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Written Question
Chess: Finance
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Installing chess tables in parks and public spaces: prospectus, published on 1 September 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to local authorities for chess pieces to accompany the chess tables.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

85 local authorities that received Levelling Up Parks Fund funding were invited to apply for the chess tables funding. In total, 55 local authorities applied for the funding. We have provided funding to those 55 local authorities to install 99 chess tables across England.

We have asked local authorities to consider how the location they choose creates new opportunities, helps to strengthen relationships, builds local social cohesion and provides opportunities for people to come together in a joint activity.

Prior to the announcement of funding, we engaged stakeholders across Government, as well as local authorities and the English Chess Federation.

Local authorities know their communities best and are best placed to manage the use and assess the effects of the chess tables locally, if they choose to do so.

Any decisions to provide chess sets are for local authorities to take.

Further announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Chess: Finance
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to ensure that newly-installed chess tables funded by his Department are used for their intended purpose.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

85 local authorities that received Levelling Up Parks Fund funding were invited to apply for the chess tables funding. In total, 55 local authorities applied for the funding. We have provided funding to those 55 local authorities to install 99 chess tables across England.

We have asked local authorities to consider how the location they choose creates new opportunities, helps to strengthen relationships, builds local social cohesion and provides opportunities for people to come together in a joint activity.

Prior to the announcement of funding, we engaged stakeholders across Government, as well as local authorities and the English Chess Federation.

Local authorities know their communities best and are best placed to manage the use and assess the effects of the chess tables locally, if they choose to do so.

Any decisions to provide chess sets are for local authorities to take.

Further announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Culture: Levelling Up Fund
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of Levelling Up funding was provided to cultural activities in the 2022-23 financial year; and how much and what proportion of planned funding for cultural activities was unallocated in the same period.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Culture Top Slice of the Levelling Up Fund has now been allocated. Details were set out at Budget. Further announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Chess: Finance
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Major investment to transform future of English chess announced, published on 22 August 2023, whether he plans to assess the impact of funding chess tables on (a) levels of loneliness and (b) people's problem solving skills.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

85 local authorities that received Levelling Up Parks Fund funding were invited to apply for the chess tables funding. In total, 55 local authorities applied for the funding. We have provided funding to those 55 local authorities to install 99 chess tables across England.

We have asked local authorities to consider how the location they choose creates new opportunities, helps to strengthen relationships, builds local social cohesion and provides opportunities for people to come together in a joint activity.

Prior to the announcement of funding, we engaged stakeholders across Government, as well as local authorities and the English Chess Federation.

Local authorities know their communities best and are best placed to manage the use and assess the effects of the chess tables locally, if they choose to do so.

Any decisions to provide chess sets are for local authorities to take.

Further announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Chess: Finance
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department held discussions with relevant stakeholders prior to the announcement of funding for local authorities to install chess tables in public spaces.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

85 local authorities that received Levelling Up Parks Fund funding were invited to apply for the chess tables funding. In total, 55 local authorities applied for the funding. We have provided funding to those 55 local authorities to install 99 chess tables across England.

We have asked local authorities to consider how the location they choose creates new opportunities, helps to strengthen relationships, builds local social cohesion and provides opportunities for people to come together in a joint activity.

Prior to the announcement of funding, we engaged stakeholders across Government, as well as local authorities and the English Chess Federation.

Local authorities know their communities best and are best placed to manage the use and assess the effects of the chess tables locally, if they choose to do so.

Any decisions to provide chess sets are for local authorities to take.

Further announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Chess: Finance
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many local authorities submitted bids for funding for new chess tables.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

85 local authorities that received Levelling Up Parks Fund funding were invited to apply for the chess tables funding. In total, 55 local authorities applied for the funding. We have provided funding to those 55 local authorities to install 99 chess tables across England.

We have asked local authorities to consider how the location they choose creates new opportunities, helps to strengthen relationships, builds local social cohesion and provides opportunities for people to come together in a joint activity.

Prior to the announcement of funding, we engaged stakeholders across Government, as well as local authorities and the English Chess Federation.

Local authorities know their communities best and are best placed to manage the use and assess the effects of the chess tables locally, if they choose to do so.

Any decisions to provide chess sets are for local authorities to take.

Further announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Housing: Sales
Monday 24th April 2023

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the balance of risk between the buyer and seller of a house when entering a contract.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Government is committed to reforming the home buying and selling process and has set its intent to work with industry to ensure the better availability of essential property information upfront, in a digital format. As a result, buyers will have all the critical information they need to know before making an offer on a property, which should lead to an increased level of commitment once an offer is accepted.


Written Question
Housing: Disability
Tuesday 14th March 2023

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2023 to Question 142735 on Housing: Disability, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to encourage estate agents to publish information on whether properties they are selling are accessible for wheelchair users.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Departmental officials work with housing stakeholders who are considering the question of market place visibility of wheelchair-accessible homes. There are other stakeholders working on compiling their own registers of accessible housing.


Written Question
Wheelchairs: Access
Friday 24th February 2023

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to encourage (a) shops, (b) pubs, (c) cafes, (d) restaurants and (e) other public facing businesses to publish information on whether their businesses are accessible for wheelchair users.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

In offering services, shops, pubs, cafés, restaurants or other public facing business have a duty to anticipate making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 and disabled people are supported to complain to a business owner, where they face physical barriers. The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Equality Act.

Building control bodies check for compliance with regulatory requirements including accessibility at the point a building is built.


Written Question
Wheelchairs: Access
Friday 24th February 2023

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department collects data on the wheelchair accessibility of (a) shops, (b) pubs, (c) cafes, (d) restaurants and (e) other public facing businesses.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

In offering services, shops, pubs, cafés, restaurants or other public facing business have a duty to anticipate making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 and disabled people are supported to complain to a business owner, where they face physical barriers. The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Equality Act.

Building control bodies check for compliance with regulatory requirements including accessibility at the point a building is built.