Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department has 5 or less roles that are primarily focused on Equality, diversity and inclusion. The combined annual salary of these roles is £135,153.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost to the Department.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of pub closures on community cohesion.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise that pubs are an important part of the social fabric of the UK, places that are focal points of many communities, where people from different backgrounds can mix and generate a sense of belonging. That is why we are introducing Community Right to Buy so people can protect pubs that mean so much to their communities. We are also taking steps to support the viability of pubs, such as introducing legislation to ban upwards only rent reviews in commercial leases, reforming licensing rules, and committing funding to support rural pubs to diversify their services.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has conducted any assessment of risks posed by foreign-state or foreign-network mobilisation of postal-voting blocks among overseas nationals eligible to vote in UK local elections.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to upholding and strengthening UK democracy by protecting against foreign interference, improving political transparency, adding tougher checks for donations and closing loopholes by reinforcing electoral legislation against foreign interference.
Our election reforms will deliver a robust and proportionate response to known risks, protecting the integrity of our system and reinforcing public trust in democracy. This is set out in our Elections Strategy, published in July.
The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit coordinates work to protect UK elections and referendums, from threats including foreign interference.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take legislative steps to prevent non-UK citizens from (a) voting and (b) standing in all UK elections.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has no current plans to change the voting or candidacy rights of foreign nationals.
British, Irish, and Commonwealth citizens are able to participate in UK Parliamentary elections subject to residency and other eligibility requirements. In the case of local elections in England and Northern Ireland, voting and candidacy rights also extend to EU citizens with retained rights and to citizens of countries with whom we have bilateral agreements. Responsibility for local elections in Scotland and Wales is devolved.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by his Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department does not hold information on LinkedIn membership fees and other subscriptions in the format requested, and this could only be collated at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has considered standardising the collection of nationality-grouped data at national level to ensure consistent oversight of local-election eligibility across the UK.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold data on the number of foreign nationals registered to vote in UK local elections. Electoral registers are managed at a local level by Electoral Registration Officers. The Electoral Commission already has access to information about nationality that is held on electoral registers and have published this data in the past, including most recently in 2023. The government has no plans to make any changes to these matters.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds aggregated data on the number of foreign nationals registered to vote in UK local elections, broken down by EU citizens, Irish citizens, and qualifying Commonwealth citizens.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold data on the number of foreign nationals registered to vote in UK local elections. Electoral registers are managed at a local level by Electoral Registration Officers. The Electoral Commission already has access to information about nationality that is held on electoral registers and have published this data in the past, including most recently in 2023. The government has no plans to make any changes to these matters.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to require the Electoral Commission to collect nationality data already held by EROs in order to improve transparency and electoral integrity.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold data on the number of foreign nationals registered to vote in UK local elections. Electoral registers are managed at a local level by Electoral Registration Officers. The Electoral Commission already has access to information about nationality that is held on electoral registers and have published this data in the past, including most recently in 2023. The government has no plans to make any changes to these matters.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy for either (a) his Department or (b) the Electoral Commission to centrally collect nationality data for registered electors.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold data on the number of foreign nationals registered to vote in UK local elections. Electoral registers are managed at a local level by Electoral Registration Officers. The Electoral Commission already has access to information about nationality that is held on electoral registers and have published this data in the past, including most recently in 2023. The government has no plans to make any changes to these matters.