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155431

registered interest
date	11/11/2014
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	Travel
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what purposes his Department has funded travel by Eurostar in 2014 to date.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	214303
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>The information requested is not routinely recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.<br><br>The Department's work which relates to the European Union, such as the European Development Fund, and the Council of Europe, necessitates overseas travel.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 24/11/2014 16:19:25 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

105853

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Mobile Phones
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department spent on iPhones in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	213151
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>Nothing.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 10/11/2014 16:54:52 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

105855

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Public Appointments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions his Department has made appointments by exception since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	213021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>My Department recruits on the basis of fair and open competition, with candidates being appointed on the basis of merit.</p><p> </p><p>There are a very small number of exceptions, which are recognised by the Civil Service Commission; in our Department’s case, this is generally due to facilitate specific secondments from external organisations (for example, there were a series of fire secondments to provide support for the Olympics fire and security team), or to allow for appointments of individuals with specialised skillsets (for example, local audit) or for a time-limited project.</p><p> </p><p>The attached table gives a breakdown for each year since 2010-11, and to facilitate scrutiny, I have included 2009-10 to enable comparison with the use of exceptions under the last Administration.</p><p> </p><p>Figures for 2014-15 will be submitted in due course. Due to Data Protection obligations, it is not appropriate to disclose the identity of the individual staff concerned.</p><p> </p><p>More information on the civil Service Commission's guidance on recruitment exceptions can be found online at:</p><p><a href="http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Recruitment-Principles-April-2014.pdf" target="_blank">http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Recruitment-Principles-April-2014.pdf</a> (Annex A)</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, my Department has taken steps to open up job vacancies in the Department to a wider audience.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 21/11/2014 14:47:38 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name PQ 213021 Woodcock - Table Final.docx title Table to PQ 213021
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

105856

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Freedom of Information
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 Freedom of Information requests his Department has declined to answer in full since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	213081
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistical reports on the handling of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for central government. These reports include statistics on the numbers of requests granted in full and those where information was partially or fully withheld. These reports can be accessed on the following webpage: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics</a>.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 10/11/2014 16:53:40 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

105858

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on legal fees over prevention of release of information requested by Freedom of Information requests since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	213102
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to to my answer to him of 22 July 2014, PQ 204271.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 10/11/2014 16:57:20 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

105859

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Public Appointments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions his Department has had requests for appointments by exception to the Senior Civil Service turned down by the Civil Service Commission since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	213041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my rt. hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General (Francis Maude) today, PQ 213040.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 10/11/2014 17:32:16 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

105860

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	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 Instant Rewards of what value were given to his Department's officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	213061
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department has reduced staffing costs from £218 million a year in 2009-10 to £95 million in 2013-14. We have also completely overhauled and reformed the system of bonuses, in turn, reducing spending from £1.3 million in financial year 2008-09 and £1.2 million in financial year 2009-10 (£1.0 million in performance year 2009-10) to £440,000 in performance year 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p>For staff who are not Senior Civil Service, this included replacing the Annual Performance Bonus Scheme and the in-year Special Bonus Scheme, with an Exceptional Performance Scheme and in-year Instant Voucher Reward Scheme. The latter is designed to enable managers to provide immediate acknowledgment of exceptional performance for smaller scale achievements over a short period of time. Vouchers are given in values of £10 to £50.</p><p> </p><p>The types of work that may qualify for a nomination include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>identifying and taking actions that results in cost savings and efficiencies;</li><li>stepping in to support colleagues at short notice to deliver business goals;</li><li>delivering high quality work ahead of agreed timescales;</li><li>exceeding the expectations of colleagues or customers;</li><li>displaying exemplary behaviour which reflects DCLG’s values;</li><li>receiving outstanding feedback from colleagues or external customers.</li></ul><p> </p><p>From the scheme’s launch in June 2013 to December 2013, 360 staff received a reward with an average payment of £34. From January 2014 to September 2014, 285 staff received a reward with an average payment of £30.</p><p> </p><p>I am unsure of whether the hon. Member wishes to disparage such small-scale bonuses because they may involve giving out shopping vouchers, yet we believe that they are a cost-effective way of improving staff performance within Whitehall and delivering a better service to the public.</p><p> </p><p>Indeed, the vouchers given for saving taxpayers’ money have delivered at least £40,000 of quantifiable savings and further efficiency improvements on top. Under the Labour Government, the state congratulated those that regulated more, spent more and taxed more. We want to reward those who regulate less, spend less and tax less.</p><p> </p><p>I would hope the hon. Member, as a Co-operative Party MP, supports the underlying principles of staff involvement, economic participation and self-improvement which we are embracing.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 18/11/2014 17:13:20 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

66000

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
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	Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	204271
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 22/07/2014 15:33:57 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

35175

registered interest
date	27/01/2014
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 representations he has received on the decision to withdraw the local welfare provision grant in 2015-16; and what consultation he undertook prior to making that decision.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	185294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Thursday 30 January 2014]</em></p><p>DCLG Ministers and officials talk regularly to elected members and officers of local authorities about a range of issues.</p><p>The nationally run Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans were poorly targeted and failed to help those most in need. So, in 2012 as part of wider welfare reform, the Department for Work and Pensions abolished these national discretionary schemes and transferred responsibility to local authorities so they could deliver and tailor new local support as part of their existing services to their communities.</p><p>Councils can continue to provide support to those in their community who face financial difficulties or who find themselves in unavoidable circumstances, but there is no requirement to replicate the previous approach adopted by central government.</p><p>In contrast to a centralised grant system that was poorly targeted, under the Department for Work and Pensions' reforms, councils can now choose how best to support local welfare needs within their areas – what is right for, say, Barrow and Furness may not be for other authorities. Some councils have already chosen to wind down their dedicated schemes following underspends.</p><p>In the next Spending Round period, from April 2015, central government continues to provide support to local authorities through general funds as part of the Coalition Government's commitment to reducing ring-fencing and ending top-down Whitehall control.</p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions provided a separate fund for 2013-2015 and are carrying out a review of the provision to date.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 12/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney