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174364

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
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 much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
uin	221225
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>My Department has reduced staffing costs from £218 million a year in 2009-10 to £95 million in 2013-14, an ongoing saving of £123 million a year.<br><br>There is and remains a need to replace staff from general turnover and where we need specific technical skills. We are committed to open recruitment, so we can obtain individual staff with the best expertise from the private sector, the voluntary sector and other parts of the public sector.</p><p> </p><p>The total sums spent on recruitment agencies are as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£27,787</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£13,201</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£9,974</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>£16,946</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>Zero</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>These figures exclude public appointments and Cabinet Office recruitment but are inclusive of VAT.</p><p> </p><p>We have not made any such outplacement agencies fees in the last five years.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has taken a series of steps to save taxpayers' money and improve overall quality of the training provision. My answer of 24 February 2015, Question 224508, outlined the spending in each full financial year from 2008-09 onwards.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 04/03/2015 16:57:54 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 39797 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

174370

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
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
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 make an assessment of the effect on the delivery of affordable housing of his Department's policy on section 106 affordable housing exemptions for small sites.
tabling member constituency	Wolverhampton North East
tabling member printed	Emma Reynolds
uin	221278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Communities and Local Government carried out a public consultation in March 2014 to invite views and local evidence on proposed changes to national policy on section 106 affordable housing and tariff contributions. All evidence submitted was carefully considered.</p><p> </p><p>As a consequence of the consultation, we amended our proposals to introduce a lower threshold of 5 units for rural areas, as outlined in my Written Ministerial Statement of 28 November 2014, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 55WS. Rural exception sites are also exempted.</p><p> </p><p>I can confirm that we have also undertaken an Equality Impact Assessment, which I will arrange to be placed in the Library of the House. We do not consider our reforms will have a negative impact on discrimination, fostering good relations or advancing equality of opportunity.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that the policy will save, on average, £15,000 in Section 106 housing contributions per new dwelling in England—some councils are charging up to £145,000 on single dwellings. Further savings will be made from scaling back Section 106 tariffs, which may add additional charges of more than £15,000 per dwelling, over and above any housing contributions. Taken together, these reforms will deliver six-figure savings for small-scale developers in some parts of the country.</p><p> </p><p>We do not believe that our reforms will have any significant adverse effect on our affordable housing programme. We have so far delivered 217,000 new affordable homes since 2010, and are bringing in £19.5 billion of public and private in affordable housing over the current Spending Review period. In the next Parliament, we are on track to deliver a further 275,000 new affordable homes, backed up by £38 billion of public and private investment.</p><p> </p><p>The Home Builders Federation has confirmed that these changes will provide a boost to small and medium builders, stating: “This exemption would offer small and medium-sized developers a shot in the arm. The time and expense of negotiating Section 106 affordable housing contributions on small sites, and the subsequent payments, can threaten the viability of small developments and act as another barrier to the entry and growth of smaller firms”</p><p> </p><p>Similarly, the Federation of Master Builders has said: “The new ten unit threshold for affordable housing contributions is a sensible and proportionate approach to help alleviate the pressure on SME house builders who have been squeezed out of the housing market in recent years. This is important because without a viable SME house building sector we won’t be able to build the number of new homes that are needed to address the housing crisis”.</p><p> </p><p>We also listened to representations from the hon. (Labour) Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) who has campaigned vigorously against such levies. Indeed, I would observe that under the majority of the last Labour Government, the national threshold (as stated in PPG3) was actually 15 units.</p><p> </p><p>Loading stealth taxes on new housing just makes housing less affordable and cuts house building. Unrealistic Section 106 charges result in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits: reducing them can result in more housing and more affordable housing. Our reforms will help unblock small stalled sites and provide a boost to self-builders and small house builders.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 12/02/2015 17:08:26 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis previous answer version 39802 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds

173163

registered interest
date	12/01/2015
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	Merseyside
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 of his Department's budget was allocated to (a) Wirral and (b) Birkenhead constituency in 2013-14.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Mr Frank Field
uin	220441
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p>The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost. We have not undertaken a detailed assessment of the geographical allocation of departmental spending.</p><p> </p><p>Spending over £250 is available on my Department’s website, as part of our transparency agenda.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 22/01/2015 16:06:54 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 38654 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

171265

registered interest
date	17/12/2014
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	Youth 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 the (a) actual and (b) percentage change in expenditure on young people's services (i) in total and (ii) per head of, population was in each English local authority between 2009-10 and 2013-14.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	219193
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2015 answer text <p>Figures between 2009-10 and 2013-14 are simply not comparative at a local authority level, due to changes in local authority responsibilities, as well as the shift to Academy status away from Local Education Authorities.</p><p> </p><p>Raw Revenue Outturn data is available on our website. Mid-year population statistic s are published by the Office for National Statistics.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 15/01/2015 17:24:55 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 36984 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

