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 his Department's timetable is for the legislative process for election of a Regional Mayor in the north east of England.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
Our intention is that secondary legislation to enable the election of a mayor for the North East Combined Authority in May 2017 will be made by November 2016.
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 his assessment is of the latest date on which the process of organising an election in May 2017 for a Regional Mayor in the north east of England can begin.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
For local elections the last date by which the notice of election must be published is the 25th working day before the day of election.
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, if he will place in the Library all correspondence between the Government and EU Commission on the application of EU Directive 41/2003 Institutional Retirement Provision to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Answered by Marcus Jones
We have checked records back to 2007 and there has been no correspondence with the EU Commission by the Government on the application of this directive to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
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, if he will apply EU Directive 41/2003 on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision to the Local Government Pension Scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Marcus Jones
We are satisfied that the Scheme is consistent with the way in which Directive 41/2003 on the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision Directive was transposed into national law. It is not therefore necessary to take any further legislative steps to ensure compliance.
In March 2014 the European Commission published proposals for new Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provisions Directive. The implications for the scheme will be fully considered if these proposals are taken forward.
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 steps he has taken to ensure the powers of intervention over Local Government Pension Scheme funds' non-financial investment policies do not conflict with (a) Article 18 of EU Directive 41/2003 and (b) Occupational Pension Scheme Investment Regulations 2005.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The Department is currently consulting on proposals to amend the scheme’s investment regulations to allow the Secretary of State to make a proportionate intervention in the investment function of an administering authority if it has not had regard to best practice, guidance or regulations. The consultation was published on the basis that the scheme is consistent with the way in which Directive 41/2003 on the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision Directive was transposed into national law, including the Occupational Pension Scheme (Investment) Regulations 2005. The consultation closes on 19 February.
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, if he will amend the Local Government Pension Scheme to permit boycott, divestment and sanctions policies; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Marcus Jones
We will issue guidance to local government pension scheme administering authorities in the spring on how their policies on environmental, social and corporate governance matters should reflect foreign policy and related issues. This will make clear that their predominant concern should be the pursuit of their financial return on investments and that they should not pursue boycott, divestment and sanctions policies unless they are consistent with UK foreign policy.
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 Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 222144, if he will take steps to prevent Gateshead Council from proceeding with proposals to build on green belt land in Blaydon constituency until after the publication of Household Projections 2012 to 2037; and when he expects those projections to be published.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The statistical publication on new household projections will be published this Thursday (26 February).
As I said in my previous answer, there are no central government proposals to build on the Green Belt in Blaydon. The Coalition Government has ensured that strong protections for the Green Belt are in place. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that Green Belt boundaries can be altered only in exceptional circumstances following local consultation and independent scrutiny of the Local Plan at the instigation of the local council. In October we issued additional guidance that underlined the importance of Green Belt protection.
If the hon. Member disagrees with the planning proposals of the local council, he should take issue with the decisions of the Labour councillors who run and control it.
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 accuracy of population projections that have been used in developing the Newcastle/Gateshead One Core Housing Strategy; if he will suspend work on this strategy until revised versions of those projections are available; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We now have a locally-led planning system. The Government does not impose housing requirements on Councils but expects them to assess their housing needs, using appropriate evidence, and plan to meet these needs as far as reasonably possible.
Newcastle and Gateshead Joint Core Strategy is currently at examination. It is the role of the independent Inspector to assess the Plan’s evidence base. The Inspector will issue his report in due course.
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, if he will delay proposals to build on the green belt in Blaydon constituency until after the publication of Household Projections 2012 to 2037.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
There are no central Government proposals to build on the Green Belt in Blaydon. The Government revoked Regional Strategies and their top-down housing targets to ensure Councils are best placed to work out, with their communities, what housing is needed and where it should go.
The National Planning Policy Framework retains strong protections for the Green Belt. Most types of new building are inappropriate in Green Belt and, by definition, harmful to it. A local authority may alter a Green Belt boundary only in exceptional circumstances, through the Local Plan process. Our guidance of October 2014 reaffirms this protection (www.gov.uk/government/news/councils-must-protect-our-precious-green-belt-land)
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 contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of 15 December 2014, Official Report, columns 1148-56, if the Minister will meet the Fire Brigades Union and fire authority employers, and their respective legal representatives, to discuss how commitments that she gave in that debate on fire service pensions will be implemented in practice; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
My Department will be working with representative bodies and the employers in the fitness working group facilitated by the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser to provide good practice on the application of the firefighter fitness principles now incorporated into the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England. We have also agreed to set in train an independent review of the operation of these principles in three years time, and in the light of that review, to take such additional action as might be required to ensure the commitments made to Parliament are secured.