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1128446

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Buildings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 253493 on Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Location, how many staff are located in the new premises at 85 Strand; how much floor space those staff occupy; at what rate per square metre; which locations were considered outside London for new premises; and what the comparable cost would have been in locating those staff outside London.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	257645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>I have asked IPSA to reply.</p><p>IPSA currently has 69 members of staff. It included in its office requirements space for up to 76 staff in order to provide flexibility for periods where there is a higher volume of work and therefore a need for additional temporary staff, such as General Election periods.</p><p>To disclose the size of the office or rate paid per square metre would be prejudicial to commercial interests. IPSA’s annual accounts are laid in Parliament and published each year, and will provide information about operational costs.</p><p>Before choosing its offices at 85 Strand, IPSA considered potential premises in Croydon and Milton Keynes, as well as Stratford and Canary Wharf in London, but determined that the selected location provided the prospect of better support to MPs and better value for money for the taxpayer.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 05/06/2019 09:35:36 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1128813

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 253492 on Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: ICT, what the evidential basis is for the assertion that the new system will save time for Members and their staff.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	258986
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>I have asked IPSA to reply.</p><p>As the system is new, IPSA continue to work closely with MPs and their staff to help them understand how IPSA Online works, and how to realise the full benefits. We are continuing to hold group and one-to-one training in Parliament and have staff available on the phone to answer queries. IPSA are conducting a survey to gather more feedback about the new system, with plans for further improvements in due course. IPSA will report to the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA later in the year on the overall costs and benefits of IPSA Online.</p><p>During the development of the new system, IPSA Online, IPSA carried out usability testing to look at how long a range of tasks and functions would take, compared with the old claims system. Based on this testing, IPSA found that improvements in the new system would take MPs and their staff about 30 per cent less time, due to the simplification of processes and forms. Feedback collected at training sessions also indicated that MPs’ staff expected IPSA Online to be easier and quicker to use than the old system.</p><p>MPs and their staff members will also benefit from the following time-saving changes:</p><p>- ‘Single sign-on’ capability enables MPs and their staff to access IPSA Online directly through their secure parliamentary account without an additional logon.</p><p>- The new system allows claims from different budgets to be submitted on the same form, rather than having to submit multiple forms.</p><p>- Because MPs and staff no longer need to send paper receipts and invoices to IPSA, but can scan or photograph them and upload them digitally onto the system, we can process and reimburse claims more quickly.</p><p>- Staff members can now be reimbursed directly by IPSA for their own expenses, so that MPs no longer need to wait to pay staff once they themselves have been reimbursed.</p><p>- Additional information is available to them directly, for example on the amounts left in budgets and the status of any repayments or amounts owed, so MPs and their staff no longer need to wait for a monthly financial statement or contact IPSA staff to ask about these issues.</p><p>- MPs and their staff are now able to amend their personal details, including any change of name or address, on the new system themselves, without needing to submit a form to IPSA</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 13/06/2019 14:53:00 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 121410 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1131046

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Location
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, for what reason the Authority did not consider locations for its offices outside London and the South-East.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	262236
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>When moving offices, IPSA considered locations only in London and the South East, as evidence from other public bodies shows that organisations that relocate by a significant distance tend to lose more staff. IPSA is a small organisation and wished to retain its staff in order to continue uninterrupted its support to MPs, including regular meetings between them and their IPSA account managers, and its assurance to the public about MPs’ spending.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:07:20 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123714 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1131047

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Offices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2019 to Question 257645 on Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Buildings, which organisation's commercial interests would be prejudiced; and in what manner by disclosing the size of IPSA's office and the rate paid per metre.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	262237
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>It is common practice for landlords to prohibit the publication of commercial agreements reached with their tenants. This is the case regarding the lease signed by IPSA and its landlord. IPSA is nonetheless a public body accountable to Parliament and its accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and scrutinised by the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA in order to provide assurance that value for money has been obtained. The Speaker’s Committee is scheduled to meet in July 2019 to discuss IPSA’s finances and other matters.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:09:00 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123713 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1131865

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Members: Allowances
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the system for reimbursing MPs expenses; and if IPSA will make it its policy to reinstate the previous system for the reimbursement of expenses.
	tabling member constituency	Christchurch
	tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
	uin	263668
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>IPSA considered a range of options for its new system of reimbursing MPs’ business costs and expenses. The system selected is more integrated and efficient than its predecessor systems, and holds the personal data of MPs and their staff more securely. The software selected is widely used in the United Kingdom, including in many public bodies. Prior to its launch in April, the effectiveness of the system was thoroughly tested, including by MPs and their staff. Its benefits include:</p><p> </p><p>- A ‘single sign-on’ capability to allow MPs and their staff to access the system directly through their secure parliamentary account without an additional logon.</p><p>- MPs and staff no longer need to send paper receipts and invoices to IPSA, but can scan or photograph them and upload them digitally onto the system. This improves data security and means that IPSA can process and reimburse claims more quickly.</p><p>- MPs’ staff members can now be reimbursed directly by IPSA for their own expenses rather than via their MPs.</p><p>- MPs and their staff are now able to amend their personal details, including any change of name or address, on the new system themselves, without needing to submit a form to IPSA.</p><p>- The new system allows claims from different budgets to be submitted on the same form, rather than having to submit multiple forms.</p><p>- MPs and their staff have constant access to financial information about the amounts left in their budgets and the status of any repayments or amounts owed, rather than waiting a monthly financial statement from IPSA.</p><p> </p><p>As of 13 June, 612 MPs have successfully submitted claims on the new system. IPSA is committed to supporting and training MPs and their staff as they become accustomed to the new online claims system. IPSA does not intend to make it its policy to reinstate the previous system.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:12:33 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123708 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1131867

