Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff are employed on zero-hours contracts in the office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
None.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the area in square metres is of the Ministerial office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
My office has a floor area of 39 square metres. This compares with 65 square metres in our old building of Eland House, which we inherited from the last Labour Government. The Department has made substantial savings of taxpayers' money by relocating from Eland House to Marsham Street and rationalising space, delivering total savings of £220 million over the lifetime of the building’s lease commitments.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homeless shelters have been visited by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley, since October 2013.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
I have visited a number of homeless shelters, including First Stop in York, the Skylight Centre in East London, the Edward Alsop Lifehouse in London, the Riverside Day Centre in Manchester and Foundation Enterprises North West in Chester.
This Government has increased spending to prevent homelessness, making over £500 million available to help the most vulnerable in society and have kept strong protections to guard families against the threat of homelessness. Thousands of vulnerable people have been helped off the streets through initiatives such as No Second Night Out, which we supported with the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund, and Streetlink.
However, we are determined to do more, which is why I have recently announced £23 million funding to help 1,600 vulnerable homeless young people get their lives back on track with the £15 million Fair Chance fund. In addition, the £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fund will support around 22,000 single homeless people.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what gifts have been received by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley, since March 2014.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Transparency data published on the Department’s website provides details of gifts ministers give or receive in connection with their official duties with a value in excess of £140. The latest published quarterly returns provide information from January to March 2014.
In advance of publication of the latest returns I can confirm I have received no gifts of a value that requires them be listed. I have received a small number of gifts of modest value which have been disposed of by the Department.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many visits in the UK as part of his official duties have been carried out by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley, since October 2013; and what the (a) location, (b) date, (c) cost and (d) purpose was of each such visit.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Since October 2013 I have undertaken the following visits on a range of topics across my ministerial responsibilities:
Northamptonshire County Council area, on 8 October 2013;
Kirklees Council area, on 4 November 2013;
Swindon Borough Council area, on 7 November 2013;
City of York Council area, on 14 November 2013;
London Borough of Lambeth area, on 19 November 2013;
Newcastle-under-Lyme District Council area, on 28 November 2013;
Birmingham City Council area, on 28 November 2013;
Leeds City Council area, on 2 December 2013;
Leeds City Council area, on 7 December 2013;
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham area, on 10 December 2013;
Corby Borough Council area, on 9 January 2014;
Northamptonshire County Council area, on 9 January 2014;
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council area, on 23 January 2014;
Sheffield City Council area, on 23 January 2014;
Lancashire City Council area, on 24 January 2014;
London Borough of Tower Hamlets area, on 27 January 2014;
London Borough of Tower Hamlets area, on 4 February 2014;
Leeds City Council area, on 14 February 2014;
Huntingdonshire District Council area, on 24 February 2014;
Milton Keynes Council area, on 24 February 2014;
City of Westminster area, on 12 March 2014;
Pendle Borough Council area, on 14 March 2014;
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham area, on 24 March 2014;
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council area, on 27 March 2014;
Carlisle City Council area, on 31 March 2014;
Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council area, on 31 March 2014;
Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council area, on 1 April 2014;
Sunderland City Council area, on 1 April 2014;
Swindon Borough Council area, on 8 April 2014;
Gloucester City Council area, on 8 April 2014;
Norfolk County Council area, on 10 April 2014;
City of York Council area, on 25 April 2014;
Leeds City Council area, on 25 April 2014;
Cheshire East Council area, on 28 April 2014;
Manchester City Council area, on 28 April 2014;
Royal Borough of Greenwich area, on 29 April 2014;
City of Westminster area, on 29 April 2014;
Northamptonshire County Council area, on 1 May 2014;
Newark and Sherwood District Council area, on 19 May 2014;
Bradford Metropolitan District Council area, on 23 May 2014;
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, on 28 May 2014;
Sheffield City Council area, on 1 June 2014;
Manchester City Council area, on 2 June 2014;
Liverpool City Council area, on 2 June 2014;
Newham London Borough Council area, on 3 June 2014;
London Borough of Camden area, on 10 June 2014;
Newquay Town Council area, on 18 June 2014;
Cornwall Council area, on 18 June 2014;
Plymouth City Council area, on 19 June 2014;
East Devon District Council area, on 19 June 2014;
Bristol City Council area, on 20 June 2014;
Manchester City Council area, on 25 June 2014;
Manchester City Council area, on 13 August 2014;
Sheffield City Council area, on 14 August 2014;
Harrogate Borough Council area, on 14 August 2014;
City of York Council area, on 14 August 2014;
Sunderland City Council area, on 11 September 2014;
Durham County Council area, on 11 September 2014;
London Borough of Hounslow area, on 18 September 2014;
Cheshire West and Cheshire Council area, on 22 September 2014;
Liverpool City Council area, on 22 September 2014;
Bradford Metropolitan District Council area, on 25 September 2014;
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council area, on 11 November 2014;
Calderdale Council area, on 11 November 2014;
Kirklees Council area, on 14 November 2014;
Leicestershire County Council area, on 21 November 2014;
Melton Borough Council area, on 21 November 2014;
Waltham Forest Borough Council area, on 25 November 2014;
Kirklees Council area, on 27 November 2014;
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council area, on 28 November 2014;
Teignbridge District council area, on 2 December 2014.
The full information requested by the hon. Member could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the Government Procurement Card total spend contribution has been from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley, since he took up that post.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Nothing. This is in contrast to the spendthrift practices of the last Administration.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many community pubs have been visited in an official capacity by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley, since he took up that post.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Since taking on the role of Minister for Community Pubs in July 2014, I have visited a number of community pubs in an official capacity, including the Star Inn pub in Salford, the Golden Ball pub in York and the Fox and Goose pub in Hebden Bridge. I look forward to visiting further pubs run by and for the local community in coming months.
Local pubs are part of the social and cultural fabric of our nation, and this Government is determined to protect them. We have already abolished the unpopular beer and alcohol duty escalators, cut business taxes for pubs and provided communities with greater powers to protect their treasured local from closure by listing it as a community asset.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many interns are employed to work in the office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
None.
More broadly, the Department is committed to offering internships through a number of Whitehall and departmental programs. The majority of our interns are recruited from central Civil Service Diversity programs. This includes the Whitehall Internship, a 2 week funded residential placement aimed at improving workplace skills for students aged 16-18 from underrepresented groups, and the Fast Stream Summer Diversity Internship, which aims to encourage a more diverse mix of applicants for the Civil Service Fast Stream program. Our departmental internships are short-term development opportunities hosted by the Department, which are advertised on the Civil Service jobs website.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many unpaid (a) interns and (b) other staff work in the office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
None.
More broadly, the Department is committed to offering internships through a number of Whitehall and departmental programs. The majority of our interns are recruited from central Civil Service Diversity programs. This includes the Whitehall Internship, a 2 week funded residential placement aimed at improving workplace skills for students aged 16-18 from underrepresented groups, and the Fast Stream Summer Diversity Internship, which aims to encourage a more diverse mix of applicants for the Civil Service Fast Stream program. Our departmental internships are short-term development opportunities hosted by the Department, which are advertised on the Civil Service jobs website.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what gifts have been received by staff in the office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley, since October 2013.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. The Code makes clear that civil servants must not misuse their official position by accepting gifts or hospitality or receiving other benefits. Accordingly, no gifts have been accepted by members of my Ministerial office.