Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of regulations governing online political advertisements.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under existing regulations, campaigners are required to include an imprint with their name and address on printed and digital campaigning material. Imprint rules play an important role in promoting trust in our democratic process by ensuring voters can clearly see who is behind political campaigning material.
The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. As part of this, we intend to add unregistered third-party campaigning organisations to the list of entities who are required to include a digital imprint on their organic digital campaigning material and extend the Electoral Commission’s remit to be the primary enforcer of all imprint rules.
The Government has no plans at this time to introduce a public database for online political advertisements, but welcome the steps taken by social media companies to create “advert libraries”.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to introduce a database inclduing all published online political advertisements.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under existing regulations, campaigners are required to include an imprint with their name and address on printed and digital campaigning material. Imprint rules play an important role in promoting trust in our democratic process by ensuring voters can clearly see who is behind political campaigning material.
The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. As part of this, we intend to add unregistered third-party campaigning organisations to the list of entities who are required to include a digital imprint on their organic digital campaigning material and extend the Electoral Commission’s remit to be the primary enforcer of all imprint rules.
The Government has no plans at this time to introduce a public database for online political advertisements, but welcome the steps taken by social media companies to create “advert libraries”.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to limit online foreign influence in the UK's democracy.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic processes from both mis- and disinformation and from foreign interference. Any new regulation addressing mis and disinformation must be carefully balanced with the need to protect freedom of expression and the legitimate public debate which is also crucial to a thriving democracy. Since March, the Online Safety Act has required services to take steps to remove illegal disinformation content. Illegal disinformation content includes state-sponsored disinformation in scope of the Foreign Interference Offence, and disinformation aimed at disrupting elections where it is a criminal offence in scope of the regulatory framework. This can include false statements of fact about a candidate’s personal character or conduct and undue influence on voters.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce, which coordinates work to protect UK political parties, elected officials and electoral infrastructure from threats including foreign interference and the Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit coordinates work to protect UK elections and referendums. The Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan launched last month to disrupt and deter spying from states.
The Government’s strategy for modern, secure and inclusive elections, published in July, sets out our plan to strengthen oversight of and safeguards against known and emerging threats, including foreign interference. We will deliver a robust and proportionate response to known risks, protecting the integrity of our system and reinforcing public trust in democracy.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a fast-track route for the Disabled Facilities Grant when the applicant has a progressive health condition.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely. Government funding for Disabled Facilities Grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24.
Local areas already have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can provide grants above the £30,000 cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. In 2022, Government published guidance for local authorities on the Disabled Facilities Grant, which includes information on using discretion in local delivery of the grant. The guidance can be found here.
As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant, the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.
Unaudited data provided voluntarily by local authorities suggests that the average time for approval of a DFG application in 2021/22 was 29 working days. The average completion time was 88 days.
Local areas already have the power to include in their housing assistance policies a fast-track route for applicants with an urgent need for adaptations, including those with progressive health conditions. Government DFG delivery guidance provides information to local authorities on how to design housing assistance policies. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also funds an organisation called Foundations to support local authorities with the effective delivery of the grant, and they can assist authorities in drafting policies that address local need.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the average turnaround time is for the (a) approval and (b) completion of works under the Disabled Facilities Grant by local authority in England.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely. Government funding for Disabled Facilities Grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24.
Local areas already have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can provide grants above the £30,000 cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. In 2022, Government published guidance for local authorities on the Disabled Facilities Grant, which includes information on using discretion in local delivery of the grant. The guidance can be found here.
As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant, the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.
Unaudited data provided voluntarily by local authorities suggests that the average time for approval of a DFG application in 2021/22 was 29 working days. The average completion time was 88 days.
Local areas already have the power to include in their housing assistance policies a fast-track route for applicants with an urgent need for adaptations, including those with progressive health conditions. Government DFG delivery guidance provides information to local authorities on how to design housing assistance policies. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also funds an organisation called Foundations to support local authorities with the effective delivery of the grant, and they can assist authorities in drafting policies that address local need.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the current ceiling amount for the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely. Government funding for Disabled Facilities Grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24.
Local areas already have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can provide grants above the £30,000 cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. In 2022, Government published guidance for local authorities on the Disabled Facilities Grant, which includes information on using discretion in local delivery of the grant. The guidance can be found here.
As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant, the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.
Unaudited data provided voluntarily by local authorities suggests that the average time for approval of a DFG application in 2021/22 was 29 working days. The average completion time was 88 days.
Local areas already have the power to include in their housing assistance policies a fast-track route for applicants with an urgent need for adaptations, including those with progressive health conditions. Government DFG delivery guidance provides information to local authorities on how to design housing assistance policies. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also funds an organisation called Foundations to support local authorities with the effective delivery of the grant, and they can assist authorities in drafting policies that address local need.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Oral Statement of 20 November 2023 on Levelling Up, Official Report, column 25, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of participating in Levelling Up funding rounds 1 and 2 on local authorities' (a) financial costs, (b) resources and (c) workforce.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 7203 on 21 December 2023.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of 20 November 2023, Official Report, column 28, when the area teams informed local authorities that their levelling-up bids would be successful ahead of Government announcements.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4194 on 5 December 2023.
To support the development of bids, £125,000 was provided to each local authority in England who were assessed as most in need in Rounds 1 and 2, and all local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason Levelling Up Fund Round Three was not opened on a competitive basis; and when his Department (a) informed local authorities of its approach to, (b) selected the projects to be awarded funding under and (c) announced which projects would be awarded funding under Round Three.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4194 on 5 December 2023.
To support the development of bids, £125,000 was provided to each local authority in England who were assessed as most in need in Rounds 1 and 2, and all local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the total cost to local authorities of preparing bids for levelling up funded projects.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4194 on 5 December 2023.
To support the development of bids, £125,000 was provided to each local authority in England who were assessed as most in need in Rounds 1 and 2, and all local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.