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Members: Email
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what estimate he has made of the number of emails from hon. Members sent to IPSA in June 2019 that have not received a response within three days; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Christchurch
	tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
	uin	263669
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>IPSA has a key performance target to respond to 90 per cent of emails within five working days. Between 1 June and 13 June, IPSA responded to 88 per cent of the 563 emails received within this target. IPSA has recently brought in five temporary staff to help improve its response times following the introduction of a new finance, payroll and expenses system in April 2019.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:09:53 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123710 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1131868

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Working Hours
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what steps he is taking to help ensure that IPSA has sufficient resources to extend its working hours so that (a) telephone calls can be answered during the hours the House sits and (b) responses can be given to emails from MPs within three to five working days.
	tabling member constituency	Christchurch
	tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
	uin	263670
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>IPSA’s December 2018 user survey found that 68 per cent of MPs and their staff were satisfied with the support that they receive from IPSA on the phone, up from 53 per cent in 2017. Since the introduction of its new online finance and expenses system in April 2019, IPSA has experienced a higher-than-normal volume of calls, with some calls taking up to 45 minutes as MPs and their staff familiarise themselves with the new system. To respond to this increased demand, IPSA has recruited five temporary staff to answer the phone to MPs, and has temporarily closed its phone lines at 4pm in order to respond to the queries raised. IPSA expects to re-open its phone lines until 5pm when this demand subsides.</p><p>IPSA has a key performance target to respond to 90 per cent of emails within five days. In 2018-19, IPSA responded to over 85 per cent of the 54,500 letters and emails that were received within five working days of receipt. In April 2019, following the introduction on the new system, IPSA only replied to 70 per cent of emails within this target. The additional temporary staff will also address this increased demand.</p><p>IPSA’s performance is monitored by the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA which approves IPSA’s budget and targets, including how it responds to MPs’ queries.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:11:25 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123711 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1128827

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Housing: Construction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what proportion of residential developments constructed since 2015 (a) on land owned by the Church of England under the direction of the strategic land team and (b) by private developers comprise affordable housing.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	259013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>Planning permissions have been granted across a range of geographies, from County Durham where the affordable housing requirement is currently 15%, to Wells in Somerset where the requirement is 40%.</p><p>On land owned by the Church Commissioners where planning permission has been received and sites sold since 2015, approximately 20% of the homes will be affordable dwellings.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 05/06/2019 16:25:40 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1130914

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Affordable Housing: Construction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2019 to Question 259013, how many affordable homes have been built by the Church of England or its agents in each local authority area since 2015; and what the affordable housing requirement is in each of those local authority areas.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	262248
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>There have been 295 new affordable homes created on land owned by the Church Commissioners since 2015.</p><p>Details for each Local Authority area are shown in the following table.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Local Authority</p></td><td><p>Number of Affordable Houses Provided</p></td><td><p>Policy Requirement for Number of Affordable Houses</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Durham</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Lindsey</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Cambridgeshire</p></td><td><p>30</p></td><td><p>60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carlisle</p></td><td><p>42</p></td><td><p>42</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mendip</p></td><td><p>60</p></td><td><p>60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunderland</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arun</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ashford</p></td><td><p>77</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>295</p></td><td><p>356</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 15:52:36 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1130960

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Archbishops' Council: Grants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church Commissioners have the authority to make grants to the Archbishop's Council.
	tabling member constituency	Congleton
	tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
	uin	262341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The powers conferred by the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2018 enable the Church Commissioners to make grants to the Archbishops' Council which the Council may spend in accordance with its own functions. Such funding should support proposals designed to make a significant contribution to the growth of the Church and proposals should only be funded if they are within the priorities identified by the Council and in accordance with a clearly defined policy framework. The Commissioners’ approved policy is set out in full in the document attached at annex A. In addition to the power under the 2018 Measure, the Church Commissioners have a number of other miscellaneous powers to make grants to the Council in support of work with the Council supports, such as grants given for diocesan ministry support.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 15:02:19 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman attachment 1 file name annex A.pdf title Annex A
	tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce