Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of (a) stationery and (b) postage incurred when sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We do not specifically hold information on costs of replies to hon. Members, however we can estimate a cost based on use of paper, envelopes, postage and ink cartridges on annual enquiries ranging between 10,000 – 12,000, of which 95% are postal replies. The cost ranges between £6,500 and £7,500 depending on reply volume per annum.
Most correspondence from hon. Members continues to be received as letters and is replied to in the same format. Ministers do, however, reply by email when they consider it appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to introduce mandatory eviction orders to be used by local authorities when unauthorised Traveller encampments take place in public parks; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Our expectation is that local authorities will be proactive in their use of the existing strong enforcement powers that are available to deal with unauthorised encampments and development.
A possession order under Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules can be obtained by both local authorities and private landowners who require the removal of trespassers from property including land.
A local authority can use its powers under sections 77-78 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to direct individuals to remove their vehicles and belongings, and to leave highway land, or any land occupied without the consent of the landowner.
We have lifted the previous Administration’s restrictions on the use of Temporary Stop Notices, which give councils more freedom to take early and decisive action against unauthorised sites and encampments. Councils can issue such a notice on both private and public sector land.
In August last year we sent all Council Leaders a summary of the powers available to them to remove illegal and unauthorised sites; at the same time we reminded them of the need to act swiftly, working with other local agencies, including the police.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department provides to local authorities which cannot repay their loans to the Public Works Loan Board; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Under the prudential capital finance system, local authorities are free to borrow for any capital expenditure without Government consent, provided that they and their auditors are satisfied that they can afford to meet the borrowing costs.
Authorities have a statutory duty to make an amount of debt provision which the authority considers prudent. My Department has issued simple guidance on setting the level of prudent provision (Minimum Revenue Provision), and authorities must have regard to these recommendations.
The Guidance on the Minimum Revenue Provision is available on the DCLG website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-finance-guidance-on-minimum-revenue-provision-third-edition
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many house purchases have been funded through the Help to Buy scheme in (a) Brighton, Kemptown constituency, (b) Sussex and (c) South East England to date.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
This Government is committed to supporting people's aspirations to own their own home. The Department's official statistics on sales for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, as of 31 May, broken down by local authority and postcode sector for England, are available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics.
Figures are not available by constituency. In the areas of Brighton and Hove, and Lewes which covers all of the Brighton, Kemptown constituency, the number of families buying a home with the support of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme is four and zero, respectively. Equivalent figures for Help to Buy: NewBuy are two and six.
The number of families buying a home with the support of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in Sussex is 591. 104 families have bought a home with the support of Help to Buy: NewBuy.
My Department does not publish regional statistics.
The Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee scheme is managed by HM Treasury and the data is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-march-2014.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to reduce the threshold for council tax increases needed to trigger a local referendum; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The council tax referendum principles are proposed annually by the Government and subject to the approval of the House of Commons. We are open to representations on the principles for 2015-16 and how local residents can continue to be protected from unwanted council tax rises.
A further council tax freeze offer is available for local authorities in 2015-16, and we would encourage all local authorities, including Brighton and Hove, to take up that opportunity.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to increase council powers to evict unauthorised traveller encampments; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government is concerned about the cost and disruption that can be caused by unauthorised traveller encampments. That is why on 9 August 2013 we sent all council leaders in England updated guidance, reminding them to act swiftly and setting out the strong powers councils and landowners have to remove illegal and unauthorised sites on both public and private land.
Our planning policy for traveller sites, issued in March 2012, removed the last Administration's planning guidance (Circular 01/06) which restricted the ability of councils to initiate enforcement action. We are currently reviewing whether further improvements can be made to planning policy and guidance to assist councils in taking action against unauthorised development.
In addition, in the Localism Act 2011 we introduced provisions in England to allow for an appeal against enforcement or a retrospective planning application, not both. And in 2013, we removed a previous restriction on the use of Temporary Stop Notices that prevented local authorities in England taking enforcement action against a caravan used as a main residence.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the total number of ministerial replies from his Department to hon. Members in a parliamentary session; and what proportion of such replies are sent (a) by letter and (b) by email.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given my rt. hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General (Francis Maude) on 7 July, Official Report, Column 5-6W.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given my rt. hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General (Francis Maude) on 7 July, Official Report, Column 5-6W.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to apply the referendum provisions regarding council tax rises to parish and town councils; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 5 February 2014, Official Report columns 19-21WS, in particular, the section on town and parish councils which states:
We have not determined principles for local precepting authorities in 2014-15, but we are putting on notice that we are prepared if necessary to apply the referendum thresholds to larger town and parish councils from 2015-16 onwards to provide protection for local taxpayers and extend the principle of direct democracy.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Whilst noting the many virtues of Brighton, as recognised by the conferring of City status to the towns of Brighton and Hove by Her Majesty in 2000, I am afraid I have to disappoint my hon. Friend. My Department has no current plans to dig out our bucket and spade and move to the seaside.
Since May 2010, my Department's priority has been to rationalise our wider estate to reduce costs. This has seen the Department surrender six leasehold office properties through a combination of lease breaks and expiries generating net savings in the period of around £7 million per annum. The Department has also successfully sub-let surplus space across its leasehold office estate during the same period, reducing the overall property costs by around £11.1 million.
The Department has also negotiated the early surrender of Eland House and is shortly scheduled to relocate to 2 Marsham Street to share premises with the Home Office. This move will reduce our Department's running costs by a further £9 million a year and generate savings for the taxpayer of £220 million over the lifetime of the building's lease. This illustrates the scope for Government and, indeed, the public sector as a whole to make sensible savings through better property management.
However, I commend the hon. Member for his cheerleading of the City as a place to do business.