Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.53 of the White Paper, Fixing our broken housing market, published in February 2017, what his Department's definition is of social lettings agencies.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Social letting agencies can support vulnerable people and people on low incomes to access and sustain tenancies in the private rented sector. There are a number of different models of social letting agencies and in the Housing White Paper we set out our interest in exploring the relative effectiveness of these different models with the aim of securing more housing for households who would otherwise struggle – providing security for landlords and support for tenants.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with her Commonwealth counterparts on tackling (a) malaria and (b) other global health threats.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
Discussions with Commonwealth members and other countries on global health threats including malaria take place through a number of international bodies, for example the World Health Organization, the UN General Assembly, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The Secretary of State for International Development has visited Commonwealth countries including India, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone since taking office, and has used these visits to discuss a range of critical issues, including health and development.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many exhumations due to wrongful or incorrect burial there were in the Northampton Borough Council area in each year since 2010.
Answered by Phillip Lee
A family concerned that a relative has been buried in the wrong plot should immediately alert the relevant burial authority. A licence from the Ministry of Justice would be required to move the body to the correct grave.
The operation of local authority cemeteries is regulated by the Local Authorities Cemetery Order 1977. The then Department for Constitutional Affairs issued guidance to burial ground managers in 2005.
The Ministry of Justice is only aware of one instance since 2010 of a body being buried in the wrong plot in a Northampton Borough Council cemetery.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department takes to ensure that all human burials are conducted appropriately; and what oversight her Department has of people conducting burials.
Answered by Phillip Lee
A family concerned that a relative has been buried in the wrong plot should immediately alert the relevant burial authority. A licence from the Ministry of Justice would be required to move the body to the correct grave.
The operation of local authority cemeteries is regulated by the Local Authorities Cemetery Order 1977. The then Department for Constitutional Affairs issued guidance to burial ground managers in 2005.
The Ministry of Justice is only aware of one instance since 2010 of a body being buried in the wrong plot in a Northampton Borough Council cemetery.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department advises families to take who have had relatives buried in the wrong plot.
Answered by Phillip Lee
A family concerned that a relative has been buried in the wrong plot should immediately alert the relevant burial authority. A licence from the Ministry of Justice would be required to move the body to the correct grave.
The operation of local authority cemeteries is regulated by the Local Authorities Cemetery Order 1977. The then Department for Constitutional Affairs issued guidance to burial ground managers in 2005.
The Ministry of Justice is only aware of one instance since 2010 of a body being buried in the wrong plot in a Northampton Borough Council cemetery.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which local authorities applied for the (a) Covenant Fund Grant and (b) the Community Covenant Grant Scheme; how much each of those local authorities received from each of those schemes; which local authorities applied for the Covenant Fund in the 2015-16 round; and how much was awarded to each such applicant to that round.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The new Local Authorities grant programme aims to distribute £4 million in Financial Years 2016-17 and 2017-18. The programme supports Local Authorities in their delivery of their commitments under the Armed Forces Covenant. Local Authorities have been able to apply to the Covenant Fund since July 2016. Decisions will be made by the Covenant Fund National Panel on 23 March 2017 as to the first year's funding, and published on the Armed Forces Covenant website. Until the grant awards have been made it would be inappropriate to say which Local Authorities submitted applications. In addition, Local Authorities are also eligible to bid for smaller grants of up to £20,000 from the Armed Forces Covenant Local Grants.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the cost to the public purse of reopening the navigable waterways in the Anglian region which have been closed by the Environment Agency since 2006; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
No navigations on Anglian Waterways have been closed permanently since 2006. For health and safety reasons, and to protect the general public and those who use the waterways, the Environment Agency has temporarily closed some assets such as locks and landing stages, that have made some waterways difficult to access for some craft.
The Environment Agency has not held any recent discussions with local authorities in the Anglian region about the re-opening of closed navigable waterways in that region. The Environment Agency will consider the restoration and re-opening of closed navigable waterways depending on the amount of future funding available and the importance, such as the level of use, of the waterway to be re-opened.
The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Environment Agency on reopening the navigable waterways in the Anglian region.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will have discussions with the Environment Agency on reopening the navigable waterways in the Anglian region which have been closed by that agency since 2006.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
No navigations on Anglian Waterways have been closed permanently since 2006. For health and safety reasons, and to protect the general public and those who use the waterways, the Environment Agency has temporarily closed some assets such as locks and landing stages, that have made some waterways difficult to access for some craft.
The Environment Agency has not held any recent discussions with local authorities in the Anglian region about the re-opening of closed navigable waterways in that region. The Environment Agency will consider the restoration and re-opening of closed navigable waterways depending on the amount of future funding available and the importance, such as the level of use, of the waterway to be re-opened.
The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Environment Agency on reopening the navigable waterways in the Anglian region.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions the Environment Agency has had with local authorities in the Anglian region on reopening the navigable waterways in that region which have been closed by the Environment Agency since 2006.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
No navigations on Anglian Waterways have been closed permanently since 2006. For health and safety reasons, and to protect the general public and those who use the waterways, the Environment Agency has temporarily closed some assets such as locks and landing stages, that have made some waterways difficult to access for some craft.
The Environment Agency has not held any recent discussions with local authorities in the Anglian region about the re-opening of closed navigable waterways in that region. The Environment Agency will consider the restoration and re-opening of closed navigable waterways depending on the amount of future funding available and the importance, such as the level of use, of the waterway to be re-opened.
The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Environment Agency on reopening the navigable waterways in the Anglian region.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the presentation of birth certificates compulsory for UK-born residents leaving prison to help ensure that they have adequate ID for accessing benefits and other services.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The MoJ has not made such an assessment. Our work to improve resettlement of prisoners after release is to prioritise finding accommodation and employment and building a life free from crime.
We are carrying out a comprehensive review of the probation service to improve outcomes for offenders and communities. Public protection is our top priority and we will not hesitate to take the necessary action to make sure our vital reforms are being delivered to reduce reoffending, cut crime and prevent future victims.