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Written Question
Islamophobia
Monday 24th October 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled Raising Awareness of and countering Islamophobia, which took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 11 October 2022.

Answered by Paul Scully

The UK is an open, tolerant and welcoming country where Muslims practice their faith in freedom. We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this. However we are not complacent. This Government takes hate crime very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form, seeking to stamp it out wherever it occurs.  For those who do suffer discrimination and hate, we have some of the strongest legislation in the world to tackle hate crime. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to monitor and combat Anti-Muslim hatred and support victims.


Written Question
Antisemitism
Tuesday 5th July 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate that took place at the Council of Europe in the week beginning 20 June 2022 entitled Preventing and combating antisemitism in Europe.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

Antisemitism has no place in our society, which is why we became the first country to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism and continue to encourage other bodies to do so. We also continue to support the independent adviser on Antisemitism, Lord Mann, to provide expert advice to Government on contemporary Antisemitism, and how best to tackle it.

Online abuse of any kind, including antisemitic abuse, is unacceptable. We want the internet to be a safe space for all users - we are clear that what is unacceptable offline should be unacceptable online. A new regulatory framework will mean that companies will be held to account for tackling illegal activity and content, such as hate crime, harassment and cyber-stalking, as well as that which may not be illegal but is nonetheless highly damaging to individuals and society.

This Government is providing £14 million this year, and has provided over £65 million to date, for the Protective Security Grant to provide protective security measures at all Jewish state, free and independent schools, colleges, nurseries, and some other Jewish community sites, including a number of synagogues.


Written Question
Gazprom
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to enable local councils to avoid contracts with Gazprom.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

The Government was pleased to lay the Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2022 on Wednesday 25th May, as set out here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukdsi/2022/9780348235500


The Order will be debated in the House of Commons on Monday 20 June and if made, will allow local authorities to follow the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Notice (PPN 01/2022), as set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0122-contracts-with-suppliers-from-russia-and-belarus


Written Question
Oxford-cambridge Arc
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to develop areas within Oxfordshire as part of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc initiative.

Answered by Neil O'Brien

Government has supported growth in Oxfordshire through a range of measures, such as through the Getting Building Fund, Enterprise Zones and the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal. Local authorities in the county also have the opportunity to bid for further support through the second round of the Levelling Up Fund and will benefit from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.


Written Question
Community Development
Tuesday 29th June 2021

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies on tackling community inequalities of the debate which took place at the Council of Europe on 24 June 2021 on a European policy on diasporas.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The UK is committed to creating a fair society in which all people are valued and able to participate fully and realise their own potential. We have made great strides to become a fairer and more tolerant society, but we must acknowledge that there is so much more to do in eradicating prejudice and creating opportunity. We supported the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly debate on a European policy on diasporas on 24 June, and note that the resolution and recommendations will go to the Committee of Ministers in due course for appropriate review. We will continue to engage with international institutions as this work progresses.


Written Question

Question Link

Wednesday 19th May 2021

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of resolution 2368 on preserving national minorities in Europe passed at the Council of Europe on 19 April 2021; and whether the Government plans to take steps following the passing of that resolution.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

We welcome the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s important work in this area. The UK Government continues to take its responsibilities under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities very seriously and does not underestimate the importance and challenge of preserving national minorities.

The UK is committed to creating a fair society in which all people are valued and able to participate fully and realise their own potential. In that respect, we call on all member States who have not done so, to ratify the Framework Convention for National Minorities in a timely manner, as a valuable tool for protecting the rights of minorities across Europe.


Written Question
Housing: Lifts
Monday 10th September 2018

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that buildings constructed for (a) elderly and (b) vulnerable people have more than one lift and such people are not trapped in their homes if one lift breaks down; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

Building Regulations guidance in Approved Document M states that a passenger lift is the most suitable form of access for people moving from one story to another. Government is expecting to receive advice from the Building Regulations Advisory Committee on the scope of a review of this guidance in Approved Document M.


Written Question
Government Departments: Land
Wednesday 16th May 2018

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Government departments and their agencies release land for the provision of new homes.

Answered by Dominic Raab

All land-owning departments and arms-length bodies are required to take steps to regularly review their estates and delivery plans to identify land suitable for disposal, including for housing use, via the Public Land for Housing programme.

Release of land contributes to the Government's target of building 300,000 homes annually by the mid 2020s. Not all central government land is suitable for housing, but may be suitable for other operational purposes, such as new health facilities or schools.


Written Question
Housing: Construction
Tuesday 15th November 2016

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and which local authorities do not have a five year land supply for housing.

Answered by Lord Barwell

We do not hold information centrally on how many local planning authorities do not have a five-year land supply for housing. A local planning authority's five-year land supply position changes frequently and is subject to market conditions. The National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to keep their land supply under regular review.


Written Question
Local Government: Property
Monday 16th November 2015

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what obligation there is on local authorities to publish online a property asset register; and to what timetable such an obligation must be met.

Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)

Local people expect their local authorities to make the most of its land and assets, sharing their estate with other organisations and selling empty or high value property that is unnecessarily being retained. To ensure local people are able to scrutinise how their local authority manages its assets the Government made it a legal requirement for local authorities to annually publish details of the land and assets it owns in a readable format.

Under the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, local authorities are required to publish details about the land it owns (subject to a few exceptions), including details of its location, and the value of its social housing stock.

Local authorities were required to first publish details of its land and assets by February 2015 and details of their social housing stock by September 2015.