Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to extend the deadline for when significant spend on successful bids to the Levelling Up Fund has to be achieved.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
In the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, we will prioritise projects which are able to demonstrate investment or begin delivery on the ground in the 2021-22 financial year. We would expect all funding provided from the Fund to be spent by 31 March 2024, and, exceptionally, into 2024-25 for larger schemes. The approach set out in the Prospectus will be kept under review for future rounds and announcements about the future of the Fund will be made later this year.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, by what date he plans to announce which bids to the first round of the Levelling Up Fund have been successful.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
I am delighted to say that the first round of the Levelling Up Fund received significant interest. Bids are currently being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes from the first round of bids for the Levelling Up Fund will be announced later in the year and bidding authorities will be informed in due course.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, £105 million to keep rough sleepers safe and off the streets during coronavirus pandemic, published on 24 June 2020, whether that additional funding can be used to support people with no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
At the beginning of the crisis, our priority was to urgently bring vulnerable people inside so they could self-isolate and stop the virus spreading. We backed this with £3.2 million in emergency funding for local authorities to support vulnerable rough sleepers, and a further £3.2 billion to help councils to manage the impacts of COVID-19, including supporting homeless people. The £3.2 billion funding is not ringfenced and can be used across any local services facing pressures, including rough sleeping.
On 24?June?we announced that we are?providing local authorities with?a further?£105 million?to enable them?to?best?support the c15,000 people placed into emergency accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic.?This funding is on top of the £433 million which we announced on 24 May to provide thousands of additional?long-term?homes for vulnerable rough sleepers.?This commitment?will help?to ensure that as few of these people as possible return to the streets.?The funding will cover a range of interventions, from moves into the?private?rented?sector, to?extending?or procuring interim accommodation?such as hotels or student accommodation?and supporting individuals to reconnect with friends or family. This could also include provision for people eligible through the suspension of the derogation or support to return home.
It is at the discretion of local authorities to decide who they can support, whether this is British citizens or foreign nationals. The rules relating to eligibility, including those for individuals with no resource to public funds, have not changed. Local authorities must use their judgement in assessing what support they may lawfully give to each person on an individual basis, considering that person’s specific circumstances and support needs. Local authorities already regularly make such judgements on accommodating individuals who might otherwise be ineligible, during extreme weather for example, where there is a risk to life. The Government recognises that these are unprecedented times and expects local authorities to support people who are sleeping rough, and also to minimise unnecessary risks to public health, acting within the law.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the quantity was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department, (ii) the Planning Inspectorate, (iii) the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, (iv) the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, and (v) Homes England in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Jake Berry
The information requested for (i) the Department, (ii) Planning Inspectorate, (iii) Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and (v) Homes England are set out in the tables at annex A. The information for (iv) the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) is not held centrally. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is committed to delivering a sustainable government estate and has reduced its carbon emissions by 64 per cent since 2009-10.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the cost was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department, (ii) the Planning Inspectorate, (iii) the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, (iv) the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and (v) Homes England in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Jake Berry
The information requested for (i) the Department, (ii) Planning Inspectorate, (iii) Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and (v) Homes England are set out in the attached table.
The information for (iv) the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) is not held centrally.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is committed to delivering a sustainable government estate and has reduced its carbon emissions by 64 per cent since 2009-10.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 121912, if she will publish the template grant agreement that is to be the basis for the agreements for the local authority asylum support liaison officers between the Government and successful applicant local authorities.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is committed to ensuring that the transition from government-supported accommodation into mainstream services is as smooth as possible for all those granted refugee status.
My Department will be awarding £1.75 million from the Controlling Migration Fund in 2018/19 to successful English local authorities who applied to trial new ways of supporting new refugees into housing, employment and English language learning.
We have no current plans to publish the template grant agreement letter, although individual local authorities may choose to do so once they have been notified of the outcome of their application.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding the Government is providing for the Supporting the asylum dispersal scheme; and for how long his Department plans to provide such funding.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is providing funding of up to £2.5 million from the local services element of the Controlling Migration Fund (CMF) which is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The funding made available for this scheme comes from an existing MHCLG budget; it is not new funding. Therefore Barnett consequentials do not apply.
The Government has no plans or remit to extend the scheme to local authorities in the devolved nations, which have their own funding arrangements in this area including through the Immigration Enforcement part of the CMF.
Funding is available for 2018/19 and the Government intends to publish its plans for the national evaluation of the scheme in due course. We expect all participating local authorities to contribute to the evaluation exercise so that lessons can be learned to inform the new arrangements for asylum seeker support from 2019.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish details of her plans for the national evaluation exercise of the Supporting the asylum dispersal scheme including but not limited to (a) whether and (b) in what ways evidence from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will be collated and applied in the pilot to inform the new arrangements for asylum seeker support across the UK from 2019.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is providing funding of up to £2.5 million from the local services element of the Controlling Migration Fund (CMF) which is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The funding made available for this scheme comes from an existing MHCLG budget; it is not new funding. Therefore Barnett consequentials do not apply.
The Government has no plans or remit to extend the scheme to local authorities in the devolved nations, which have their own funding arrangements in this area including through the Immigration Enforcement part of the CMF.
Funding is available for 2018/19 and the Government intends to publish its plans for the national evaluation of the scheme in due course. We expect all participating local authorities to contribute to the evaluation exercise so that lessons can be learned to inform the new arrangements for asylum seeker support from 2019.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Supporting the asylum dispersal scheme will result in Barnett consequentials for the devolved governments in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c)Wales.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is providing funding of up to £2.5 million from the local services element of the Controlling Migration Fund (CMF) which is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The funding made available for this scheme comes from an existing MHCLG budget; it is not new funding. Therefore Barnett consequentials do not apply.
The Government has no plans or remit to extend the scheme to local authorities in the devolved nations, which have their own funding arrangements in this area including through the Immigration Enforcement part of the CMF.
Funding is available for 2018/19 and the Government intends to publish its plans for the national evaluation of the scheme in due course. We expect all participating local authorities to contribute to the evaluation exercise so that lessons can be learned to inform the new arrangements for asylum seeker support from 2019.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to extend the Supporting the asylum dispersal scheme, or an alternative scheme, to local authorities in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is providing funding of up to £2.5 million from the local services element of the Controlling Migration Fund (CMF) which is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The funding made available for this scheme comes from an existing MHCLG budget; it is not new funding. Therefore Barnett consequentials do not apply.
The Government has no plans or remit to extend the scheme to local authorities in the devolved nations, which have their own funding arrangements in this area including through the Immigration Enforcement part of the CMF.
Funding is available for 2018/19 and the Government intends to publish its plans for the national evaluation of the scheme in due course. We expect all participating local authorities to contribute to the evaluation exercise so that lessons can be learned to inform the new arrangements for asylum seeker support from 2019.