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228081

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	McDonalds Restaurants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2015 to Question 227530, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the planning system of the decision by McDonald's to move from business to residential areas; and whether he plans to offer guidance to local authorities on taking decisions on applications for planning permission arising from that decision in this matter.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	228277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>We have no plans to wage some battle against McDonalds or any other restaurant. McDonalds has 1,200 restaurants across the United Kingdom, serves millions of customers every day, and creates jobs and opportunities for local people and local businesses.</p><p> </p><p>The planning system is primarily intended to control and mitigate the spatial impact of development. Councils can use their Local Plans to shape where retail development should go, ensure the right balance of use classes, and prevent any negative cumulative impact of multiple premises in the same vicinity. The Licensing Act regime also regulates the late night operation of hot food takeaways, in as far as it relates to the four specific licensing objectives (including the prevention of public nuisance).</p><p> </p><p>However, the planning system is ultimately not a means for the nanny state to regulate the type of food that people eat, nor is it there to pursue some form of inverted snobbery against Big Macs.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 26/03/2015 15:50:15 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis previous answer version 51984 answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

228082

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Social Services: Hampshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of spending on adult social care in (a) Portsmouth and (b) Southampton local authority areas in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Southampton, Itchen
tabling member printed	Mr John Denham
uin	228169
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>Spending figures can be found in the revenue outturn returns published on the Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and Financing tables on gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the need to pay off the deficit left by the last Labour Government, net current expenditure on social care has increased from £20.962 billion in 2009-10 to £22.089 billion in 2014-15 (budget).</p><p> </p><p>Government initiatives like the Better Care Fund are joining up the NHS and social care, so savings can be delivered through joint working and outcomes improved.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 227764 question first answered 25/03/2015 17:40:41 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 52140 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	61 label Biography information for Mr John Denham

228083

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government: Yorkshire and the Humber
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow City of York Council to join the West Yorkshire Combined Authority; whether the new city deal announced in the Budget for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority will apply also to City of York Council; when City of York Council first notified his Department of its wish to join the West Yorkshire Combined Authority; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Sir Hugh Bayley
uin	228261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>The West Yorkshire governance review, published in July 2013, stated the wish for the area of the City of York Council to be included in the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, should the necessary legislative changes be made. The Government is committed to ensure that the combined authorities’ legislation is appropriate. Following its recent consultation, the Government intends shortly to lay a draft Legislative Reform Order which, if approved and made during the next Parliament, would give greater flexibility to enable - for example – local authority areas which do not all share a boundary but which are in same functional economic area, to form or join a combined authority. Changes can be made to an existing combined authority on the approval of Parliament. If York and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority wish for York to join the Combined Authority, and if the statutory conditions are met and there is wide local support, this Government would seek Parliament’s approval to make this change. The devolution deal announced on 18 March includes the City Of York.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 23/03/2015 17:50:19 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	385 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Bayley

228084

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Parking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's announcement, Government delivers on parking promises to help local shops, published on 6 March 2015, if he will take further steps to ensure that local authority parking schemes are more advantageous to motorists.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	228091
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>Higher parking charges and more parking fines were the explicit policy of the Labour Government.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Labour Ministers called for councils to charge for more services, including parking, bemoaning that: ‘Only one in five councils are using charging to the full potential... [such as for] reducing congestion’ (Speech to the Local Government Association, 2 July 2008).</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Planning guidance issued by the Labour Government in 2001 (PPG13) told councils to hike parking charges and adopt aggressive enforcement to discourage drivers.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Labour Ministers asserted: ‘The local government sector already has significant powers to raise revenue through fees and charges in return for the provision of services, and many councils have used this mechanism extensively to support local service delivery (for example through parking charges… The Government supports councils in looking creatively at the scope offered by fees and charges’ (DCLG, <em>Government response to the CLG Select Committee report into the balance of power: central and local government</em>, 18 September 2009).</li></ul><p> </p><p>Yet unreasonable parking charges and fines push up hard-working people’s cost of living. If parking is too expensive or difficult, shoppers will simply drive to out of town supermarkets or just shop on-line, undermining the vitality of town centres and leading to ‘ghost town’ high streets. This Government has rejected the Labour policy of encouraging higher parking charges and aggressive parking enforcement, and has been standing up for hard-working people and local shops.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2010, we have:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Scrapped Labour’s Whitehall policy that pressured councils to hike car parking charges as a ‘demand management measure’ to discourage car use.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Removed Whitehall restrictions which restricted the provision of off-street parking spaces, and issued new national planning policy to discourage unnecessary restrictions on parking spaces being provided in new developments.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Abolished Labour’s Whitehall policy which inhibited parking charge competition between council areas, and instead introduced a new policy that says parking charges should not undermine the vitality of town centres, and stated that parking enforcement should be proportionate;</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Issued new planning practice guidance on removing street clutter and encouraging the provision of shopper-friendly parking space provision.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Introduced the local retention of business rates, which means that councils benefit from business and retail growth in town centres, rather than just hiking parking charges.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Increased parking transparency through the local government Transparency Code so councils are required to publish how income from parking charges is being used.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Stopped the industrial use of CCTV for parking enforcement: this will commence in April following the Deregulation Bill receiving Royal Assent.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Introduced a mandatory 10 minute “grace period” at the end of on-street and off-street, free and paid municipal parking.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Introduced a new right to allow local residents and local firms to demand a review of parking in their area, including charges and the use of yellow lines.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Changed guidance so drivers parking at an out-of-order meter are not fined if there are no alternative ways to pay.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Reformed statutory parking guidance so it is less heavy handed with drivers, prevents over-aggressive action by bailiffs, positively supports local shops and clearly reinforces the prohibition against parking being used to generate profit.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Updated guidance so the public know when they can be awarded costs at tribunals; strengthened the power of adjudicators to overturn parking fines; frozen parking fines in this Parliament; the Government will also be trialling a 25% discount for motorists who lose an appeal against a parking ticket at tribunal on the full price of their parking ticket</li></ul><p> </p><p>My Department has now taken on the policy responsibility for off-street parking, both municipal and on private land. We will consult shortly on areas where we can intervene to tackle unfair practices. We will also address the issue of local authorities not offering any cash payment facilities in municipal parking.<br><br></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 25/03/2015 17:38:21 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228085

