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100435

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Refuges
	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 the number of children living with parents in women's refuges in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Kirklees, (c) Yorkshire and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	211435
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Statistics requested are not centrally held.<br><br></p><p>Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities; we expect local authorities to commission services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.</p><p> </p><p>The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.</p><p> </p><p>There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has secured £6.5 billion investment to help vulnerable people through housing related support. This forms a key element of refuge funding through local authority commissioned services. We also fund UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare's Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.</p><p> </p><p>We are keeping this matter under review, and are keen to support best practice and greater joint working<em>. </em></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 211433 211434 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:39:30 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

100451

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Refuges
	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 he is taking to ensure that there are sufficient women's refuges to meet demand.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	211433
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Statistics requested are not centrally held.<br><br></p><p>Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities; we expect local authorities to commission services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.</p><p> </p><p>The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.</p><p> </p><p>There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has secured £6.5 billion investment to help vulnerable people through housing related support. This forms a key element of refuge funding through local authority commissioned services. We also fund UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare's Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.</p><p> </p><p>We are keeping this matter under review, and are keen to support best practice and greater joint working<em>. </em></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 211434 211435 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:39:29 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

100452

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Refuges
	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 women's refuges are operating in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Kirklees, (c) Yorkshire and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	211434
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Statistics requested are not centrally held.<br><br></p><p>Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities; we expect local authorities to commission services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.</p><p> </p><p>The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.</p><p> </p><p>There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has secured £6.5 billion investment to help vulnerable people through housing related support. This forms a key element of refuge funding through local authority commissioned services. We also fund UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare's Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.</p><p> </p><p>We are keeping this matter under review, and are keen to support best practice and greater joint working<em>. </em></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 211433 211435 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:39:30 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

100673

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	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 recent representations he has received on recording of council meetings in public.
	tabling member constituency	Thirsk and Malton
	tabling member printed	Miss Anne McIntosh
	uin	211754
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 9 October 2014, PQ 208759, and the answer to her of 8 April 2014, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 222W.</p><p> </p><p>We receive correspondence on a range of local government issues.</p><p> </p><p>We have published a plain English guide on the openness of council meetings to help councils, the press and members of the public.</p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-and-accountable-local-government-plain-english-guide" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-and-accountable-local-government-plain-english-guide</a></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 29/10/2014 16:32:01 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

100674

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Local Government Finance
	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 effect on changes in spending on local government since May 2010 on (a) staff morale and motivation and (b) level of services.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	211756
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>Whilst savings have been made to help tackle the deficit left by the last Labour Government, they have been over-stated. Local government spending (excluding education) is actually higher than it was under the last Labour Government as the table below illustrates:</p><p><em>Local authority net current expenditure (excluding education) in England (£ million)</em></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2008-09</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009-10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010-11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011-12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012-13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013-14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£70,870.578</p></td><td><p>£74,705.768</p></td><td><p>£75,956.637</p></td><td><p>£75,000.191</p></td><td><p>£74,807.852</p></td><td><p>£77,063.700</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><sup>Note: Local government spending on education has structurally fallen due to the transfer of schools to Academy status, which are not funded through Local Education Authorities.</sup></p><p>We have not undertaken any assessment of staff morale, as employment decisions are a matter for local councils as employers. However, residents’ satisfaction is either the same or has increased according to independent surveys:</p><p> </p><p>• Research by ICM has found that 57 per cent of the public think that the quality of public services has improved or stayed the same compared to five years ago. Recycling collections, parks and open spaces, leisure centres and refuse collections are areas where the public think services have particularly improved (ICM Research, <em>BBC News Bailout Anniversary Poll: Attitudes towards public services</em>, September 2013).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>• Opinion research by PwC in 2014 has noted: ‘As with our 2013 survey, almost half of the public we surveyed were unaware of any reductions in local council services in their area. To some extent, this is a testament to the success of local authorities to date in focussing on internal efficiencies while protecting the frontline’ (PwC, <em>The Local State We’re In: PwC’s annual local government survey</em>, 2014, p.7).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>• A Ipsos Mori survey in 2014 has found that two-thirds (63 per cent) of local residents have said that local authority budget reductions have not made a noticeable difference to services (Zurich Municipal, <em>A new world of risk; change for good</em>, July 2014, p.19).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>• The number of respondents who were very or fairly satisfied with the way their local council runs things was 69 per cent in October 2010 (LGA, <em>Polling on resident satisfaction with councils</em>, September 2012). The latest 2014 figures were 70 per cent and 67 per cent (LGA, <em>Polling on resident satisfaction with councils, Full report</em>, January and July 2014).</p><p> </p><p>This shows the scope for the public sector to make sensible savings, whilst protecting frontline services and keeping council tax down.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 03/11/2014 17:01:28 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

