Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much their Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We do not routinely publish this data, as has been the case under successive administrations. All Business Units within the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.
Details of ministerial and senior official hospitality are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what areas were covered during his meeting with the Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association on 1 March 2023.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on Gov.uk, including details of the topic discussed.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what meetings he had with the National Residential Landlords Association in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on Gov.uk, including details of the topic discussed.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what meetings he had with tenants unions and associations in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on Gov.uk, including details of the topic discussed.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) council leaders on Unite the Union's pay dispute in respect of the pay offer for local government employees.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Detailed employment matters such as pay are for local authorities, as independent employers, to determine through the usual processes. It is the responsibility of employers to make an assessment of what is affordable within the overall available resources. Ministers do not have a formal role in such matters.
Employers do of course have to pay the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. We recognise that pay and wages are one of a number of inflationary pressures facing local government. The government made significant additional resources available for local government at the autumn statement. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 made available substantial additional funding for local government in England. This boost in funding demonstrates how Government stands behind councils up and down the country.
As negotiations continue, the department continues to monitor the issue through regular engagement with the Local Government Association and routine engagement with councils.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
There are important official reasons for ministers and civil servants to travel across the country. Reflecting this department’s responsibilities for local government, housing, planning, and communities across England, and our wider responsibilities across the whole of the United Kingdom, our work inevitably involves staff travelling to different parts of the country.
Further to a written answer given by this department in 2015, in 2009-10 this department spent over £216,000 on first class rail travel.
A yearly breakdown of first class train travel spend is below. There will be business cases for such travel, including on occasion security, but we have significantly reduced costs compared to the last Labour Government. For example the 2022 level was well below 10% of the 2009-10 level in cash terms.
2020 - Civil Servants £9,735
2020 - Ministers £1,135
2021 - Civil Servants £4,731
2021 - Ministers £1,132
2022 - Civil Servants £12,135
2022 - Ministers £3,119
Figures are likely reduced in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since 2010, the Department has taken on responsibility for residual functions of the Government Offices for the Regions, and other agencies. As these business functions relate to work in areas outside London, this may have increased the business need for travel. Overall, we have still managed to reduce travel costs through better procurement and tighter management controls on costs, and reduced overall costs through closing unnecessary public bodies.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what impact assessments the Government has undertaken on potential impact of free enterprise zones on the local environment in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Investment Zones will not be imposed on places, rather we want local leaders to work with local and wider stakeholders to deliver proposals that are right for them. The recently closed EOI process required places to have the support of the Local Planning Authority. Without this, sites would not be taken forward.
DLUHC is currently assessing all sites received and will have further detail once this has been completed.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who he has consulted on the Government’s plans for free enterprise investment zones in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Investment Zones will not be imposed on places, rather we want local leaders to work with local and wider stakeholders to deliver proposals that are right for them. The recently closed EOI process required places to have the support of the Local Planning Authority. Without this, sites would not be taken forward.
DLUHC is currently assessing all sites received and will have further detail once this has been completed.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Records show the department spent the following on taxi cabs:
2020 Civil Servants £298.81
2020 Minsters £0
2021 Civil Servants £81.22
2021 Ministers £0
2022 Civil Servants £109.91
2022 Ministers £0
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Please see below the figures for Agency staff spend
2020 - £4,203,377.57
2021 - £7,785,868.09
2022 - £2,369,262.08
We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service; this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post. Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.
The department does not separate the costs of agency workers, contingent labour, or associated agency retainer fees in our accounts. A breakdown could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.