Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Preston City Council on external cladding on buildings in Fishwick, Town Centre and St Matthews wards in Preston.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Building Safety Programme has been working with local authorities and building owners across England to identify properties that might have potentially unsafe cladding systems.
For all of those high-rise buildings that have been confirmed as having Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding that does not meet the limited combustibility requirements set out in current building regulations guidance, the relevant fire and rescue service has been notified.
We have worked with local authorities, housing associations, fire and rescue services and building owners to ensure that immediate steps are taken to make buildings safe.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which faith and regeneration projects the Government works with to meet recommendation one of the Government Response to the Women and Equalities Committee Report on Employment Opportunities for Muslims in the UK, published in December 2016, Cm 9371, to rebuild trust with Muslim communities by improving the life chances of disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The Department for Communities and Local Government supports a number of programmes that seek to bring communities together.
We are providing £1.65 million in 2017/18 to support the Near Neighbours programme, which has enabled Muslim women to develop a range of employment and life skills. We have funded Nisa-Nashim which brings together Jewish and Muslim women around the themes of business, culture, social action, sports and well-being. In 2015/16 we provided support through a Women’s Empowerment fund to 14 separate projects working with women from isolated and BME communities.
The forthcoming integration strategy will further set out how we will support people in more isolated communities and assist women, in particular into the workplace, and teach more people to speak English.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the ruling of Leeds City Council v Broadley on 6 December 2016, what plans he has to amend Guidance to local councils on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears, published in June 2013; and what steps he is taking to enable district and unitary councils in England and Wales to obtain council tax payments from tenants who have vacated periodic tenancies without notice.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The guidance “Good practice in the collection of Council Tax arrears” sets out clear advice for councils to use in the collection and enforcement of council tax debt. The Government has no plans at present to update this, but as with all guidance will keep it under review in conjunction with local authorities and other interested parties.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which applications were approved under the Together in Service programme to support multi-faith volunteering; what evaluation has been made of the effectiveness of that programme; and what plans the Government has for another Together in Service programme to support multi-faith volunteering.
Answered by Marcus Jones
Details of each of the social action projects awarded funding through Together in Service scheme can be found here:
http://www.faithaction.net/work/together-in-service/
Faith Action, the body contracted to run Together in Service, commissioned a full external assessment of the programme, which was completed in July 2015.
My Department continues to fund programmes which support local faith communities, and others, to undertake social action, including Near Neighbours, Mitzvah Day and Creating the Common Good.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 18 December 2014, HCWS154, what progress has been made on the grave restoration campaign to restore the graves of First World War recipients who are buried in the UK but not under the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's restoration project, including the numbers and locations of the graves in question.
Answered by Marcus Jones
Between 2014 and March 2016 my Department supported the Victoria Cross Trust to restore 50 graves of First World War Victoria Cross recipients who are buried in the United Kingdom but are not under the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's restoration. In November 2016, the then Chancellor announced a further £600,000 to support restoration of the remaining graves.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants of his Department at each grade are allocated to work on the Northern Powerhouse.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Northern Powerhouse is a cross-governmental project supported by officials in all relevant departments, including DfT, HMT, DCMS, Defra, DCLG, and BEIS. The Cities and Local Growth Unit is a joint BEIS-DCLG team that supports local growth policy, including the Northern Powerhouse. It currently has almost 150 staff based in offices all across the country, including in London, Manchester, Gateshead and Leeds. This includes 1 Director, 9 Deputy-Directors, 8 Grade 6s, 61 Grade 7s, 11 Senior Executive Officers, 35 Higher Executive Officers, 15 Executive and Administrative Officers and 9 Fast Steamers.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which district and unitary councils in England prosecuted landlords under (a) section 80, (b) section 95 (1), (c) Section 95 (4) of the Housing Act 2004 in 2015; and how many convictions there were in each of those authorities under each of those sections of that Act.
Answered by Lord Barwell
H.M Courts and Tribunal Service, which is responsible for the administration of magistrates' courts where offences under the Housing Act 2004 are considered, has advised that they do not hold information on convictions under the Act.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to implement the actions identified for it in the Government's Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategy 2016-2020, published in March 2016; and when a member of staff from his Department last attended a Violence against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting chaired by the Home Office.
Answered by Marcus Jones
DCLG is working with partners, including the Local Government Association, local authorities and women’s sector organisations to implement its commitments in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. These are to launch a two-year fund for specialist accommodation-based support and services, and to help local areas meet the National Statement of Expectations which will set out for the first time what we expect from local areas in commissioning violence against women and girls services. DCLG is also committed to launching a new programme to support domestic abuse victims with complex needs.
The last Violence Against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting took place on 11 July 2016. DCLG officials did not attend as that meeting was between Home Office and third sector stakeholders. However, DCLG officials will be attending forthcoming meetings on this topic.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many Changing Places toilets are provided by each local authority in North West England.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
There are 86 Changing Places toilets in the North West of England. The location of Changing Places toilets can be found using the Changing Places interactive toilet map, hosted on their website; http://www.changing-places.org/.