were in attendance on each such occasion.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Future High Streets Forum has met on four occasions in the last 12 months, on 29 April 2014, 8 July 2014, 7 October 2014 and 13 January 2015.
A full membership list is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/future-high-streets-forum#membership. Members are free to either attend the meeting or send an observer.
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 630W, on EU grants and loans, how much and what proportion of 2007 to 2013 European Regional Development Fund monies allocated to the UK with match-funding in place have been (a) contractually committed and (b) drawn down in (i) each English region and (ii) in total to date.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The information requested is provided in the attached table (1). The “contractually committed” figures are up to 30 September 2014. All contractually committed funding has had match funding identified, so no separate figures are shown for this.
Across the programme, an average of 100% of the programme is now contractually committed. All spending of taxpayers’ money must ensure value for money; and money should not be spent on poor quality projects just for the sake of it. Spending must also comply with complex and bureaucratic EU rules, or else risk “financial corrections” down the line.
Where the contractually committed figure is slightly less than the total allocation, this reflects the restrictive, bureaucratic rules associated with the whole programme, and the lack of flexibility in the rules.
To place this in context, I attach with this answer a table (2) showing the allocations in the 2000-06 programme under the last Labour Government: only 93% of the allocation was ever committed, leaving £392 million of uncommitted resources; of which £48 million was uncommitted in the West Midlands Objective 2 area, £64 million uncommitted in the North West Objective 2 area, and £38 million uncommitted in the Yorkshire and the Humber Objective 2 area.
In this context, despite the complexities, the 2007-13 programme has been far better administered under this Government than the 2000-06 programme under the last Administration.
The European Regional Development Fund is a circular programme. UK taxpayers’ money is given to the European Union budget. Under the Fund, a local project receives a contract, spends money and then claims from DCLG. DCLG then claims funds back from the European Commission. The whole process goes through a complex auditing process involving DCLG auditors and then European Union auditors. After a period of time, the majority of unspent funding is returned to the UK Government by the European Commission. We continue to have concerns over the bureaucratic and time consuming nature of the processes involved in the programme, as a consequence of rules imposed by the European Commission.
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
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 the introduction of (a) time limits on length of stay and (b) quotas for local women within refuges or victims of domestic violence; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
This Government has not introduced limits on the length of stay nor quotas around who can access refuges. Decisions on how long victims should stay will be made by local authorities.
I can inform the House that today the Government has launched a new £10 million fund to strengthen refuge provision which will help ensure a resilient national network. The funding bidding conditions, as well as new statutory guidance make it clear that local authorities should provide support for those who need it, including victims of abuse from other areas.
Local authorities should similarly not apply arbitrary limits for time spent in refuge accommodation. The new statutory guidance also advises authorities to work with the service provider to consider how long a victim needs to stay before the provision of other accommodation with floating support may be more appropriate
There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.
This new funding is in addition to the £6.5 billion provided by this Government to help vulnerable people through housing related support. A proportion of this money will be used by local authorities to commission refuge services. In addition we have made over £500 million available since 2010 to local authorities and the voluntary sector to prevent and tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. This funding will also help the most vulnerable in society, including victims of domestic abuse.
We also fund UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.
This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare's Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.
Copies of the associated documents are attached to this answer.
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on each of the six actions outlined in his Department's report, Ethnic Minority Businesses and Access to Finance, published in June 2013; what external meetings Ministers have had to discuss (a) those actions and (b) the issues raised in the report in each month since the report; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stephen Williams
The Ethnic Minority Business and Access to Finance review has raised awareness and encouraged engagement between the banking community and ethnic minority businesses. The report was published in July 2013 with a plan for action.
The actions were addressed primarily at the industry, British Bankers' Association and others including Local Enterprise Partnerships, supported by Government. Progress against the actions is set out below.
Action 1: Spreading the Word
The banking community continues to work with accountants, business groups and specialist business networks through the Enterprise Diversity Alliance and other forums such as the National Black Women's Network and the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, to raise awareness of the range of support available. This has included developing finance guides, refreshing the Better Business Finance website to make it more friendly, and running a national campaign aimed at all SMEs to inform them of the support available, including the appeals process if rejected for finance.
These details have been made available to ethnic minority businesses through key regional events, newsletters, and the various partners and networks that sit on the British Bankers' Association Diversity and Inclusion Business Council launched in 2014. The Authority also sits on the advisory group of the Enterprise Diversity Alliance, with a number of banks who also run specific Enterprise Diversity Alliance business support and finance work-streams.
