Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on understanding the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jake Berry
There are no records of learning events delivered or undertaken by civil servants within the Department related specifically to understanding the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament. We encourage staff to access learning materials available through Civil Service Learning.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on devolution and inter-governmental relations; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jake Berry
All Civil Servants
(a) Civil Service Learning provide a range of central learning opportunities, including online and face-to-face training, for all civil servants on Devolution & Intergovernmental Working.
Fast Stream
(b) Introduced in 2017 as part of Fast Stream policy learning, delegates take part in a Devolution workshop, which all brand new entrant centrally managed Fast Streamers attend as part of their Induction offer.
SCS
(c) Each nation of the UK leads and hosts an annual SCS conference to learn from each other and build networks across the Policy Profession.
MHCLG Offer
Within the Department and to compliment the Civil Service Learning offer, eight events have been organised since 2016 with internal and external speakers. Records of numbers attended are not available:
The Devolution Agenda – Impacts and where it goes (external speaker)
Does England now want Devolution too? (external speaker)
Devolution and You Stall (internal drop in session)
Policy Teach In: Devolution in the UK (internal)
Policy Teach In: Devolution in the UK (internal)
Four nations devolution in UK (Internal)
Devolution and Local Growth: Lessons Learnt (internal GPM)
Devolution and Local Growth (internal GPM)
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the (a) the Secretary of State for Wales and (b) Welsh Government on the design and implementation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government continues to work on the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). We will consult with the Devolved Administrations in due course regarding how the UKSPF might work in their nations, recognising their expertise in delivering the structural funds.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.
Answered by Jake Berry
HM Treasury has already allocated departments nearly £700 million to prepare for EU Exit: £412 million for DIT, FCO and DExEU over the parliament at Autumn Statement 2016 and nearly £300 million across a number of departments from the Reserve in 2017-18.
At Autumn Budget 2017 HM Treasury made another £3 billion of additional funding available over 2018-19 and 2019-20 – £1.5 billion in each year. We have not bid for any of this funding to date.
Departmental allocations for 2019-20 will be agreed later on in the year and decisions on funding in 2020-21 and beyond will be decided at the next Spending Review. This is because requirements in these years will be heavily affected by what is agreed in our negotiations with the EU.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what amount of his Department's annual expenditure is allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Department for Communities and Local Government is working with the Department for Exiting the EU to support the UK's exit from the EU. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department's other priorities, it would not be possible to give a precise figure on the annual expenditure allocated to work relating to the UK's exit from the EU.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff in his Department have responsibilities which relate to preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Jake Berry
EU exit is an all-of-Government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Within the Department for Communities and Local Government, staff within the EU Exit Team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department's other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.