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156719

registered interest
date	19/11/2014
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	Urban Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what fiscal steps he is taking to ensure the sustainability of market towns in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	215124
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government is fully committed to helping communities respond to the structural changes underway in our town centres. Since 2010 we have provided a total of £18.26 million, including support for Portas Pilots and town teams, business improvement districts and for markets.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, in late 2013 we introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:</p><p> </p><ul><li>a 2% cap in the Retail Price Index increase in the small business rates multiplier;</li><li>a retail discount of £1,000 for around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000;</li><li>a 12 month extension of small business rate relief doubling, benefitting over half a million businesses; and</li><li>a 50 per cent discount for new occupants of long-term vacant shops.</li></ul><p> </p><p>All of these measures apply to England. The devolved administrations will have taken forward plans for their areas.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 26/11/2014 15:58:56 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

156181

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
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	Fire and Rescue Services: Industrial Disputes
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 discussions his Department has had with the devolved administrations on the firefighters' pension dispute; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Helen Jones
uin	215062
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>Officials from the Department meet regularly with the officials from the devolved administrations to discuss issues of common interest relating to the fire and rescue service, including the current dispute with the Fire Brigades Union over firefighter pension reform. Ministers correspond and have met with the fire and rescue services in the devolved nations.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/11/2014 14:11:43 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	432 label Biography information for Helen Jones

156187

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
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	Fire and Rescue Services: Cheshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when a Minister in his Department last visited Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service; and who was met on that visit.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Helen Jones
uin	214905
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>I have met with the Chief Fire Officer of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service on several occasions. In addition, my hon. Friend, the Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis), visited Cheshire Fire and Rescue Authority last year (June 2013) in his capacity as the then Fire Minister. He attended the Retained Duty System Working Group for a question and answer session, had a tour of the Incident Command Training Suite and was updated on community fire safety. He met with the Chief Fire Officer, the Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Authority and other fire service staff present that day.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/11/2014 14:17:50 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	432 label Biography information for Helen Jones

156188

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
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	Fire and Rescue Services: Pensions
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 discussions he has had with the Fire Brigades Union on firefighters' pensions.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Helen Jones
uin	214906
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>After extensive consultation, and numerous changes, the Government laid the regulations to implement the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 2015 before Parliament on 28 October. This provides one of the best schemes in the public sector, with a firefighter who earns £29,000 and retires after a full career receiving a £19,000 a year pension at age 60. The reforms ensure that a greater proportion of firefighters are protected from the changes than any other large public service workforce.</p><p> </p><p>The Department continues to discuss the remaining detail of the pension reforms, including the transitional arrangements and new governance arrangements to apply from April 2015, with the Fire Brigades Union, other workforce representative bodies and the employers. Furthermore, these bodies are part of the joint fitness group facilitated by the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Peter Holland. This group complements the consultation we published to put the key fitness principles onto a statutory footing through the Fire National Framework. We would encourage the Fire Brigades Union and all other representative bodies to respond to that consultation, which closes on 9 December. The consultation can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/firefighter-fitness-standards-and-assessment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/firefighter-fitness-standards-and-assessment</a>.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/11/2014 14:20:39 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	432 label Biography information for Helen Jones

155752

registered interest
date	17/11/2014
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	Fire Services: Northamptonshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what new (a) fire pumps and (b) other equipment is being provided for Northamptonshire Fire Service; what recent assessment he has made of the overall performance of that service; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Mr Peter Bone
uin	214655
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text <p>Decisions on the provision of new fire pumps and other equipment are matters for the local fire and rescue authority. <br><br>However, Northamptonshire fire and rescue authority has successfully bid for £3.16 million from the £75 million Fire Transformation Fund to replace their current fire service incident command unit vehicle with a purpose built vehicle to be jointly crewed by police and fire staff. In addition, the funding will enable Northamptonshire to purchase joint rural response units. This funding will be made available in 2015-16.</p><p>Fire and rescue authorities are best placed to assess and manage their performance through the integrated risk management plan.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 20/11/2014 15:22:53 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1581 label Biography information for Mr Peter Bone

