Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the level of business rates on NHS budgets.
Answered by Marcus Jones
Any healthcare provider which is a charity and using their property wholly or mainly for charitable purposes will be entitled to 80% mandatory rate relief. Charities in the healthcare sector make an important contribution to our society and it is right they should benefit from mandatory rate relief.
NHS properties, like almost all other buildings occupied by public bodies, have been subject to non-domestic rates since they were introduced. Operational costs related to property are taken into account at spending reviews in determining the overall level of funding for the NHS.
A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support for the minority of properties which face an increase in rates as a result of the 2017 revaluation, and applies equally to public bodies such as the NHS.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the reasons are for business rate relief (a) being provided to private health companies and (b) not being provided to publicly funded health services.
Answered by Marcus Jones
Any healthcare provider which is a charity and using their property wholly or mainly for charitable purposes will be entitled to 80% mandatory rate relief. Charities in the healthcare sector make an important contribution to our society and it is right they should benefit from mandatory rate relief.
NHS properties, like almost all other buildings occupied by public bodies, have been subject to non-domestic rates since they were introduced. Operational costs related to property are taken into account at spending reviews in determining the overall level of funding for the NHS.
A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support for the minority of properties which face an increase in rates as a result of the 2017 revaluation, and applies equally to public bodies such as the NHS.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which regions have agreed or are developing plans for devolved government without the need for an elected mayor.
Answered by Andrew Percy
To date Cornwall, a single, large unitary authority is the only area to agree a non-mayoral devolution deal with government. As a result their devolution package is not as expansive as those deals which have included commitments to establish Mayoral Combined Authorities, for example Cornwall has not received a Gainshare fund.
With regard to future devolution, it is for local areas to develop their proposals and share these with government.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria he uses to decide whether a region can agree a devolution deal without a regional mayor.
Answered by Andrew Percy
An area’s governance arrangements must provide the accountability and leadership which is proportionate to the scale of powers and budgets being devolved.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government is ensuring that programmes involving the regeneration of public land require a proportion of the new homes delivered to be accessible for disabled people.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The Government is committed to addressing the supply of new land for housing. The Public Land for Housing programme has set an ambition to dispose of surplus government-owned land in England with capacity for at least 160,000 homes by 2020. And at Budget 2016 the Chancellor announced a local government land ambition to release land with the capacity for a further 160,000 homes.
Individual local planning authorities will decide the type and number of homes developed on the land released - including those for disabled people - in order to meet local need.
We have put in place new, flexible Building Regulations which allow local authorities to apply appropriate access standards for new homes to meet the needs of their communities while ensuring that development can happen. Building regulations require minimum standards of accessibility for all new dwellings. Local authorities are able to set policies for a proportion of new development to be built to higher standards of accessibility in order to meet local needs in accordance with national planning policy and guidance.
The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for as a long as possible. The Disabled Facilities Grant funds the provision of home adaptations (including stair lifts, level access showers and in some instances home extensions) to help older and disabled people to live as comfortably, safely and independently as possible in their own homes for longer. Since 2010 we have invested over a billion pounds into the grant providing around 250,000 adaptations to older and disabled people's homes in England.
Government is also boosting the supply of specialised housing through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund, with 79 schemes receiving more than £84.2 million to develop up to 2,000 affordable homes over the next few years.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 18 July 2016, HC Deb, Official Report, column 538, whether it is the Government's policy not to impose a devolution deal that includes an elected mayor on any area that does not want an elected mayor.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Government’s policy is that if an area is to have an elected mayor, it will be because that area, through its democratically elected representatives, has chosen to have one.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to Article 18 of EU Directive 41/2003, what steps he has taken to ensure that the assets of Local Government Pension Scheme funds are invested in the best interests of the scheme members.
Answered by Marcus Jones
We are satisfied that the national legislative framework governing occupational pension schemes, including the local government pension scheme in England and Wales, is consistent with EU Directive 41/2003. I will place a copy of the Government's transposition table for the Directive in the House Library.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to Article 18 of EU Directive 41/2003, what steps he has taken to ensure that separation of the pension institution from the administration authorities has been achieved in Local Government Pension Schemes.
Answered by Marcus Jones
We are satisfied that the national legislative framework governing occupational pension schemes, including the local government pension scheme in England and Wales, is consistent with EU Directive 41/2003. I will place a copy of the Government's transposition table for the Directive in the House Library.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how he has assessed that EU Directive 41/2003 has been properly implemented in respect of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Answered by Marcus Jones
We are satisfied that the national legislative framework governing occupational pension schemes, including the local government pension scheme in England and Wales, is consistent with EU Directive 41/2003. I will place a copy of the Government's transposition table for the Directive in the House Library.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
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 potential risk of legal proceedings against his Department as a result of non-implementation of EU Directive 41/2003 on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision.
Answered by Marcus Jones
I am satisfied that the potential risk of successful legal proceedings against the Department in relation to implementation of EU Directive 41/2003 is low, because it has been properly implemented in respect of the local government pension scheme.