Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding from the land remediation fund has been allocated to projects in each year since it was established, and if he will publish a list of projects in receipt of that funding.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Land Release Fund was established in 2017 and will be allocating a total of £44,422,211 to projects from financial years 2017/18 to 2019/20. A complete list of projects and their funding can be found at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/45-million-funding-boost-to-support-councils-unlock-land-for-thousands-of-homes
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many public analysts were employed by his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jake Berry
Figures for the number of analysts, excluding data collection staff (headcount) for the latest five years are as follows:
2013/14 | 131 |
2014/15 | 127 |
2015/16 | 126 |
2016/17 | 146 |
2017/18 | 154 |
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many disposable coffee cups were purchased by his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jake Berry
The information requested is not held centrally. Disposable coffee cups are purchased by an external catering supplier, which was unable to provide this information.
The catering facilities in the Department’s headquarters office in 2 Marsham Street are provided through the Home Office. The coffee cups used in the Department’s headquarters office in 2 Marsham Street are biodegradable.
Staff and visitors are encouraged to dispose of waste appropriately and userecycling bins where it is appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many vehicles in his Department's fleet are (a) electric vehicles and (b) ultra-low emission vehicles.
Answered by Jake Berry
The department has no fleet vehicles. Ministerial cars are provided by the Government Car Service.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 26 June 2017, Official Report, column 348, if he will list the 15 buildings that are part of the Government estate that require further investigation.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The priority must always be ensuring the safety of residents. Where Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding is present on housing over 18 metres in height, the Government is providing testing for local authorities, housing associations and private sector landlords free of charge. If the screening tests indicate that such cladding would not meet the limited combustibility requirements of the current Building Regulations guidance, local authorities, housing associations, private sector landlords and the fire and rescue service will determine the best course of action, communicating closely with residents. We have given landlords advice on the immediate mitigating actions they should take and are consulting an expert advisory panel to develop further advice. We will publish a list of buildings tested in due course.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
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 oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 26 June 2017, column 348, if he will list the 15 buildings that are part of the Government estate that require further investigation.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The priority must always be ensuring the safety of residents. Where Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding is present on housing over 18 metres in height, the Government is providing testing for local authorities, housing associations and private sector landlords free of charge. If the screening tests indicate that such cladding would not meet the limited combustibility requirements of the current Building Regulations guidance, local authorities, housing associations, private sector landlords and the fire and rescue service will determine the best course of action, communicating closely with residents. We have given landlords advice on the immediate mitigating actions they should take and are consulting an expert advisory panel to develop further advice. We will publish a list of buildings tested in due course.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how the Government plans to spend the £60 million which the European Commission proposes to award the UK from the EU's solidarity fund after the floods of winter 2015-16.
Answered by Andrew Percy
In the days that followed the flooding in December 2015 and early January 2016, the Government very quickly identified that the immediate priority was to respond to the urgent needs of those affected and we have paid out almost £300 million.
The Commission has now completed its assessment of the UK Government’s European Union Solidarity Fund application and has proposed to the European Parliament and Council that the UK receives a notional €60 million (circa £51.6 million) in assistance (subject to approval by the two bodies). However, owing to the costs involved in making an application and the effect of clawback through the UK rebate, the overall net benefit to the UK is only estimated to be €17 million (circa £15 million).
This will be further offset by a payment of £14.5 million that the UK is legally obliged to make to the EU in respect of the UK’s 2007 application (by the then Labour Government) for Solidarity Fund assistance following the serious floods that year. The UK Government is obliged to repay funding where there was ineligible spending under the Labour administration. Consequently, this funding does not offer additional support.
This funding can only be used to reimburse public sector costs so cannot be paid directly to individual householders and businesses.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local government-owned vehicles have been found to be fitted with emissions defeat devices; and how many of those devices have been removed from such vehicles.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
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 has taken to monitor the construction of a community stadium on greenbelt land at Newmarket, in Wakefield Metropolitan district since December 2012; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Once the Secretary of State has issued his decision on a case, he has no further role in the matter. He has not therefore taken any steps to monitor the implementation of this planning consent since it was issued by a previous Secretary of State on 5 December 2012. It is the responsibility of the applicant to decide whether or not to implement the consent and, if it does go ahead, the responsibility of the local planning authority to secure implementation in accordance with the conditions set out in the decision letter.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
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 contribution of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the Environmental Audit Committee on 25 October 2016, Question 332, what proportion of existing EU legislation within the policy remit of his Department cannot immediately be brought into UK law upon the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 and ensure a functioning statute book on the day we leave the EU. The ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK. The Bill will convert existing European Union law into domestic law, wherever practical. The Government will set out the content of the Bill and its implications in due course.