Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much energy his departmental buildings have used in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2020 to date.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The information for the years 2015-16 to 2018-19 is available in our Annual Report and Accounts.
Data for 2019-20 and for 2020 to date is not held centrally.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of public toilets were closed during the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Central Government does not hold monitoring data on the number of public toilets which were in operation during the COVID-19 lockdown as it is a local decision whether to keep these facilities open or closed.
While decisions to reopen public toilets are for councils - and others responsible for them - we strongly encourage them to open wherever possible.
We have published guidance to help them ensure facilities are safe where they are open including increasing cleaning of touch points: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safer-public-places-urban-centres-and-green-spaces-covid-19.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff in his Department had caring responsibilities in each of the last five years.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Department’s annual People Survey includes two questions on caring responsibilities and responses to these questions can be used to help determine the number of officials with caring responsibilities. This information is offered on an entirely voluntary basis and as such only accounts for those officials that elected to complete the survey questions concerned. The number of staff who identified themselves as having caring and/or childcare responsibilities in each of the last five years is included in the table below:
Survey Year | People Survey Response Rate | Number with caring responsibilities | Total number who answered the caring question | Proportion with caring responsibilities | Number with childcare responsibilities | Total number who answered the childcare question | Proportion with childcare responsibilities |
2015 | 82% | 280 | 1273 | 22% | 483 | 1277 | 38% |
2016 | 82% | 215 | 1071 | 20% | 387 | 1077 | 36% |
2017 | 90% | 241 | 1270 | 19% | 427 | 1269 | 34% |
2018 | 94% | 278 | 1683 | 17% | 492 | 1698 | 29% |
2019 | 97% | 435 | 1973 | 22% | 610 | 2017 | 30% |
It is worth pointing out that this information is not considered to be an official workforce statistic, and this is also only representative of those who completed the people survey in each year.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has provided to local authorities on the opening of public toilets during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
We strongly encourage public toilets to be open wherever possible. We have published guidance to help operators ensure facilities are safe where they are open including increasing cleaning of touch points.
The Government has published guidance on safer public spaces. It includes advice, information and examples of the potential interventions that can be used in public places to facilitate social distancing in areas of higher footfall such as in parks ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safer-public-places-urban-centres-and-green-spacescovid-19). Owners and operators are advised to implement cleaning protocols to limit coronavirus transmission in public places. It is advised that touch points (e.g. handrails and gates) should be particular areas of focus for increased cleaning.
We have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities through an unringfenced grant so they can address pressures they are facing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The package recognises the additional costs and pressures on finances councils are facing as a result of the current crisis. It demonstrates the Government’s commitment to making sure councils, including upper and lower tier authorities, have the resources they need to support their communities through this challenging time. Local authorities are best placed to understand how to meet the major COVID-19 service pressures and spending needs in their local area, this funding will not be ringfenced. The funding can be used across all local services facing pressures.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in England had their application to the main homelessness duty refused in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping, statutory homelessness and homelessness prevention and relief. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.
The Government remains committed to combating homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why we are aiming to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027.
We also supported the Homelessness Reduction Act which received Royal Assent on 27th April 2017. The Act significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in England are currently classified as having intentionally made themselves homeless.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping, statutory homelessness and homelessness prevention and relief. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.
The Government remains committed to combating homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why we are aiming to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027.
We also supported the Homelessness Reduction Act which received Royal Assent on 27th April 2017. The Act significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many single homeless people have accessed the main homelessness duty in England in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping, statutory homelessness and homelessness prevention and relief. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.
The Government remains committed to combating homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why we are aiming to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027.
We also supported the Homelessness Reduction Act which received Royal Assent on 27th April 2017. The Act significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.