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Better Care Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that the Better Care Fund helps councils provide services faster and with improved value for money.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	228088
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>The Better Care Fund aims to keep people well and independent at home, delivering better care and value for money. Through locally led Better Care plans, local areas will spend over £2 billion on protecting social care, supporting over 2,500 more people to live independently rather than move to a care home.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/03/2015 14:38:02 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228086

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the local economic benefits arising from the small business rate relief scheme.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	228090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>We have doubled the level of small business rate relief since October 2010. For 2015-16, this means an estimated 400,000 properties are paying no rates at all, while a further 200,000 properties are benefitting from tapered relief.</p><p> </p><p>Small businesses will also benefit from other measures in our £1.4 billion package of support for 2015-16 bills, including the 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier for two years and the £1,500 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000. They will also benefit from wider support for small businesses.</p><p> </p><p>Business rates are a proportionately higher fixed cost for small businesses as compared to large. The doubling of Small Business Rate Relief therefore provides targeted support to reduce small businesses’ tax burden.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/03/2015 14:36:52 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228087

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing: Construction
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to explore the use of flat-pack housing as a means of tackling housing shortages.
tabling member constituency	Mid Dorset and North Poole
tabling member printed	Annette Brooke
uin	228031
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>This Government wants to see high quality housing built quickly and efficiently and is working closely with the housebuilding industry to encourage take up of innovative approaches, including advanced housing manufacturing construction.</p><p> </p><p>The Government commissioned an industry-led Off-Site Housing Review report which was published in February 2013 and is available on the Construction Industry Council’s website at:</p><p><a href="http://cic.org.uk/news/article.php?s=2013-02-28-cic-presents-housing-minister-with-offsite-housing-review-report" target="_blank">http://cic.org.uk/news/article.php?s=2013-02-28-cic-presents-housing-minister-with-offsite-housing-review-report</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are also encouraging the use of innovative construction techniques through our national planning guidance, published in March 2014, and our Affordable Homes 2015-18, Build to Rent and Housing Zones programmes.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Ministers have made a number of visits to housing developments recently, highlighting the quality and speed of construction benefits that advanced manufacturing can bring.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis grouped question UIN 228032 question first answered 23/03/2015 17:56:12 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	1431 label Biography information for Annette Brooke

228088

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing: Rural Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of flat-pack housing as a solution to housing shortages in rural areas.
tabling member constituency	Mid Dorset and North Poole
tabling member printed	Annette Brooke
uin	228032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>This Government wants to see high quality housing built quickly and efficiently and is working closely with the housebuilding industry to encourage take up of innovative approaches, including advanced housing manufacturing construction.</p><p> </p><p>The Government commissioned an industry-led Off-Site Housing Review report which was published in February 2013 and is available on the Construction Industry Council’s website at:</p><p><a href="http://cic.org.uk/news/article.php?s=2013-02-28-cic-presents-housing-minister-with-offsite-housing-review-report" target="_blank">http://cic.org.uk/news/article.php?s=2013-02-28-cic-presents-housing-minister-with-offsite-housing-review-report</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are also encouraging the use of innovative construction techniques through our national planning guidance, published in March 2014, and our Affordable Homes 2015-18, Build to Rent and Housing Zones programmes.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Ministers have made a number of visits to housing developments recently, highlighting the quality and speed of construction benefits that advanced manufacturing can bring.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis grouped question UIN 228031 question first answered 23/03/2015 17:56:13 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	1431 label Biography information for Annette Brooke

228284

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Forced Labour
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2015 to Question 221886, how many cases of forced labour have been found by local authorities during pro-active inspection of houses of multiple occupation in the last five years; and what training his Department provides to officials in local authorities on (a) the indicators of forced labour and (b) working with victims of trauma.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	228292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>The Department does not collect information on the number of local authority inspections of Houses in Multiple Occupation. The Department does not have policy responsibility for forced labour or victims of trauma, consequently local authority officers do not receive training from my Department on the indicators of forced labour or working with victims of trauma. To support local authorities, we have just published revised guidance on tackling rogue landlords, as well as beds in sheds. This builds on the £6.7 million the Government has given councils to tackle rogue landlords in their area. To date, nearly 40,000 properties have been inspected and over 3,000 landlords are now facing further action or prosecution for breaking the law.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 25/03/2015 17:52:17 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis previous answer version 51990 answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

228285

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Landlords
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2015 to Question 221886, when he expects the updated guidance to local authorities on dealing with rogue landlords to be published.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	228291
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>The guidance was published on 13 March and can be accessed at:</p><p><br>www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-the-private-rented-sector-and-tackling-bad-practice-a-guide-for-local-authorities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 23/03/2015 17:51:29 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield