Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 has been allocated to support rough sleeping programmes in Harlow in the last 12 months.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
In 2020/21, we are providing over £700 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping across England.
Harlow has so far been allocated £411,718 through rough sleeping programmes in 2020/21:
Harlow has also been allocated £460,902 in homelessness funding in 2020/21:
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the scientific basis is for the decision to require face masks to be worn in places of worship.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Places of worship play an important role in providing spiritual leadership for many individuals, and in bringing communities and generations together. However, their communal nature also makes them places that are particularly vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Guidance around using places of worship safely during the pandemic can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1 per cent of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3 per cent by March 2021. On 21 September 2020, the equivalent figure for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was 1.7 per cent. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time therefore making it challenging to predict when a Department will meet it. Data for 2018/19 can be found here. The data for 2019/20 will be released on gov.uk by the end of September 2020.
Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3 per cent target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.
A multi-year approach on apprenticeships from FY 2021/22 will be developed by MHCLG’s Early Talent Team in the coming months, which will be aligned to the new apprenticeship strategy and any new targets included within.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on unauthorised encampments.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is clear that unauthorised encampments cause harm to the local environment and that the rights of settled residents must be respected.
Local authorities are best-placed to determine when it is appropriate to use their powers to evict unauthorised encampments under Sections 77 and 78 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) during the Covid-19 pandemic, and should work with the police and magistrates’ courts in their local area.
On 5 November 2019, the Government launched a consultation seeking views on measures to strengthen police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments. The consultation closed on the 5 March. We will announce the outcome of this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what powers are in place to prevent the development of unauthorised encampments.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government is clear that unauthorised encampments cause harm to the local environment and that the rights of settled residents must be respected. Local authorities have powers available to them to prevent the development of unauthorised encampments in their area.
Councils can apply to the Courts for pre-emptive injunctions which prevent unauthorised camping in a defined geographical area. Councils are also able to take early and decisive action by issuing Temporary Stop Notices against unauthorised development and encampments. Councils can issue such a notice on both private and public sector land.
On 5 November 2019, the Government launched a consultation seeking views on measures to strengthen police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments. The consultation closed on the 5 March. We will announce the outcome of this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reach the public sector apprenticeship target.
Answered by Luke Hall
Since the introduction of the public sector apprenticeship target in April 2017 my Department has offered a range of apprenticeships across 7 different standards and frameworks. We have participated in external recruitment campaigns to appoint apprentices, including the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme and cross-government Policy Apprenticeship campaigns. We also hold an annual Apprenticeship Week each year within the Department to promote the benefits of apprenticeships and have converted a number of existing Civil Servants to become apprentices, including within our HR Profession.