Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

42684

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2014
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies of the Law Officers' Departments in the current financial year.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	191801
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p>The Law Officers' Departments have been actively reducing their estate running costs since 2010 in line with Government policy and have already made significant savings.</p><p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) estate rationalisation programme began in 2009 and is set to be completed in 2016, with most of the leases on empty property having expired by then. This programme has already led to a reduction in expenditure and increased efficiency. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has paid £320,178.38 in property business rates in the current financial year on the properties which are currently recorded as vacant on the ePIMS database as at 14 March 2014. The costs figure has been produced by DTZ who are CPS' managing agents and has not yet been audited.</p><p>The Treasury Solicitor's Department owns a lease on a building which has some vacant space. This building attracts full business rates in the current financial year. This lease is due to expire in 2016. The estimated business rates for the vacant proportion of the property for 2013/14 are £59 372.71</p><p>The remaining Law Officers' Departments do not have any vacant properties.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Beaconsfield answering member printed Mr Dominic Grieve question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 16 label Biography information for Mr Dominic Grieve
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

44562

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2014
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Attorney General's Office to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL6219
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p>The Attorney General's Office (AGO) does not have a cost overrun established by the management board above which it merits a budget being tabled at departmental Executive Board. No overruns have been reported to the AGO Executive Board in the last 12 months.</p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Tankerness question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 630 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Tankerness
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

46439

	registered interest
	date	02/04/2014
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, when he expects to answer question No. 191801 tabled by the Rt hon. Member for Leeds Central on 12 March 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	194895
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p>I have done so today.</p> answering member constituency Beaconsfield answering member printed Mr Dominic Grieve question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 16 label Biography information for Mr Dominic Grieve
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

46440

	registered interest
	date	02/04/2014
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment he has made of the cyber security crime skills of staff of the Crown Prosecution Service.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	194951
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has mandatory training for all prosecutors on cybercrime and specific training for prosecutors on offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. This supports guidance for prosecutors on the range of offences which can be committed through the use of cyber technology.</p><p>In addition, the CPS will soon be introducing new consolidated guidance for prosecutors on cyber-offending and a new package of e-learning for prosecutors in relation to cybercrime which will cover: digital evidence gathering; online grooming; online fraud; and, social media.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Beaconsfield answering member printed Mr Dominic Grieve question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 16 label Biography information for Mr Dominic Grieve
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

19992

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2013
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, his Department has made in each year since 2010; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
	tabling member printed	Chris Leslie
	uin	175475
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>Role of the Department</em></p><p>Reflecting our responsibilities for local government, housing, planning and communities across England, the work of the Department involves staff travelling to different parts of the country.</p><p>Improved procurement has reduced our average domestic hotel rate in the UK by 8% between 2009-10 and 2012-13. Moreover, domestic flights for longer journeys can avoid the need for paying for staff to stay in a hotel overnight.</p><p>Since 2011-12, the Department accepted responsibility for some new functions outside of London, including residual functions following the closure of the Government Offices for the Regions and then oversight of the European Regional Development Fund following the abolition of the Regional Development Agencies. As these business functions relate to work in areas outside of London and to the European Commission, this has therefore increased our travel spend compared to the base of 2010-11. However, this is far more than offset by the very significant savings to taxpayers of the abolition of these regional bodies.</p><p>Based on current estimates (which reflect accounting consequences from machinery of government changes) the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by around 40% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532 million over this spending review period and includes savings of around £420 million from the closure of the Government Offices for the Regions.</p><p>In addition to this, I note that the Regional Development Agencies were spending in the region of £246 million a year on administration (as cited in 11 March 2009, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 592W).</p><p><em>Spending data</em></p><p>The tables below list spending on travel by financial year. Figures for 2009-10 are from July 2009, as this is when the department's current approved travel agent contract commenced; those figures are therefore only for three-quarters of the financial year, and the full year is likely to be proportionately higher.</p><p> </p><table><thead><tr><td> </td><td><p><em>Overseas Travel</em></p></td><td><p><em>Overseas Accommodation</em></p></td><td><p><em>Overseas Subsistence</em></p></td><td><p><em>Total</em></p></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p>July 2009 - March 10</p></td><td><p>£408,621</p></td><td><p>£19,847</p></td><td><p>£79,574</p></td><td><p>£508,042 (part-year)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£56,304</p></td><td><p>£21,759</p></td><td><p>£27,798</p></td><td><p>£105,861</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£69,463</p></td><td><p>£21,204</p></td><td><p>£19,946</p></td><td><p>£110,613</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£78,474</p></td><td><p>£29,224</p></td><td><p>£21,911</p></td><td><p>£129,609</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><thead><tr><td> </td><td><p><em>UK Travel</em></p></td><td><p><em>UK Accommodation</em></p></td><td><p><em>UK Subsistence</em></p></td><td><p><em>Total</em></p></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p>July 2009 - March 10</p></td><td><p>£621,028</p></td><td><p>£309,260</p></td><td><p>£174,888</p></td><td><p>£1,105,176 (part-year)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£434,467</p></td><td><p>£199,563</p></td><td><p>£81,315</p></td><td><p>£715,345</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£980,307</p></td><td><p>£162,544</p></td><td><p>£71,913</p></td><td><p>£1,214,764</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£1,030,710</p></td><td><p>£166,149</p></td><td><p>£74,424</p></td><td><p>£1,271,283</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Explanatory notes:</p><p>- Overseas subsistence costs can include accommodation, meals and travel tickets purchased locally.</p><p>- The costs of internal travel abroad are not routinely recorded in the form requested and this information could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.</p><p>- Data on cost per trip is not centrally held in the form requested.</p><p>- For car hire, the data from our finance systems do not separate out expenditure for domestic and international car hire and this could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p>- For helicopter hire, our records show that the Department has incurred no expenditure on this since 2010-11.</p><p>- Figures contained in this answer may differ from previous answers to Parliamentary Questions, as the data extracts have been re-run and reflect ongoing accruals and data. Delays in billing or crediting transactions can sometimes have an effect on the spend data between the financial years.</p><p>Taken in the whole, we have reduced overall travel spending compared to the last Administration, and delivered substantive savings for taxpayers' from the abolition of regional government in England.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis grouped question UIN 176826 question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	422 label Biography information for Mr Chris Leslie