101052

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Refuges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department provides to women's refuges.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	212030
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>I refer the rt. hon. Member to my written answer of 28 October 2014, PQs 211433, 211434 and 211435.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 30/10/2014 16:32:34 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

101054

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Local Government: Staff
	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 (a) full-time, (b) part-time, (c) self-employed, (d) casual, (e) fixed-term or contract, (f) apprenticeship and (g) commission-only workers there were in each local authority in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Bury St Edmunds
	tabling member printed	Mr David Ruffley
	uin	211952
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department does not collate or hold this information. The Office for National Statistics collects public sector employment statistics through its Quaterly Public Sector Employment Survey. A detailed breakdown of local government staff by local authority in England and Wales is available on the Local Government Assciation website. The information covers the period from 2006 to 2013 and can be found at:<br><br>http://www.local.gov.uk/local-government-intelligence/-/journal_content/56/10180/2991184/ARTICLE</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 03/11/2014 16:53:08 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	133 label Biography information for Mr David Ruffley

101055

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	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
	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, how many small firms and shops have benefited from reductions in business rates in (a) England and (b) Crawley constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	212013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:</p><p>– a 2% cap in the Retail Price Index increase in the small business rates multiplier;</p><p>– a retail discount of £1,000 for around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000;</p><p>– a 12 month extension of small business rate relief doubling, benefitting over half a million businesses;</p><p>– a 50 per cent discount for new occupants of long-term vacant shops, and;</p><p>– allowing ratepayers to pay bills over 12 instalments.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not collect data on a constituency basis, but the Crawley constituency lies entirely within the Crawley Borough Council boundary. Table 1 (attached) shows, where available, the estimated number of properties that will benefit from each of the reliefs introduced or extended in 2014-15 within Crawley Borough Council, as well as the amount of relief awarded. Table 2 (attached) provides the same data, but for England as a whole.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 05/11/2014 17:34:35 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name 212013 Smith - Table 1 and 2.docx title Table 1 and 2 - Business Rates
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

101065

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Local Government: Data Protection
	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 Depatment's press release of 3 July 2013, entitled Government removes volunteering tax on councillors, what progress his Department has made in implementing the proposal set out in that press release.
	tabling member constituency	Ilford South
	tabling member printed	Mike Gapes
	uin	212132
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>My Department has been working with the Ministry of Justice, who in turn have been working with the Information Commissioner, on changes to the rules about local authority members' notifying the Information Commissioner's Office that they are data controllers, to ensure that any new rules both remove bureaucratic burdens whilst ensuring that local authority members who are data controllers remain aware of their duties and obligations as data controllers.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 03/11/2014 16:54:27 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	184 label Biography information for Mike Gapes

101071

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	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
	hansard heading	Private Finance Initiative
	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 private finance initiative projects his Department contracted for in each year from 1997 to 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	212093
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Communities and Local Government itself did not contract for any private finance initiative projects between 1997 and 2010. The Department did sponsor local authority PFI projects over this period. Details of Department sponsored local authority PFi projects can be found on the government website at the following link:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-projects-2013-summary-data.<br><br>The data can be filtered by procuring authority and then by date of financial close in order to determine how many PFI projects were supported by the Department in a specific year. This information is provided by Departments and published by Treasury each year. The current data is at 31 March 2013 but will be updated with data as at 31 March 2014 shortly.<br><br></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 05/11/2014 16:13:48 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby