Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made in setting up the cross-departmental group on parks.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
In September 2017, the then Parks Minister Marcus Jones MP announced the creation of the ‘Parks Action Group’ as part of his response to the Select Committee Inquiry. This group now informs the work of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and our partners across Government. The group is made up of officials from across Government, key bodies from the parks, leisure and heritage sectors and the Local Government Association.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the maintenance of parks in (a) Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough and (b) Sheffield City Region.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Sheffield City Council will receive over £850 million in core spending power over the next two years (2018-19 & 2019-20). However, it is up to individual local authorities who are independent of central government to manage their budgets in line with local priorities.
The Parks Action Group, which was created following the Select Committee response to the Inquiry on the future of public parks, is reviewing a range of issues relating to parks and green spaces in England – including developing a priority work stream on assessing the evidence related to the existing standards and quality of parks and green spaces. The Government will report back to Parliament in the Autumn.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the maintenance of parks in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Over this spending period we have made available over £200 billion in funding for councils to spend on locally determined priorities such as park maintenance. Councils are however independent of central Government and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities.
The Parks Action Group, which was created following the Select Committee response to the Inquiry on the future of public parks, is reviewing a range of issues relating to parks and green spaces in England – including developing a priority work stream to accurately capture the current funding picture. The Government will report back to Parliament on this work in the Autumn.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help secure a sustainable future for local parks.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The Parks Action Group was created with the aim of exploring the innovative ways we can support parks and green spaces by identifying and sharing best practice in park management and funding and fostering the support of local friends groups.
The Group is reviewing a range of issues relating to parks and green spaces in England and we have committed £500,000 to support the group’s work to safeguard and enhance parks and green spaces for future generations. The Government will report back to Parliament in the Autumn.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has received in opposition to mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Department held a consultation exercise between 17 February 2018 and 16 April 2018 on electrical safety in the private rented sector. We received 582 responses which are currently being analysed and expect to publish the Government’s response in the Autumn.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has received from local authorities regarding mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Department received a total of 582 responses to the recent consultation on electrical safety in the private rented sector, of which 45 were from local authorities.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he will make available additional funding for Sheffield children's services to tackle that local authority's overspend in 2017-2018.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Local authorities may incur more expenditure than they have budgeted for, which is why they are required to maintain a level of unallocated reserve commensurate with sound financial risk management. However, recognising the pressures on local services and impact of inflation, the Local Government Finance Settlement provided all councils with the ability to increase their council tax by an additional one per cent, without a local referendum. This strikes the right balance between allowing local authorities to make tough decisions to address service pressures, and protecting council tax-payers from excessive bill rises.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to continue the Community Pub Business Support Programme beyond March 2018.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government continues to support the community ownership of pubs where they deliver a clear benefit to their local communities. The £3.62 million More Than A Pub Programme is jointly funded by my Department and Power to Change, the independent trust supporting businesses in England.
This two year programme was launched in Spring 2016, with the aim to create a lasting legacy for both the communities supported, and the many more communities they inspire in years to come. To this end, the Government has created a community pubs loan fund, which will continue to be available to community pubs until 2025.
In addition to the support announced in the Autumn Budget 2017 with duties on beer, cider, wine and spirits frozen in 2018, and the extension to March 2019 of a £1,000 discount to pubs with a rateable value below £100,000, the Government continues to support the work of not-for-profit organisation such as the Plunkett Foundation and Pub is The Hub, to help communities realise their goals of a sustainable local pub.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that severely mentally impaired people receive the council tax reductions or exemptions they are legally entitled to.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Government has provided local authorities with the statutory powers to grant council tax exemptions to people who are severely mentally impaired. As part of their responsibility for administration of council tax, councils should ensure that this exemption is made available to all who are entitled to it.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of severely mentally impaired people who (a) were eligible for and (b) received council tax reductions or exemptions in the last 12 months.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Government has provided local authorities with the statutory powers to grant council tax exemptions to people who are severely mentally impaired. As part of their responsibility for administration of council tax, councils should ensure that this exemption is made available to all who are entitled to it.