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93482

registered interest
date	15/10/2014
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: Pay
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 local authority employees are paid a salary higher than that of the Prime Minister.
tabling member constituency	Ribble Valley
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Evans
uin	210690
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>This information is not held centrally. Local authorities are independent employers and my Department does not collect detailed information about the remuneration of senior local authority staff.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities are required to publish details of the remuneration of their most senior employees in their annual Statements of Accounts. This includes information about salary, fees, allowances, expenses, employer’s pension contribution and other benefits. Statements of Accounts must be available for public inspection including on an authority’s website.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has taken steps to further increase the transparency and accountability of local decisions on pay and reward through the local government transparency code. On 3 October, the Department further strengthened the public’s ability to scrutinise councils by including a requirement in the code that councils publish information on salaries of employees earning £50,000 or more, as well as a range of other pay and workforce information.</p><p>In addition, measures introduced in the Localism Act 2011 require authorities to publish an annual statement explaining their policies toward the pay and reward of their staff, particularly senior staff. Our guidance on these measures asks councils to give full council the opportunity to vote on senior appointments and exit packages of £100,000 or more before they are rubber-stamped.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 210691 question first answered 21/10/2014 16:00:23 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 23067 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	474 label Biography information for Mr Nigel Evans

93483

registered interest
date	15/10/2014
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: Pay
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 local authority employees are paid a salary of over £100,000 per annum.
tabling member constituency	Ribble Valley
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Evans
uin	210691
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>This information is not held centrally. Local authorities are independent employers and my Department does not collect detailed information about the remuneration of senior local authority staff.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities are required to publish details of the remuneration of their most senior employees in their annual Statements of Accounts. This includes information about salary, fees, allowances, expenses, employer’s pension contribution and other benefits. Statements of Accounts must be available for public inspection including on an authority’s website.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has taken steps to further increase the transparency and accountability of local decisions on pay and reward through the local government transparency code. On 3 October, the Department further strengthened the public’s ability to scrutinise councils by including a requirement in the code that councils publish information on salaries of employees earning £50,000 or more, as well as a range of other pay and workforce information.</p><p>In addition, measures introduced in the Localism Act 2011 require authorities to publish an annual statement explaining their policies toward the pay and reward of their staff, particularly senior staff. Our guidance on these measures asks councils to give full council the opportunity to vote on senior appointments and exit packages of £100,000 or more before they are rubber-stamped.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 210690 question first answered 21/10/2014 16:00:23 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 23068 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	474 label Biography information for Mr Nigel Evans

93117

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
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	Torbay
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 visits were made by Ministers of his Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.
tabling member constituency	Torbay
tabling member printed	Mr Adrian Sanders
uin	210474
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>In the last 12 months, Ministers have not had the opportunity to visit the Parliamentary constituency of Torbay, but they have visited the local authority area of Torbay. We are open to further invitations, subject to Ministerial and Parliamentary commitments.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 30/10/2014 16:58:24 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	237 label Biography information for Mr Adrian Sanders

93300

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
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 recent assessment his Department has made of the suitability of local commissioning for specialist domestic violence refuges.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Wavertree
tabling member printed	Luciana Berger
uin	210581
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text <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 invested £6.5 billion 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.<br><br>We are keeping this matter under review, and are keen to support best practice and greater joint working.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/10/2014 15:51:01 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 22552 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4036 label Biography information for Luciana Berger

93024

registered interest
date	13/10/2014
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	Welfare Assistance Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to change the Local Welfare Assistance scheme; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	210187
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2014 answer text <p>I refer my hon. Friend to the consultation paper on local welfare provision published by HM Government on 10 October 2014. I attach a copy of the paper.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 16/10/2014 14:58:03 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name 210187 Robertson.pdf title Consultation Paper on Local Welfare Provision
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

92471

registered interest
date	10/10/2014
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: Procurement
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 effectiveness of audit trails in local government expenditure spending; and what estimate he has made of the incidence of accidental duplicate payments to local government suppliers in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	South East Cambridgeshire
tabling member printed	Sir James Paice
uin	209935
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2014 answer text <p>Whilst we do not centrally hold detailed information on local authorities’ duplicate payments, in my Department's publication “50 ways to save”, we observed that councils could save money by conducting audits of potential duplicate payments and reforming accounts payable processes.</p><p> </p><p>This was based on research by Experian of both local and central government bodies, suggesting duplicate payments could cost taxpayers up to £147 million a year.</p><p> </p><p>As stated in my answer of 3 September 2014, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 265W, my own Department has put this best practice into action and delivered savings of £100,000 by recovering duplicate payments made since 2006.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 17/10/2014 13:34:26 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	124 label Biography information for Sir James Paice

