Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will intervene in the business rates appeal by Bilfinger GVA on behalf of NHS trusts to prevent public funds being spent on Bilfinger GVA,
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
I am aware of discussions between a number of local authorities and NHS Trusts in relation to charitable business rate relief. The decision to grant charitable rate relief is taken by individual local authorities, the Department for Communities and Local Government is working closely with the Department of Health, the Local Government Association, and local government to consider the issues.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the increases to employers' national insurance contributions from 1 April 2016 on the future financial viability of social care providers.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The 2015 Spending Review took account of increases to employers' national insurance contributions, and set out a sustainable basis for local authorities to discharge their functions such as the commissioning of care from social care providers. The changes we announced alongside the local government settlement on 15 December brings the total dedicated funding for adult social care to £7.6 billion over the four years of the settlement 2016-20, enabling councils to tackle the pressures of adult social care and support their older and most vulnerable residents.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2016 to Question 52707, on local government finance, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the £150 million transition grant in achieving its aims.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The explanatory note on the method of allocation of the Transition Grant for 2016/17 makes clear that the grant is being provided to authorities to ease the change from a system based on central government grant to one in which local sources determine a council’s revenue by compensating them in direct proportion to the difference between the old methodology and new methodology. The allocations are in exact proportion to this difference and so the grant achieves its aim.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has received on overpayments to parking payment machines which do not give change.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
To date, the Department for Communities and Local Government has not received any representations regarding overpayments to parking payment machines.
The government recognises the important role parking provision plays in successful town centres, and encourages all local authorities to provide flexible payment arrangements, including change from meters, to encourage more visitors into our town centres.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
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 first-time home buyers in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The Department’s English Housing Survey provides estimates of the number of recent (bought within the last three years) first time buyers in England. The latest figures can be found in AT1.6 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501068/2014-15_Section_1_Households_tables_and_figures_FINAL.xlsx
The department does not publish regional statistics.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department plans to allocate to each area from the Coastal Communities Fund.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Coastal Communities Fund awards grants to projects in coastal areas through a competitive bid-led process and is not allocated directly to specific places or areas. Funds are awarded to projects that best meet the programme's aims to promote sustainable growth and jobs. Approximately £38 million is available to allocate to projects in England next year.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to bring forward a framework for devolution within England.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Government has adopted a bottom-up and iterative approach to agreeing devolution deals. Local leaders, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other key local stakeholders develop proposals that meet the needs of their area. This locally-led approach ensures that devolution is targeted to deliver local priorities and provides a real opportunity for areas to take greater control of their future.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities and combined authorities are in discussion with his Department for devolution deals due to be announced in the next round.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Government has adopted a bottom-up and iterative approach to agreeing devolution deals. This allows local areas to develop devolution proposals through the basis of local consent and dialogue. The Government is open to working with any area on proposals that include strong and accountable governance arrangements.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department makes available for renewal for coastal towns with a significant tourism industry.
Answered by Andrew Percy
We have provided £1.18 million to help establish 118 Coastal Community Teams along the English coast to empower local communities to drive forward renewal in their coastal towns. Every Team has produced an Economic Plan setting out both the short term and longer term priorities to promote jobs, tourism and economic growth. I will shortly be announcing more Coastal Community Teams.
We are also supporting our coastal towns to create jobs and investment. Under the Coastal Communities Fund the government has invested £125 million in over 200 projects across the UK to date, including £92 million which was invested in England. Over 60% of the grant awards by number and value have supported tourism and hospitality projects in coastal towns. We have identified a further £90 million to support more Coastal Community Fund projects.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what role the Government plans that local government will play in the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Secretary of State regularly meets with local government and listens to their views on the UK vote to leave the EU. Local government is engaged with government and is contributing to its work to inform future negotiations with the EU.
The UK’s decision to leave the EU is a chance for us to develop opportunities for local communities across England, and local government has a key role in ensuring that we are able to make the most of this opportunity.