25299

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2013
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost of travel within the UK was for his Department in each year since 2010; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence.
	tabling member constituency	Islwyn
	tabling member printed	Chris Evans
	uin	176826
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>Role of the Department</em></p><p>Reflecting our responsibilities for local government, housing, planning and communities across England, the work of the Department involves staff travelling to different parts of the country.</p><p>Improved procurement has reduced our average domestic hotel rate in the UK by 8% between 2009-10 and 2012-13. Moreover, domestic flights for longer journeys can avoid the need for paying for staff to stay in a hotel overnight.</p><p>Since 2011-12, the Department accepted responsibility for some new functions outside of London, including residual functions following the closure of the Government Offices for the Regions and then oversight of the European Regional Development Fund following the abolition of the Regional Development Agencies. As these business functions relate to work in areas outside of London and to the European Commission, this has therefore increased our travel spend compared to the base of 2010-11. However, this is far more than offset by the very significant savings to taxpayers of the abolition of these regional bodies.</p><p>Based on current estimates (which reflect accounting consequences from machinery of government changes) the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by around 40% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532 million over this spending review period and includes savings of around £420 million from the closure of the Government Offices for the Regions.</p><p>In addition to this, I note that the Regional Development Agencies were spending in the region of £246 million a year on administration (as cited in 11 March 2009, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 592W).</p><p><em>Spending data</em></p><p>The tables below list spending on travel by financial year. Figures for 2009-10 are from July 2009, as this is when the department's current approved travel agent contract commenced; those figures are therefore only for three-quarters of the financial year, and the full year is likely to be proportionately higher.</p><p> </p><table><thead><tr><td> </td><td><p><em>Overseas Travel</em></p></td><td><p><em>Overseas Accommodation</em></p></td><td><p><em>Overseas Subsistence</em></p></td><td><p><em>Total</em></p></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p>July 2009 - March 10</p></td><td><p>£408,621</p></td><td><p>£19,847</p></td><td><p>£79,574</p></td><td><p>£508,042 (part-year)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£56,304</p></td><td><p>£21,759</p></td><td><p>£27,798</p></td><td><p>£105,861</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£69,463</p></td><td><p>£21,204</p></td><td><p>£19,946</p></td><td><p>£110,613</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£78,474</p></td><td><p>£29,224</p></td><td><p>£21,911</p></td><td><p>£129,609</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><thead><tr><td> </td><td><p><em>UK Travel</em></p></td><td><p><em>UK Accommodation</em></p></td><td><p><em>UK Subsistence</em></p></td><td><p><em>Total</em></p></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p>July 2009 - March 10</p></td><td><p>£621,028</p></td><td><p>£309,260</p></td><td><p>£174,888</p></td><td><p>£1,105,176 (part-year)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£434,467</p></td><td><p>£199,563</p></td><td><p>£81,315</p></td><td><p>£715,345</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£980,307</p></td><td><p>£162,544</p></td><td><p>£71,913</p></td><td><p>£1,214,764</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£1,030,710</p></td><td><p>£166,149</p></td><td><p>£74,424</p></td><td><p>£1,271,283</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Explanatory notes:</p><p>- Overseas subsistence costs can include accommodation, meals and travel tickets purchased locally.</p><p>- The costs of internal travel abroad are not routinely recorded in the form requested and this information could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.</p><p>- Data on cost per trip is not centrally held in the form requested.</p><p>- For car hire, the data from our finance systems do not separate out expenditure for domestic and international car hire and this could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p>- For helicopter hire, our records show that the Department has incurred no expenditure on this since 2010-11.</p><p>- Figures contained in this answer may differ from previous answers to Parliamentary Questions, as the data extracts have been re-run and reflect ongoing accruals and data. Delays in billing or crediting transactions can sometimes have an effect on the spend data between the financial years.</p><p>Taken in the whole, we have reduced overall travel spending compared to the last Administration, and delivered substantive savings for taxpayers' from the abolition of regional government in England.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis grouped question UIN 175475 question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

