Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to provide additional funds to local authorities to cover costs associated with the Coronation.
Answered by Lee Rowley
A national programme of celebration is planned around the occasion of the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. As with previous national events such as Her late Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, community activity is expected to be supported through existing budgets or sources.
The department will share guidance and resources from DCMS through our regular channels, and champion local activity across the UK. Any further announcements will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of trends in the level of local government funding for homelessness on the number of deaths among homeless people.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
In September, we published our Rough Sleeping Strategy for England to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. This demonstrates our clear commitment to end rough sleeping in this Parliament and we will continue our work to support the most vulnerable in society and end rough sleeping for good. The UK Government is determined to work with the devolved administrations and local authorities across the country to address this important issue.
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates for England and Wales, which can be found here and National Records Scotland publishes statistics, available here. Estimates of homeless deaths in different parts of the UK are not yet comparable due to methodological differences.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many homeless people have died in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
In September, we published our Rough Sleeping Strategy for England to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. This demonstrates our clear commitment to end rough sleeping in this Parliament and we will continue our work to support the most vulnerable in society and end rough sleeping for good. The UK Government is determined to work with the devolved administrations and local authorities across the country to address this important issue.
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates for England and Wales, which can be found here and National Records Scotland publishes statistics, available here. Estimates of homeless deaths in different parts of the UK are not yet comparable due to methodological differences.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 impact of the UK's departure from the EU on the economic success of high streets in (a) Midlothian and (b) Scotland.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The economic performance of high streets continues to be a priority for this Government. We have announced a comprehensive funding package to reinvigorate high streets across the UK, including the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund and the £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which sees £3.5 million pounds allocated to Midlothian.
In addition, Midlothian forms part of the Edinburgh & Southeast Scotland City Region Deal in which the UK Government, along with Scottish Government, have invested £300 million pounds into projects expected to boost the economic success of the region as a whole. These funds will invest in innovation, skills and infrastructure to improve economic performance, and will help tackle inequality and deprivation.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which Department is responsible for the removal and storage sector.
Answered by Paul Scully
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59904 on the 17 October 2022.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to publish further details of proposals for a humanitarian business sponsorship route for Ukrainian refugees.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the Secretary of State's oral statement to Parliament of 14 March 2022.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the sponsored humanitarian visa route for Ukrainian refugees will be fully operational.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the Secretary of State's oral statement to Parliament of 14 March 2022.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with elected members in the devolved Administrations on the effectiveness of inter-governmental relations.
Answered by Lord Gove
I meet First Ministers of the devolved administrations on a near fortnightly basis to discuss intergovernmental relations and shared issues such as Covid-19 response, supply chains, workforce pressures, and recently the UK's response to the situation in Ukraine.
I will shortly be chairing the first meeting of the Interministerial Standing Committee to welcome the new intergovernmental arrangements and discuss how the UK government and the devolved governments can continue to work together.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 potential benefits of introducing a proportional representation voting system as part of the Elections Bill.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
This Government was elected on a manifesto commitment to continue to support the First Past the Post voting system. The Government believes the First Past the Post system is a robust and well-understood way of electing representatives that provides for strong and clear local accountability.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department takes to ensure that at least one official from his Department is present during all (a) meetings and (b) phone calls relating to Government business between Ministers and third parties.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Ministers holding meetings or phone calls on government business are routinely accompanied by a private secretary or other official, in line with the expectations of paragraph 8.14 of the Ministerial Code.