Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, under what circumstances she would direct Local Government Pension Funds to a specific asset pool.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government’s firm preference is for pool membership to be determined on a voluntary basis at a local level. In the Pension Schemes Bill, the government has made provision for a power to protect the Local Government Pension Scheme over the long term. The power could be used to direct an administering authority to participate in a specific pool in the event that an authority is left without a pool to participate in or that a pool’s governance intractably breaks down. The government would intend only to use this power as a backstop in these circumstances.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of (a) freedom of religion or belief and (b) rights for people to engage in peaceful religious expression; and what steps she is taking to balance those rights with other (i) legal and (ii) public interest considerations.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Freedom of religion or belief expression is a fundamental human right. The Government believes that everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease in the place where they live. Any individual or group is free to express views and beliefs, but they have a duty to behave responsibly and to respect other people’s rights.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.81 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, what assumption her Department has made of the level of council tax receipts to be raised in England in 2025-26.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Decisions on council tax levels are for individual local authorities. In line with OBR forecasts made under the previous government, the government will maintain a core 3% referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will ask the Office for National Statistics to publish data on the number and proportion of households that have only one adult in each local authority.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for collating and publishing official statistics and performs this function independent of the Government.
The ONS have published data on household composition at local authority level from the 2021 Census. This can be found here: Household composition - Office for National Statistics.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people have been appointed to civil service positions without open competition in her Department since the general election; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
MHCLG made 47 appointments by exception to fair, open and merit-based recruitment principles from 1 July to 31 September 2024.
All appointments were at grades below the Senior Civil Service. We are unable to break this down further (ie grade level) as the numbers are too small to disclose.
Exception | Description | Number of appointments between 1st July – 31st September 2024 |
Exception 1 | Temporary appointments | 40 |
Exception 2 | Government employment programmes | 5 |
Exception 3 | Secondments | 2 |
The department publishes a senior and junior organogram biannually setting out job titles and salaries – Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk.
There are clear rules governing recruitment and appointment of civil service roles, which are regulated by the Civil Service Commission. It is the longstanding convention of government under successive administrations that we do not comment on matters relating to individual staff.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to her Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 4 July 2024, 4 public appointees to the Department and associated bodies have left their posts. 10 direct ministerial appointments have been made (to the New Towns Taskforce).
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 31 July 2024 to Question 1226 on Community Relations, what policies the Prime Minister plans to implement to (a) reduce divisions and (b) promote unity.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has established an interministerial Communities & Recovery Steering Group, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, that will oversee the ongoing response to recent violent unrest in the medium term.
It shall focus on supporting and empowering communities affected by disorder and in other places, including work to manage cohesion pressures and wider community tensions.
A Communities Recovery Fund has been announced to support the ongoing recovery of the local authorities who have been significantly affected by the public disorder incidents that took place between July and August 2024.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
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 contribution of multiculturism to communities; and what steps her Department is taking to promote social cohesion.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to working with communities around the UK to build a culture of cohesion, trust and mutual respect. Building strong relationships and creating spaces and opportunities to bring people from different walks of life together is vital to fostering strong communities.
The appalling violence we saw exposed the deep-seated levels of division and decline felt in so many communities. We witnessed rife levels of Islamophobia and other forms of racism, leaving many people fearful, despite the immediate violence having abated.
To support the recovery of those towns and cities affected, I am leading cross-Government efforts to help places recover and build cohesion. As a first step in this work, we recently announced up to £15 million of funding for those communities which suffered such appalling violence and hatred on their streets. This includes a comprehensive support offer for Southport. We will rebuild our country by working in partnership with communities, to renew the ties that bind us.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the planned (a) remit of and (b) budget for the Council of Nations and Regions is; and which regions have been invited to participate in the council.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Council of the Nations and Regions will bring together the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, the First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, and the Mayors of Combined Authorities to renew opportunities to collaborate with each other. On 16 July 2024 the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to all areas that do not have a devolution deal to invite them to come forward with a proposal. New Mayors established through this process would also be eligible to sit on the Council of the Nations and Regions. Further details on the Council will be published in due course.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which Department is responsible for Government policy on community pubs.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The policy for community assets, including community pubs, sits within MHCLG.