Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much Bradford Metropolitan District Council received from central government in grants in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
In 2014-15, Bradford Metropolitan District Council is forecast to receive £655 million in government grants, excluding mandatory housing benefits, equivalent to £3,112 per dwelling. Per dwelling, this is in the top 20 highest in England. Including mandatory housing benefits, the forecast is £838 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns).
In addition to this, Bradford Metropolitan District residents will also benefit from government grant funding to the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority and to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
We do not hold detailed information on all the individual grants paid out across government departments over the time period.
However, leaving aside schools spending which has changed due to the funding shift from local authorities to academies, in 2014-15, Bradford Metropoliton District Council's net current expenditure excluding education is forecast to be £596 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns). This compares with £548 million in 2009-10 (source: Revenue Outturn returns), and is thus an increase in cash terms.
Of course, every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to pay off the deficit left by the last Administration, including local government which accounts for a quarter of all public spending. Yet these figures illustrate how claims in some parts of the local government sector about “cuts” are over-stated and mislead the public.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control; and what representations his Department received on the potential implications of the Declaration before June 2013.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
My Department has not undertaken any formal assessment or review, nor am I aware of any representations prior to June 2013. It is for individual councils to determine whether they wish to sign up to such a voluntary, local government-led initiative.
Notwithstanding, as stated in the Government’s 2011 Tobacco Control Plan for England, we recognise there may be legitimate operational reasons for local authorities to deal with the tobacco industry, such as action by trading standards to tackle the illicit tobacco trade (which is frequently linked to low-level and large-scale organised crime; costs taxpayers’ money through tax evasion; and makes it easier for children to smoke).
Moreover, further to the Government’s recent evidence to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee inquiry on litter (21 October 2014, Reference LIT0093), we believe that councils and the wider public sector, as well as manufacturers and associated trade bodies, need to work together to tackle smoking-related litter – especially given the public smoking ban has increased smoking outside. Councils now have public health responsibilities, but this should not prevent joint working on litter and action to keep our streets clean.
In both cases, we would recommend that all dealings are fully transparent.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many front-line firefighters are female; and how many of such firefighters still active in front-line service are over the age of 55 years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Numbers of firefighters are collected annually from each fire and rescue authority, and this includes profiles by age and by sex. The latest data are shown in the tables.
These show that in England in March 2013 there were 1,755 female firefighters, and 1,040 firefighters over the age of 55. Separate age profiles for males and females are not currently collected.
Firefighter numbers by rank and sex, England, March 2013
| Men | Women |
Brigade Manager | 138 | 4 |
Area Manager | 176 | 6 |
Group Manager | 552 | 13 |
Station Manager | 1,453 | 40 |
Watch Manager | 5,111 | 143 |
Crew Manager | 5,782 | 172 |
Firefighter | 25,822 | 1,377 |
Total | 39,034 | 1,755 |
Firefighter numbers by rank and age, England, March 2013
| 17-24 | 25-35 | 36-45 | 46-55 | 56-65 | 66+ | Age Not Stated |
Brigade Manager | 0 | 0 | 29 | 102 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Area Manager | 0 | 2 | 55 | 120 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Group Manager | 0 | 7 | 185 | 347 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
Station Manager | 0 | 47 | 534 | 875 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
Watch Manager | 1 | 353 | 1,974 | 2,651 | 273 | 1 | 1 |
Crew Manager | 11 | 1,107 | 2,607 | 2,023 | 202 | 3 | 1 |
Firefighter | 1,389 | 9,222 | 9,803 | 6,290 | 478 | 4 | 13 |
Total | 1,401 | 10,738 | 15,187 | 12,408 | 1,032 | 8 | 15 |
The proportion of firefighters who are women has risen since 2010.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many front-line firefighters are female; and how many of such firefighters still active in front-line service are over the age of 55 years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Numbers of firefighters are collected annually from each fire and rescue authority, and this includes profiles by age and by sex. The latest data are shown in the tables.
These show that in England in March 2013 there were 1,755 female firefighters, and 1,040 firefighters over the age of 55. Separate age profiles for males and females are not currently collected.
Firefighter numbers by rank and sex, England, March 2013
| Men | Women |
Brigade Manager | 138 | 4 |
Area Manager | 176 | 6 |
Group Manager | 552 | 13 |
Station Manager | 1,453 | 40 |
Watch Manager | 5,111 | 143 |
Crew Manager | 5,782 | 172 |
Firefighter | 25,822 | 1,377 |
Total | 39,034 | 1,755 |
Firefighter numbers by rank and age, England, March 2013
| 17-24 | 25-35 | 36-45 | 46-55 | 56-65 | 66+ | Age Not Stated |
Brigade Manager | 0 | 0 | 29 | 102 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Area Manager | 0 | 2 | 55 | 120 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Group Manager | 0 | 7 | 185 | 347 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
Station Manager | 0 | 47 | 534 | 875 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
Watch Manager | 1 | 353 | 1,974 | 2,651 | 273 | 1 | 1 |
Crew Manager | 11 | 1,107 | 2,607 | 2,023 | 202 | 3 | 1 |
Firefighter | 1,389 | 9,222 | 9,803 | 6,290 | 478 | 4 | 13 |
Total | 1,401 | 10,738 | 15,187 | 12,408 | 1,032 | 8 | 15 |
The proportion of firefighters who are women has risen since 2010.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has given to local authorities on dealing with trees that are subject to a preservation order.
Answered by Nick Boles
In March we issued new web-based planning guidance on the Tree Preservation Order system. It is available at http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/tree-preservation-orders/.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people (a) under 18 and (b) under 16 years of age have been given social housing in the last five years.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The numbers of lead tenants being given social housing aged under 18 in England in the past five years for which data are available (1st April 2008 – 31st March 2013) is in the table below. Lead tenants are defined as the most economically active in the household. Numbers shown include lettings from both local authorities and private registered providers.
The numbers per year and per tenure type are as follows:
Tenant age | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12i,ii | 2012/13i,ii | |
General Needs | Under 18 | 2,758 | 2,232 | 2,108 | 1,875 | 1,535 |
of which under 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Total lettings | 264,790 | 260,235 | 269,187 | 270,678 | 260,530 | |
Supported Housingiii | Under 18 | 9,579 | 8,520 | 9,384 | 9,021 | 7,989 |
of which under 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7 | |
Total lettings | 114,400 | 107,520 | 124,438 | 123,806 | 118,213 | |
Total | Under 18 | 12,336 | 10,752 | 11,492 | 10,897 | 9,524 |
of which under 16 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 9 | |
Total lettings | 379,190 | 367,756 | 393,625 | 394,484 | 378,743 | |
i. Includes both social and Affordable Rent lettings. ii. For 2011/12 and 2012/13, age is imputed where missing. iii. Supported housing is defined as housing with special design facilities features, or designated for a particular client group. | ||||||
Note: values in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. Source: Continuous Recording of Lettings system (CORE).