Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
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 proportion of eligible people that are required to respond to the Somerset Unitarisation consultation for that consultation to be effective.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation as soon as practicable following the consultation. The Government welcomes the views of all those interested in the proposals for local government reorganisation in Somerset, including local residents, town and parish councils, businesses and the voluntary sector.
The Secretary of State will have regard to all the representations received from the consultation, along with all other relevant representations and information available to him when deciding subject to Parliamentary approval which, if any, of the proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification.
Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to publish the number of respondents in favour or against each proposal within the Somerset Unitarisation consultation.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation as soon as practicable following the consultation. The Government welcomes the views of all those interested in the proposals for local government reorganisation in Somerset, including local residents, town and parish councils, businesses and the voluntary sector.
The Secretary of State will have regard to all the representations received from the consultation, along with all other relevant representations and information available to him when deciding subject to Parliamentary approval which, if any, of the proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification.
Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to publish the total number of respondents to the Somerset Unitarisation consultation.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation as soon as practicable following the consultation. The Government welcomes the views of all those interested in the proposals for local government reorganisation in Somerset, including local residents, town and parish councils, businesses and the voluntary sector.
The Secretary of State will have regard to all the representations received from the consultation, along with all other relevant representations and information available to him when deciding subject to Parliamentary approval which, if any, of the proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification.
Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the budget is for the ongoing Somerset Unitarisation consultation.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
There is no specific budget for the consultation, the resources for which are provided by the Department’s administration budget.
Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the agenda was for the meeting between the Minister of State for Local Government and the leader of Somerset County Council in July 2018.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The Leader of Somerset County Council, Cllr. Fothergill, accompanied by Cllr Harvey Siggs, Leader of Mendip District Council, Cllr Faye Purbeck, Cabinet member for Education and Council Transformation at Somerset County Council and Patrick Flaherty, Chief Executive of Somerset County Council, met me on 11 July. Cllr. Fothergill arranged this meeting to let me know his and his colleagues’ thoughts about future reorganisation in Somerset, to which I responded by outlining the Government’s position on such unitarisation, which I had set out earlier on 22 May in the Westminster Hall debate on Somerset County Council’s Plans for Unitary Status (Hansard ref Volume 641 Column 335WH).
Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the agenda was for the meeting between the Minister of State for Local Government and the leader of Somerset County Council in July 2018.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The Leader of Somerset County Council, Cllr. Fothergill, accompanied by Cllr Harvey Siggs, Leader of Mendip District Council, Cllr Faye Purbeck, Cabinet member for Education and Council Transformation at Somerset County Council and Patrick Flaherty, Chief Executive of Somerset County Council, met me on 11 July. Cllr. Fothergill arranged this meeting to let me know his and his colleagues’ thoughts about future reorganisation in Somerset, to which I responded by outlining the Government’s position on such unitarisation, which I had set out earlier on 22 May in the Westminster Hall debate on Somerset County Council’s Plans for Unitary Status (Hansard ref Volume 641 Column 335WH).
Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many meetings Ministers and officials of his Department have had with officials and members of Somerset County Council; and what correspondence his Department has had with Somerset County Council on unitary status in the last six months.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Ministers and officials regularly have correspondence and discussions with local authorities about a wide range of issues, which may include reorganisation from a two tier structure to unitary status. Such correspondence has recently included a letter from the Leader of Somerset County Council asking for a meeting to discuss his early thinking on restructuring.
Asked by: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the current minimum reaction to fire classifications are for cables in (a) hospitals, (b) schools, (c) homes and (d) work places.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The electrical safety of cables in buildings is regulated through the Electricity at Work Regulations for workplaces and through the Building Regulations for dwellings. The industry guidance which supports the Regulations – BS 7671 (known as “The Wiring regulations”) – sets a minimum performance requirement equivalent to the Class E classification of reaction to fire.
As part of our consideration of the independent review of the Building Regulations and fire safety led by Dame Judith Hackitt, we will review the evidence of risk associated with electrical cabling to consider how we should respond.