Action 2: Making support easier to access
The British Bankers' Association, with banks, has run a series of mentoring workshops and because of these, and follow up bank support, some ethnic minority businesses have created their own mentoring networks and many of these businesses have taken up mentoring support. Events are held in areas with a high concentration of ethnic minority businesses notably Leicester, London, Wolverhampton and Birmingham, to raise awareness, understanding and build confidence in accessing finance.
Specialist mentoring is offered to ethnic minority businesses through mentoring organisations such as Business in the Community, Capital Enterprises and SCA Management Consulting Ltd. If a mentee wishes to specify a particular ethnicity for their mentor they can do so at the matching stage.
Action 3: Promote the alternatives
The Government is legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill to require large banks to refer declined small business finance applications to online platforms, who will seek to match businesses seeking finance to alternative lenders. Community Development Finance Institutions will be able to access these platforms alongside a range of other lenders, including challenger banks and peer-to-peer lenders. This proposal will help put small businesses seeking finance in touch with lenders who may be able to help them.
Action 4: Use Local Enterprise Partnerships to best advantage
Local Enterprise Partnerships have been established as voluntary partnerships and are encouraged by Government to ensure that their boards are representative of the businesses in their locality, and are not dominated by a single group or organisation.
Action 5: Expanding our understanding
The 2013 Ethnic Minority Business report http://www.sme-finance-monitor.co.uk/ was published earlier this year. The 2014 report is due to be published in January 2015. This work, coupled with that of the bank and BIS supported Enterprise Research Centre, is being used by the British Bankers' Association's Diversity and Inclusion Business Council to determine policy actions to take forward.
Action 6: Supporting the dialogue
The Ethnic Moinority Business representation at the Business Finance Roundtable is through Professor Monder Ram of Birmingham University who runs the Enterprise Diversity Alliance, co-leads the Enterprise Research Centre diversity work and is a member of DWP's Ethnic Minority Employment Stakeholder Group. Alongside this sits the British Bankers' Association Diversity and Inclusion Business Council launched in 2014 which includes the leading Ethnic Minority Business experts and networks.
As actions have been progressing since 2013, no further Ministerial meetings have taken place.
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which bids in each region have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected under the European Regional Development Fund since May 2010.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Since 2007, the 2007-13 round of the European Regional Development Fund has seen 1,535 projects across England approved, with £2.7 billion of funds committed.
Of these, 860 bids were approved since May 2010; a further 395 were either withdrawn by applicants or rejected for not meeting the (complex) eligibility criteria established at the start of the programme under the last Administration. A list of projects is given in the attached table.
All spending of taxpayers’ money must ensure value for money: and money should not be spent on poor quality projects just for the sake of it. Spending must also comply with complex and bureaucratic EU rules, or else risk “financial corrections” down the line. We continue to have concerns over the bureaucratic and time consuming nature of the processes involved in the programme, as a consequence of rules imposed by the European Commission.
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of funds allocated in each region under the European Regional Development Fund have been returned as a result of slippage and underperformance in each region; and on what dates each such withdrawal took place.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
In 2013, £4.1 million was withdrawn from European Regional Development Fund allocations, which represents a tiny proportion of the total £2.74 billion budget. All spending of taxpayers’ money must ensure value for money and money should not be spent on poor quality projects. In addition, all spending must comply with complex EU rules, or else risk “financial corrections” down the line.
The European Regional Development Fund is a circular programme. UK taxpayers’ money is given to the European Union budget. Under the Fund, a local project receives a contract, spends money and then claims from DCLG. DCLG then claims funds back from the European Commission. The whole process goes through a complex auditing process involving DCLG auditors and then European Union auditors. After a period of time, the majority of unspent funding is returned to the UK Government by the European Commission. We continue to have concerns over the bureaucratic and time consuming nature of the related processes involved in the programme.
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions the Future High Streets Forum has met this year; and who has attended each such meeting.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Future High Streets Forum has met three times this year, on 21 January, 29 April and 8 July. Attendee details can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/future-high-streets-forum
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many jobs have been (a) created and (b) safeguarded at each enterprise zone to date; how many (i) jobs and (ii) firms are currently based at each enterprise zone; and how many businesses have begun occupying premises at each enterprise zone since it began operation.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
More than 7,600 jobs have been created and 260 new businesses attracted to the 24 Enterprise Zones over the period April 2012- December 2013. However, I am unable to disclose zone-level information as the estimates that Enterprise Zones provide us with may be subject to local commercial sensitivities and disclosure may prejudice commercial negotiations. For this reason, it is for individual zones to determine whether they make this information available.