44590

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2014
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made about the number of off-plan and readily available houses that are purchased by foreign investors.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bradshaw
	uin	HL6247
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p>The Department does not collect information on the number of foreign buyers of new build properties.</p><p>However, publicly available research has looked at the influence ‘international buyers' have in the new build market in London. Savills suggest of an estimated 97,000 Greater London sales in 2012 (which includes existing property), only 750 were “prime new build sales to international second home buyers”. An estimated 3,000 were for investment in lettings, and therefore available to UK residents as tenants.</p><p>(<a href="http://pdf.euro.savills.co.uk/residential---other/spot-worldlondon-lr.pdf" target="_blank">http://pdf.euro.savills.co.uk/residential---other/spot-worldlondon-lr.pdf</a>)</p><p>Knight Frank (October 2013) found that between 85 and 90 per cent of new build purchases in Greater London over the last two years went to UK residents. They note that “Our research points to the fact that the majority of demand for new-build property in London from overseas remains focussed on the relatively small and concentrated market made up of the central London postcodes.”</p><p>(<a href="http://resources.knightfrank.com/GetResearchResource.ashx?versionid=2017&amp;type=1" target="_blank">http://resources.knightfrank.com/GetResearchResource.ashx?versionid=2017&amp;type=1</a>)</p><p>I would also refer the noble Lord to my reply to him of 1 April 2014, <em>Official Report</em>, columns WA179-180.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2483 label Biography information for Lord Bradshaw

44896

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2014
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of surplus public land sold so far to support housebuilding and development.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Seccombe
	uin	HL6299
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p>The Government has taken action to free up land for productive economic use. At the end of December 2013, the Public Sector Land Programme had sold surplus Government owned land capable of delivering over 68,000 homes in England as part of our ambition to dispose of surplus land with capacity for 100,000 homes by 2015. And through the recently concluded Strategic Land and Property Review the Government has identified scope to release £5 billion from its land and property between 2015 and 2020, creating opportunities for housing and economic development.The Government will look to quantify the housing and growth ambitions for this new programme by the time of the Autumn Statement.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2097 label Biography information for Baroness Seccombe

45206

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	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
	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 he has made of the prevalence of wind turbine developers using the Community Right to Build scheme to circumvent the local planning process.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	193840
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Community Right to Build allows local communities to undertake small-scale, site-specific, community-led developments. It may only be used by community organisations in which local people in the relevant neighbourhood area have a majority of the voting rights and have the majority on the board of directors or governing body of the organisation, and, include different people from at least 10 different addresses within the area. This means the Community Right to Build cannot be used by property developers, including wind turbine developers, to gain planning permission for their development proposal - unless that development is something that the community wishes to see and which the community initiates.</p><p>Proposals that require an Environmental Impact Assessment or are likely to have significant effects on a site protected under the Habitats Regulations are not eligible to use the Community Right to Build. Where proposals are eligible they will be tested by an independent examiner to see that they are appropriate in the light of national planning policy and generally conform with the strategic policies of the Local Plan for the area and any neighbourhood plans that are in force.</p><p>The National Planning Policy Framework is very clear that local councils should design their policies to ensure the adverse impacts of renewable energy developments are addressed satisfactorily. To help implement the environmental balance expected by the Framework, we issued new planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy last July. The guidance makes clear that the need for renewable energy does not automatically override environmental protections and the planning concerns of local communities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

45207

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides on how much funding from the Local Government Finance Settlement local authorities should allocate to virtual headteachers.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	193878
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Both Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates, the two local authority funding streams directly included within the Local Government Finance Settlement, are unringfenced, therefore, authorities can use them to fund any service, provided they meet their statutory duties. It is up to authorities to decide how to set their budgets, taking into account local priorities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe