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 much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
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 much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
MHCLG spent £59,064.46 on translation and interpretation services in FY24/25, excluding the languages specified in the question.
MHCLG does not report on translation and interpretation separately.
MHCLG does not pay for these costs for any of its agencies.
Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
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 her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the outcomes of bans on wearing full face coverings in public spaces in (a) France, (b) Denmark, (c) Austria and (d) other European countries.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Britain has a proud tradition of freedom of speech and religious expression within the confines of the law. There are no current general policies or legislations that ban the wearing of religious and non-religious full-face coverings in public spaces. The government has no intention to introduce any.
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 her Department holds information on the breakdown of applicants in social housing by first language.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on the number of applicants for social housing by first language.
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 they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
MHCLG uses language services to provide spoken and written translation services for those who are deaf, hard of hearing or do not speak English as a first language where required in line with the Equality Act 2010.
Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
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 has provided guidance to (a) local authorities and (b) community cohesion officers on the application of religious offences to (i) lawful speech, (ii) art, and (iii) protest in public spaces.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have regular engagement with local authorities on a range of issues including social cohesion and people are expected to express their views concerning religion and beliefs respectfully including exercising the appropriate restraints within the confines of the law when providing criticism.
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 she will make an estimate of the proportion of new housing demand that is attributable to net migration since 2010.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not routinely publish assessments of the factors that influence housing demand.
Boosting the supply of homes of all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to meet housing demand which is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.
The government is determined to address the dire inheritance left by its predecessor and restore order to the asylum and immigration systems, delivering lower net migration.
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 she will ensure that blasphemy laws are not reintroduced.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government has been clear that there is no blasphemy law in England, and we will not introduce one. Everyone has a fundamental right to freedom of speech. All language adopted by government must be accurate and acknowledge British citizens’ unchanging right to freedom of speech and expression.
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 her Department will prioritise (a) Great Yarmouth constituency and (b) other coastal areas for economic regeneration funding.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is fully committed to supporting the regeneration of our town centres and coastal communities.
Our new £1.5bn Plan for Neighbourhoods programme will deliver up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade into 75 communities across the UK, including Great Yarmouth and 24 other coastal towns; laying the foundations to kickstart local growth and drive-up living standards.
The programme will help revitalise local areas and fight deprivation at root cause. Funding from the Plan for Neighbourhoods will help people across all 75 towns create bespoke regeneration plans that best fits the needs of their community, delivering change that people can see and identify with.
Alongside this, Great Yarmouth will benefit from an additional £597k for 2025-26 to support new or existing UK Shared Prosperity Fund investments.
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 funding she has made available for town centre regeneration in Great Yarmouth constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is fully committed to supporting the regeneration of our town centres and coastal communities.
Our new £1.5bn Plan for Neighbourhoods programme will deliver up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade into 75 communities across the UK, including Great Yarmouth and 24 other coastal towns; laying the foundations to kickstart local growth and drive-up living standards.
The programme will help revitalise local areas and fight deprivation at root cause. Funding from the Plan for Neighbourhoods will help people across all 75 towns create bespoke regeneration plans that best fits the needs of their community, delivering change that people can see and identify with.
Alongside this, Great Yarmouth will benefit from an additional £597k for 2025-26 to support new or existing UK Shared Prosperity Fund investments.