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227703

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	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 Rented Housing: Blackpool
	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 households in Blackpool South constituency were on local authority housing waiting lists in (a) May 2010 and (b) February 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
	tabling member printed	Mr Gordon Marsden
	uin	227928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2015 answer text <p>Statistics on the numbers of households on local authorities' housing waiting lists in each local authority district, including Blackpool, are published in the Department's live table 600, which is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies</a><br><br>These statistics are not available by parliamentary constituency.<br><br>In the Blackpool local authority area, housing waiting lists under the last Labour Government rose from 4,159 in April 1997 to 6,769 in April 2010. Under this Government, they have fallen to 4,843 as of April 2014.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 20/03/2015 12:38:59 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

227735

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	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: Blackpool
	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 families were recorded as living in overcrowded conditions in Blackpool South constituency in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
	tabling member printed	Mr Gordon Marsden
	uin	227930
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2015 answer text <p>The social housing reforms in the Localism Act have given local authorities and social landlords the tools they need to tackle overcrowding; while retaining the reasonable preference provisions in the allocation legislation which ensure that overcrowded families continue to get priority for social housing. HomeSwap Direct is there to make it easier for overcrowded social tenants to swap with those who want to downsize. The removal of the spare room subsidy also encourages the more effective use of social housing, by addressing the under-occupation of family homes.</p><p> </p><p>Our Affordable Homes Programme is on track to deliver 170,000 new affordable homes between 2011 and 2015, with £19.5 billion of public and private funding. A further £38 billion public and private investment will help ensure 275,000 new affordable homes are provided between 2015 and 2020.</p><p> </p><p><br><br>Data on occupancy at the local authority level from the 2011 Census is published at:</p><p><a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-wards-and-output-areas-in-england-and-wales/rft-qs412ew.xls" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-wards-and-output-areas-in-england-and-wales/rft-qs412ew.xls</a></p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 20/03/2015 12:54:27 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

227736

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	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	Affordable Housing: Blackpool
	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 affordable homes were built (a) for rent and (b) for purchase in Blackpool South constituency in each year from 2010 to 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
	tabling member printed	Mr Gordon Marsden
	uin	227929
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2015 answer text <p>From April 2010 to September 2014, 400 affordable homes have been delivered in Blackpool.<br><br>Statistics on total additional affordable housing provided in England and in each local authority district , including Blackpool, are published in the Department’s live table 1008, which is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply<br><br></a>They include both newly built housing and acquisitions and do not show separate figures for rent and purchase.</p><p>These statistics are not available by parliamentary constituency.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 20/03/2015 12:35:56 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

228286

	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	Non-domestic Rates: Lancashire
	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 small firms and shops likely to be affected by the planned reduction in business rates in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire in 2015-16.
	tabling member constituency	Pendle
	tabling member printed	Andrew Stephenson
	uin	228218
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2015 answer text <p>The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rate bills, bringing the total support of 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement polices to £1.4 billion. This help includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>doubling small business rate relief for a further year. In England, this means an estimated 400,000 properties will pay no rates at all, while a further 200,000 properties will benefit from tapered relief;</li><li>a 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier. This is a continuation of the 2% cap introduced in 2014-15 as part of Autumn Statement 2013 measures;</li><li>increasing the temporary discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 from £1,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16, benefitting an estimated 200,000 properties in England; and</li><li>extending the existing transitional relief scheme for two years for properties with a rateable value up to and including £50,000.</li></ul><p> </p><p>These measures are in addition to previous Autumn Statement measures that continue into 2015-16, including:</p><p> </p><ul><li>a 50 per cent discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops;</li><li>allowing businesses to keep their small business rate relief for a year where they take on an additional property;</li><li>business rates relief for empty new builds; and</li><li>allowing businesses to pay their business rate bills over 12 months, in order to assist with their cash flow.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Central Government also now funds 50% of any additional local discounts granted.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not collect data on a constituency basis, but Pendle constituency lies entirely within the boundary of Pendle Borough Council. Table 1 (attached) shows the estimated number of properties in 2015-16 within the boundary of Pendle Borough Council that benefit from business rates measures extended in this year’s Autumn Statement. Table 2 (attached) presents the same information for properties within Lancashire County Council.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 20/03/2015 12:51:49 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name 228218 Stephenson.docx title Table 1 and Table 2
	tabling member	4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson

227733

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	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	ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	227819
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Communities and Local Government does not authorise users to download and use news applications on their work-provided phones. The Department does not provide tablets. However, staff can access news websites through any in-built brower, if necessary.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/03/2015 14:32:25 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

227737

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	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	Translation Services
	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 2 February 2015, Official Report, column 7, on translation costs, what progress he has made in looking into the matter of British sign language translation services.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	227920
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>This is an issue which we take very seriously and my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Eric Pickles) will be writing to the hon. Member fully on the matter shortly. Under the Equality Act 2010, public and private service providers are required to make reasonable adjustments to enable people with disabilities to access a service on an equal basis with a non-disabled person. Local authorities and other local agencies should provide a good quality service to all, and we encourage local people to hold their local authorities to account.</p> answering member constituency Bristol West answering member printed Stephen Williams question first answered 23/03/2015 14:26:00 answering member 1492 label Biography information for Stephen Williams
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

227738

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	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	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 and what proportion of employees in his Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	227954
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>Numbers and proportions quoted in this response are taken from the Department’s HR database as of 28th February 2015. Figures are based on the Office of National Statistics definition of headcount which includes all staff employed by and paid via the Department’s payroll. Staff that did not provide or consent to disclose their diversity information are not included in the headcount totals or proportions.</p><p> </p><p><em>(a) White or white British</em></p><p> </p><p>1122 (79.6%) of employees identified themselves as White or White British.</p><p> </p><p><em>(b) Asian or Asian British,</em></p><p> </p><p>124 (8.8%) of employees identified themselves as Asian or Asian British. In order to keep with the question, employees who identified themselves as Chinese are included in the total number and proportion.</p><p> </p><p><em>(c) Black or Black British</em></p><p> </p><p>112 (7.9%) of employees identified themselves as Black or Black British.</p><p> </p><p><em>(d) Mixed or multiple ethnic group</em></p><p> </p><p>27 (1.9%) of employees identified themselves as Mixed or multiple ethnic group.</p><p> </p><p><em>(e) another ethnicity</em></p><p> </p><p>25 (1.8%) of employees identified themselves as another ethnicity.</p><p> </p><p>269 employees did not provide or consent to disclosure of their diversity information.</p><p> </p><p>As of 28th February 2015 the Department had a total Black and Minority Ethnic rate of 20% which is higher than the current Civil Service rate of 10% for 2014. The Department’s declaration rate of 84% as of 28th February 2015 is also higher than the current Civil Service declaration rate of 79%.*</p><p> </p><p>*Civil Service Black and Minority Ethnic rates taken from 2014 Office of National Statistics statistical bulletin.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/03/2015 14:35:08 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

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

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