155753

registered interest
date	17/11/2014
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	Fire Services: Conditions of Employment
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 how many and what proportion of firefighters between the age of 55 and 60 will fail the fitness test in each of the next five years.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Mr Peter Bone
uin	214656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text <p>There are currently over 1,000 firefighters in the Service aged 55 or over, all of whom provide a valuable contribution to the fire service. The pension reforms protect those who are closest to their scheme’s Normal Pension Age and therefore no firefighter will need to work beyond their current scheme’s Normal Pension Age over the next five years. The Government commissioned report <em>Normal Pension Age for Firefighters</em> found that there was no reason why every firefighter who stayed physically active could not remain operational until age 60. The report can be found at <a href="http://www.clg.heywood.co.uk/node/658" target="_blank">http://www.clg.heywood.co.uk/node/658</a>. There is no single fitness standard in fire and rescue authorities and Dr Williams' assessment was based on current practices amongst fire and rescue authorities.<br><br>On 28 October I published a consultation to put the key fitness principles onto a statutory footing through the Fire National Framework. These proposals underpin the fitness and capability processes that exist within individual fire and rescue authorities and complement the work being undertaken by the joint fitness group facilitated by the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Peter Holland. These important initiatives will help reassure firefighters that they will be appropriately supported throughout their career.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 20/11/2014 15:55:35 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1581 label Biography information for Mr Peter Bone

155754

registered interest
date	17/11/2014
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	Fire Services: Industrial Disputes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made in resolving the dispute with firefighters; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Mr Peter Bone
uin	214657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text <p>After extensive consultation, and numerous changes, the Government laid the final regulations for the Firefighters Pension Scheme 2015 before Parliament on 28 October. This provides one of the best schemes in the public sector, with a firefighter who earns £29,000 and retires after a full career receiving a £19,000 a year pension at age 60, whilst ensuring that a greater proportion of firefighters are protected from the changes than any other large public service workforce. On the same day we published a consultation to put the key fitness principles onto a statutory footing through the Fire National Framework. These proposals underpin the fitness and capability processes that exist within individual fire and rescue authorities and complement the work being undertaken by the joint fitness group facilitated by the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Peter Holland. These reforms are fair to both to firefighters and taxpayers.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 20/11/2014 15:58:18 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1581 label Biography information for Mr Peter Bone

155764

registered interest
date	17/11/2014
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	Fire Services
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 discussions he and other Ministers in his Department have had with firefighters and their representatives.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	214633
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text <p>Ministers regularly meet with firefighters and their representatives on a range of fire related issues, undertake visits to fire stations across England and firefighters are regularly updated on key issues through open letters.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 20/11/2014 15:30:37 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

155765

registered interest
date	17/11/2014
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	Fire Services
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 visits he and other Ministers in his Department have made to fire service bases in England.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	214634
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>I have visited the following Fire and Rescue Authorities since joining the Department in July 2014 - Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London and West Midlands.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/11/2014 14:40:20 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

78376

registered interest
date	16/07/2014
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	EU Grants and Loans
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 the Answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 630W, on EU grants and loans, how much and what proportion of 2007 to 2013 European Regional Development Fund monies allocated to the UK with match-funding in place have been (a) contractually committed and (b) drawn down in (i) each English region and (ii) in total to date.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	206317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2014 answer text <p>The information requested is provided in the attached table (1). The “contractually committed” figures are up to 30 September 2014. All contractually committed funding has had match funding identified, so no separate figures are shown for this.</p><p>Across the programme, an average of 100% of the programme is now contractually committed. All spending of taxpayers’ money must ensure value for money; and money should not be spent on poor quality projects just for the sake of it. Spending must also comply with complex and bureaucratic EU rules, or else risk “financial corrections” down the line.</p><p>Where the contractually committed figure is slightly less than the total allocation, this reflects the restrictive, bureaucratic rules associated with the whole programme, and the lack of flexibility in the rules.</p><p>To place this in context, I attach with this answer a table (2) showing the allocations in the 2000-06 programme under the last Labour Government: only 93% of the allocation was ever committed, leaving £392 million of uncommitted resources; of which £48 million was uncommitted in the West Midlands Objective 2 area, £64 million uncommitted in the North West Objective 2 area, and £38 million uncommitted in the Yorkshire and the Humber Objective 2 area.</p><p>In this context, despite the complexities, the 2007-13 programme has been far better administered under this Government than the 2000-06 programme under the last Administration.</p><p>The European Regional Development Fund is a circular programme. UK taxpayers’ money is given to the European Union budget. Under the Fund, a local project receives a contract, spends money and then claims from DCLG. DCLG then claims funds back from the European Commission. The whole process goes through a complex auditing process involving DCLG auditors and then European Union auditors. After a period of time, the majority of unspent funding is returned to the UK Government by the European Commission. We continue to have concerns over the bureaucratic and time consuming nature of the processes involved in the programme, as a consequence of rules imposed by the European Commission.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt attachment 1 file name 206317 Umunna - Table 1.docx title Table 1 2 file name 206317 Umunna - Table 2.pdf title Table 2 question first answered 26/11/2014 16:11:42 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna