Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many new (a) houses and (b) social houses have been constructed in Blackpool in each year since 2011.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The number of new homes built by local authority area since 2012-13 is published in Live Table 123, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing.
The number of new affordable homes by local authority area, type (new build or acquisition) and tenure (e.g. social rent) since 1991-92 is published in Live Table 1011, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from the (a) Chief Executive of Blackpool Council and (b) Leader of Blackpool Council on (i) the local government finance settlement and (ii) Government funding of local authorities.
Answered by Luke Hall
There is no record of written representations or correspondence from either the Chief Executive of Blackpool Council or the Leader of Blackpool Council on the local government finance settlement or Government funding of local authorities. However, I can confirm that through this year’s Local Government Finance Settlement, Blackpool’s spending power will increase by £8.5 million, or 6.4 per cent since 2019-20.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in the North West in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Luke Hall
Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we are taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms.
We recognise that there has been an increase in antisemitic incidents across the country. Home Office Official Statistics for hate crime, which report police recorded data, show that 18% of religiously motivated hatred was directed towards Jews, compared with 12 per cent in 2017/18. [‘Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2018 to 2019’ (Oct, 2019)].
We are also aware that Greater Manchester had the highest number of antisemitic incidents outside Greater London over last 10 years (2008-2018) according to the Community Security Trust, who are one of our key partners in tackling antisemitism and the main body reporting on the number of incidents each year.
That is why we became the first country in the world to adopt the working definition of antisemitism as set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. We are making sure the police record hate crimes disaggregated by faith and our refreshed Hate Crime Action Plan reaffirms our commitment to combating antisemitism. We are working with partner organisations across England to make sure Jewish communities feel safe and are pressing for public sector institutions to adopt the IHRA definition.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is providing support to local authorities to mark the day on which the UK leaves the EU by (a) flying the Union flag from civic buildings and (b) holding civic events; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Luke Hall
Flags are a very British way of expressing joy and pride – they are emotive symbols which can boost local and national identities and strengthen community cohesion. There will be many who wish to mark our departure from the European Union on 31 January. The Government stands ready to work with local authorities and others up and down the country, to help them mark this important moment in our national history.