170339

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	Domestic Waste
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average cost per home was of rubbish bin collections in each local authority in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
uin	218656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p>In our guidance on weekly rubbish collections published last year, we estimated the annual cost of a local refuse collection service per household to be between £6 and £7 per month. This is a tiny fraction of the average £122 per month council tax paid by a typical Band D household in England.</p><p> </p><p><br> The best practice guidance outlines how councils can deliver savings to help reduce costs, without compromising on the frequency or level of service. It challenges the myth that fortnightly collections are necessary or desirable to reduce costs:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-weekly-rubbish-collections" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-weekly-rubbish-collections</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/02/2015 17:04:46 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 35617 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

169756

registered interest
date	11/12/2014
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: West Midlands
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the consequences will be for (a) Worcestershire County Council, (b) the Worcestershire LEP and (c) the district councils of South Worcestershire of the full implementation of the recommendations of the review by Sir Bob Kerslake of the governance and organisational capabilities of Birmingham City Council.
tabling member constituency	Mid Worcestershire
tabling member printed	Sir Peter Luff
uin	218294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2015 answer text <p>Membership of any proposed combined authority is a matter for local discretion. There is no compulsion for any local authority to join such a locally-led partnership.</p><p> </p><p>The governance structure of a combined authority would need to be agreed by its potential members, and it would need to meet the necessary statutory tests. It would then be for Parliament to approve any necessary legislative order establishing such an authority.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 16/01/2015 14:52:21 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 34001 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	268 label Biography information for Sir Peter Luff

169415

registered interest
date	10/12/2014
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	Homelessness
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 people aged under 18 who were homeless in each month of 2014.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	218246
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Figures on those housed in temporary accommodation are published in Live Table 775 on my Department’s website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness</a></p><p> </p><p>This includes figures for households in temporary accommodation with dependent children, and households in temporary accommodation headed by a 16 or 17 year old.</p><p><br>We do not collect information by month.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 05/01/2015 14:41:35 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 33692 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

168857

registered interest
date	09/12/2014
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	Written Questions
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 12 September 2014 to Question 208443 and to the Procedure Committee memorandum, Written parliamentary question answering performance in 2013-14, published on 11 September 2014, what assessment he has made of the reasons why his Department was the third worst performing department in 2013-14 for answering named day written questions on time.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	217959
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>We are committed to providing clear and accurate answers with, where relevant, appropriate information to allow the response to be seen in the right context for both the MP and others seeing the answer. We do not consider it right or helpful to provide answers until we able to do this.<br><br>62% of named day answers were answered on the named day in 2013-14. I observe that this compares with the annual rate of 52% when the rt. hon. Member was Secretary of State under the last Administration (as stated in the answer of 11 January 2010, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 682W).<br><br>We have recently introduced a new IT system for processing Parliamentary Questions to replace the dated and inflexible system that had been in use for more than 10 years. This supports fully electronic processing and significant additional facilities for monitoring and reporting on the progress in responding to questions.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 217957 217958 217960 217961 question first answered 18/12/2014 14:56:24 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 33665 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

168861

registered interest
date	09/12/2014
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	Written Questions
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 12 September 2014 to Question 208443 and to the Procedure Committee memorandum, Written parliamentary question answering performance in 2013-14, published on 11 September 2014, what assessment he has made of the reasons why his Department was the third worst performing department in 2013-14 for answering named day written questions very late.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	217957
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>We are committed to providing clear and accurate answers with, where relevant, appropriate information to allow the response to be seen in the right context for both the MP and others seeing the answer. We do not consider it right or helpful to provide answers until we able to do this.<br><br>62% of named day answers were answered on the named day in 2013-14. I observe that this compares with the annual rate of 52% when the rt. hon. Member was Secretary of State under the last Administration (as stated in the answer of 11 January 2010, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 682W).<br><br>We have recently introduced a new IT system for processing Parliamentary Questions to replace the dated and inflexible system that had been in use for more than 10 years. This supports fully electronic processing and significant additional facilities for monitoring and reporting on the progress in responding to questions.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 217958 217959 217960 217961 question first answered 18/12/2014 14:56:23 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 33612 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

168862

registered interest
date	09/12/2014
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	Written Questions
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 12 September 2014 to Question 208443 and to the Procedure Committee memorandum, Written parliamentary question answering performance in 2013-14, published on 11 September 2014, what assessment he has made of the reasons why his Department was the third worst performing department in 2013-14 for answering ordinary written questions on time.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	217958
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>We are committed to providing clear and accurate answers with, where relevant, appropriate information to allow the response to be seen in the right context for both the MP and others seeing the answer. We do not consider it right or helpful to provide answers until we able to do this.<br><br>62% of named day answers were answered on the named day in 2013-14. I observe that this compares with the annual rate of 52% when the rt. hon. Member was Secretary of State under the last Administration (as stated in the answer of 11 January 2010, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 682W).<br><br>We have recently introduced a new IT system for processing Parliamentary Questions to replace the dated and inflexible system that had been in use for more than 10 years. This supports fully electronic processing and significant additional facilities for monitoring and reporting on the progress in responding to questions.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins grouped question UIN 217957 217959 217960 217961 question first answered 18/12/2014 14:56:24 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins previous answer version 33649 answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn