Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to devolve the District Council power to evict travellers and illegal encampments from council-owned land to Town and Parish councils.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government currently has no such plans. Policy announcements will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on her Department.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK. In addition, an estimated 260,000 jobs are supported by the auto industry in the wider economy.
The Government remains focused on making sure British businesses can feel the benefits of the deal as soon as possible.
The Government is continuing discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.
My Department will continue to support the ongoing negotiations with the US, led by the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has adopted trade union representation requirements in their procurement processes since July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government procurement processes apply all applicable legislation and published procurement policy set by the Cabinet Office. MHCLG has regard for the National Procurement Policy Statement which drives procurement to deliver Government Missions. The Social Value Model for procurement includes Fair Work criteria including criteria linked to Fair Working conditions and Trade Union representation.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
No. The Civil Service Management Code states that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ Some staff may qualify for statutory shared parental leave of their first day of service qualifying service includes employment with another civil service organisation.
As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what new financial support is available to local authorities affected by Storm Bert.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The impact of flooding, wherever it occurs, is traumatic for the communities impacted and I have great sympathy for all those affected. The government is ready to consider local authority requests for Bellwin Scheme support which can help with the reimbursement of immediate eligible costs for the local authorities affected by the recent storms, including storm Bert.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent (a) discussions he has had and (b) correspondence he has exchanged with the Deposit Protection Service on the decision to pay 0.78% interest on tenants' deposits held on account.
Answered by Jacob Young
Mandatory tenancy deposit protection for deposits taken in connection with assured shorthold tenancies is provided by three independent companies authorised to operate under concession contract of the department. These companies protect deposits and provide free dispute resolution services.
The Secretary of State has not had any discussions or had any correspondence with the Deposit Protection Service regarding their recent decision to pay interest on tenants' deposits held on account however the decision to pay interest is welcome.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated October 19 2022 to Rt Hon Simon Clarke MP on behalf of the Malvern Hills Trust Chief Executive.
Answered by Lee Rowley
A response was issued to my Hon. Friend today.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Tree Protection Orders there are in (a) Malvern Hills District, (b) Worcestershire and (c) each local authority in England.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Department does not hold the requested information. This information is held by the relevant local authorities so they should be contacted directly.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much Shared Prosperity Fund money he plans to allocate to Worcestershire in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
All areas of the UK will be receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula rather than a competition. This recognises that even the most affluent parts of the UK contain pockets of deprivation and need support.
UK-wide, funding for the UKSPF will ramp up to £1.5 billion per year by March 2025. Alongside commitments to support regional finance funds across the UK via the British Business Bank, this upholds the UK government’s commitment to match EU structural fund receipts for each nation.
The Government will publish a full Prospectus on the Fund which will include allocations later in Spring 2022.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much European Regional Development Fund money has been spent in Worcestershire in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The table below sets out the money spent in Worcestershire arising from investments contracted to deliver activity specifically in the area.
| 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22** | Total |
Worcestershire | £1,172,492 | £2,896,209 | £2,370,255 | £2,102,926 | £3,000,432 | £11,542,314 |
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| **only up to end Jan Q1 | |
Worcestershire will have also benefited from activity arising from contracts covering larger geographies. The Department’s ERDF database does not record spend from these contracts at local geographies such as Worcestershire.