92634

registered interest
date	10/10/2014
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of specialist women's refuges since 2010; what steps the Government is taking to ensure adequate provision of refuges for women and children fleeing domestic violence; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	210037
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2014 answer text <p>Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities: we expect local authorities to build 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 invested £6.5 billion in housing related support for vulnerable people. 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> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 17/10/2014 13:33:03 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

91915

registered interest
date	26/09/2014
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	Non-domestic Rates: 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, how many businesses in (a) Barnsley East constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber have qualified for the full business rates discount to date.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Michael Dugher
uin	209387
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:</p><p> </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>As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, Column 32WS, the Department no longer publishes statistics by government office region. Additionally, the Department does not collect data on a constituency basis, but Barnsley East constituency lies entirely within the Barnsley Metropolitan District. Table 1 shows, where available, the estimated number of properties that will benefit from each of the reliefs introduced or extended in 2014-15 in Barnsley Metropolitan District, as well as the amount of relief awarded:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Table 1</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>Item</em></p></td><td><p><em>Estimated number of properties in the Barnsley Metropolitan District that will benefit from these reliefs </em></p><p><em>(units)</em></p></td><td><p><em>Amount of Relief Awarded</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><em>(£thousands)</em></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2% RPI Cap on Small Business Rates Multiplier</p></td><td><p>6,597</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>12 month extension of small business rate relief doubling, of which:</p></td><td><p>2,650</p></td><td rowspan="3"><p> </p><p>4,458<sup>1</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em> - 100% relief</em></p></td><td><p>2,026</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em> - Tapering</em></p></td><td><p>624</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Long Term Empty Reoccupation Relief</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>43</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Retail Rate Relief</p></td><td><p>740</p></td><td><p>738</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><p>All data is from the 2014-15 NNDR1 (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rates-collected-by-local-councils-in-england-forecast-for-2014-to-2015" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rates-collected-by-local-councils-in-england-forecast-for-2014-to-2015</a>), except for retail rate relief data which is available from the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/353101/Estimated_number_of_properties_that_will_receive__1000_business_rates_relief.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/353101/Estimated_number_of_properties_that_will_receive__1000_business_rates_relief.pdf</a></p><p><sup>1</sup>This is the total amount of small business rates relief awarded. The breakdown for the amount awarded to properties receiving 100% and tapering relief is not available.</p><p>N/A – data not available.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 28/10/2014 16:04:39 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3916 label Biography information for Michael Dugher

91919

registered interest
date	26/09/2014
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 criteria his Department used to determine which councils received an (a) increase and (b) decrease in funding in 2014-15.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
uin	209518
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to my written answer to him of 23 October 2014, PQ 210903.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, I would note:</p><p> </p><p>· In 2014-15, Birmingham has an area spending power per dwelling of £2,679, considerably more than the comparable English average of £2,089.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>· Birmingham City Council has the highest revenue outturn spending in England after the Greater London Authority: a total of £2.0 billion in 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>· Birmingham City Council is estimated to receive total government grants of £3,319 per dwelling in 2014-15; this compares with the English average of £2,628 and is the 13<sup>th</sup> highest in England (budgeted figures for revenue expenditure and financing; excludes income from mandatory housing benefits; includes education spending).</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 209519 209745 question first answered 03/11/2014 17:22:01 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

91920

registered interest
date	26/09/2014
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: Birmingham
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 effects of the proposed changes to funding for Birmingham Council on deprivation and poverty in Birmingham.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
uin	209519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to my written answer to him of 23 October 2014, PQ 210903.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, I would note:</p><p> </p><p>· In 2014-15, Birmingham has an area spending power per dwelling of £2,679, considerably more than the comparable English average of £2,089.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>· Birmingham City Council has the highest revenue outturn spending in England after the Greater London Authority: a total of £2.0 billion in 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>· Birmingham City Council is estimated to receive total government grants of £3,319 per dwelling in 2014-15; this compares with the English average of £2,628 and is the 13<sup>th</sup> highest in England (budgeted figures for revenue expenditure and financing; excludes income from mandatory housing benefits; includes education spending).</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 209518 209745 question first answered 03/11/2014 17:22:01 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff