Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Elections Bill on the ability of blind and partially sighted people to vote without assistance.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
It is integral to our democracy that everybody is able to make their voice heard and that elections are accessible for all those eligible to vote.
This is why, for the first time in electoral law, through the Elections Bill, we are putting in place a requirement for Returning Officers to consider the needs of all disabled voters when providing equipment for polling stations.
This will allow Returning Officers to tailor the package of equipment they offer to their voters and to take into account developments in equipment and technology, in order to best meet the needs of people with disabilities including those who have sight loss.
Clear guidance will be issued to Returning Officers by the Electoral Commission, which will be produced in partnership with the Government's expert Accessibility of Elections Working Group, which includes a wide range of stakeholders including the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
We will also work with the group and wider stakeholder networks to publicise the support available and help ensure people get the right support for them.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish the findings from its research on fire safety and property protection; and whether he has plans to incorporate the findings from that research into the draft Building Safety Bill.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government has no current plans to extend the scope of the building regulations in this area through the Building Safety Bill, but is keeping this matter under review. As a next step, we are planning to undertake research this year looking at international approaches to regulation in this area, and will be publishing the final reports.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the administration cost of collecting contributions towards the Building Safety Fund from leaseholders living in residential buildings 18 metres and over.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We do not expect any contributions towards the Building Safety Fund from leaseholders. The additional £3.5 billion announced on 10 February provides assurance for leaseholders that all eligible applications to the Building Safety Fund will be able to proceed and that Government will fully fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding for all leaseholders in residential buildings 18 metres and over in England.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the responses to the covid-19 pandemic of locally-based public health approaches and central Government-managed programmes involving private sector contracts.
Answered by Luke Hall
MHCLG is responsible for delivering a sustainable and resilient local government sector that delivers priority services and empowers communities, however this Department is not responsible for individual council functions such as those relating to health, education and culture. As such this Department has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of the responses to the COVIID-19 pandemic of public health approaches, or central Government-managed programmes involving private sector contracts.
Local public health services are supported by the Public Health Grant. In 2021 to 2022 the total public health grant to local authorities will be £3.324 billion. The grant will be ring-fenced for use on public health functions. This may include public health challenges arising directly or indirectly from coronavirus (COVID-19).
Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2021-to-2022
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on funding for local government to (a) increase Government support to pre-2010 levels and (b) ensure that local government additional spending on Covid-19 is fully recovered by councils.
Answered by Luke Hall
Core Spending Power for local authorities in England could rise from £49.0 billion in 2020-21 to up to £51.3 billion in 2021-22, depending on local decisions - a 4.6% increase in cash terms. If councils do decide to take up the entirety of the increase on offer, they will see an overall increase in line with last year’s. This recognises the resources councils need to meet their pressures and maintain current service levels. These resources were reflected in the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2021/22, which received broad support from the majority of those who responded to the consultation and was passed in Parliament unopposed.
We are collecting monthly financial monitoring returns to better understand the additional costs councils are facing due to COVID-19. According to the latest of these returns, the estimated expenditure pressures for the financial year are £7.3 billion. The Government has allocated over £8 billion directly to councils since the start of the pandemic specifically for their expenditure pressures. Furthermore, the Chancellor took action at the Spending Review to provide local authorities with over £3 billion of additional support in 2021-22, taking total support committed to local authorities to tackle COVID-19 to over £11 billion. This level of support has been broadly welcomed by the sector.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits for fire-safety of bringing forward legislative proposals for installing water sprinkler systems in (a) public, (b) residential, (c) commercial and (d) industrial premises.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We have already brought forward changes to Building Regulations guidance (Approved Document B) by lowering the height threshold for sprinklers from 30 metres to 11 metres in new blocks of flats. Assessments were set out in the Government impact assessment, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/887225/Impact_Assessment_-_Sprinklers_and_other_fire_safety_measures_in_high-rise_blocks_of_flats_2020.pdf.
We are assessing the body of evidence available on the costs, benefits, and implications of installing sprinkler systems for selected other residential building types within the full technical review of Approved Document B (ADB) which began on 17 June 2020 with research into specialised housing and care homes. We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of sprinklers in commercial, industrial, or other types of premises.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what methodology was used to determine the distribution of the second round of emergency funding to local authorities in response to the covid-19 outbreak; what consultation the Government undertook with organisations and individual stakeholders in determining that methodology; and if he will publish the advice received on that methodology from local government organisations.
Answered by Simon Clarke
On 18 March, Government announced a first wave of £1.6 billion of funding to respond to covid-19 impacts on local councils.
On 28 April, the Local Government Secretary announced allocations of an additional £1.6 billion to individual local authorities. Whereas the first funding allocation was primarily allocated to local authorities through the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula, in recognition that the greatest immediate pressures would fall on local authorities with social care responsibilities, this second wave of funding was allocated on a per capita basis. This reflects our latest understanding of the distribution of additional covid-related pressures, which are likely to be distributed in a way that is different from pre-existing needs. The 65:35 spilt in this per capita allocation between counties and districts in two-tier shire areas provides more funding to district councils than the first wave of funding, whilst providing significant support to social care authorities.
It is important that these two waves of funding are seen together and that false comparisons between the two are avoided. Across both waves, almost 70 per cent of district councils will receive £1 million or more in support, whilst more than 90 per cent of the funding will go to social care authorities.
We intend to publish a summary of the results of the financial monitoring in due course.