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1037112

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Brexit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much his Department is spending on a public information campaign to prepare people for the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	206011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government has a duty to inform people and businesses about how leaving the EU might affect them, and to advise on the steps they may need to take to prepare for Brexit. <br> <br> Over the coming weeks, we will be using a range of channels to direct UK citizens, businesses, EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU to a dedicated area on GOV.UK at Gov.uk/euexit. <br> <br> Information on the costs associated with this campaign will be released in due course as part of normal data transparency releases.</p> answering member constituency Rossendale and Darwen answering member printed Jake Berry question first answered 10/01/2019 14:50:01 answering member 4060 label Biography information for Sir Jake Berry
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

986388

registered interest
date	12/10/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Councillors: Somerset
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the (a) dates on which Ministers in his Department had meetings with any elected Somerset County Councillors since 7 May 2015 and (b) the agendas and minutes of the matters discussed for each of those meetings.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	178520
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2018 answer text <p>Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published on <a href="http://www.gov.uk/" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a> and can be found at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data</a>. The information published includes all meetings up to and including March 2018. Meetings that have not yet been published, but are due to be in the future, include:</p><p>On 11 July 2018 I met with Councillors David Fothergill and Faye Purbeck from Somerset County Council and Councillor Harvey Siggs from Mendip District Council following their request for a meeting to discuss their thoughts about future organisation of Somerset. There was no minute of the meeting, though I wrote to the Councillors on 26 July 2018 as a follow up to the meeting, and I am placing a copy of that letter in the Library of the House.</p><p>Following my meeting with the Somerset councillors, I invited all the Somerset MPs to meet with me on 11 September 2018 to discuss their thoughts on future organisation of Somerset. Following that meeting I wrote to all those MPs with some additional information.</p><p>On 19 July 2018, Jake Berry MP attended a roundtable meeting about high streets and local growth with various councillors and businesses. Councillor David Fothergill from Somerset County Council was in attendance.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 17/10/2018 14:47:22 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

985632

registered interest
date	11/10/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Second Homes: Council Tax
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the level of Council Tax receipts of the practice of second homeowners avoiding the payment of council tax by registering a second home as a business.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	178364
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2018 answer text <p>Owners of second homes are generally liable for council tax. Only where a property is available for short-term lets for 140 days or more per financial year, is it considered a holiday-let, and therefore assessed for business rates instead. However, the Government is aware of concerns about holiday homes and is looking into this issue to see if the criteria under which holiday lets are valued for business rates are appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 19/10/2018 09:17:43 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

984963

registered interest
date	10/10/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Holiday Accommodation: Non-domestic Rates
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the procedures for assessing the liability of holiday lets for business rates.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	177781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2018 answer text <p>Holiday lets are a valuable part of the local business landscape. They are assessed for business rates if they are available for short-term lets for 140 days or more per financial year. This rule is widely understood and provides a clear method of deciding whether a property should be liable for council tax or business rates. It ensures that properties do not switch year-to-year between council tax and business rates merely due to success in letting out the property. However, the Department is aware of concerns about this criterion, and is considering whether it remains appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 16/10/2018 14:19:01 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

937783

registered interest
date	10/07/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Living Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans for his Department to be accredited by the National Living Wage Foundation in relation to paying the real living wage; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	162606
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department has no immediate plans to seek accreditation from the National Living Wage Foundation in relation to paying the real living wage. However, the Department does qualify to apply for the referenced accreditation as we do not employ anyone, either nationally or in London, that earns less than the hourly living wage rate for the respective areas as defined by the National Living Wage Foundation. A table highlighting the Department’s lowest hourly rate of pay in comparison to the current National Living Wage hourly rate is shown below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Real Living Wage</p></td><td><p>MHCLG Min Hourly Rate (Net Contractual Hours)</p></td><td><p>MHCLG Min Hourly Rate (Gross Contractual Hours)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>£10.20ph</p></td><td><p>£13.16ph</p></td><td><p>£11.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National</p></td><td><p>£8.75ph</p></td><td><p>£11.30ph</p></td><td><p>£9.95</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Rossendale and Darwen answering member printed Jake Berry question first answered 16/07/2018 14:46:33 answering member 4060 label Biography information for Sir Jake Berry
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

891326

registered interest
date	25/04/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March to Question 132182 on the return of £817 million to the Treasury, if he will provide a breakdown of the original intended recipients of the funding that has now been returned.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	138093
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2018 answer text <p>The information relating to the return of £817 million was published as part of Table 4 in the Supplementary Estimates Explanatory Memorandum 2017/18:</p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/communities-and-local-government/Correspondence/Supplementary-estimates-explanatory-memorandum-2017-18.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/communities-and-local-government/Correspondence/Supplementary-estimates-explanatory-memorandum-2017-18.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Esher and Walton answering member printed Dominic Raab question first answered 03/05/2018 13:41:35 answering member 4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab previous answer version 55041 answering member constituency Esher and Walton answering member printed Dominic Raab answering member 4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

890519

registered interest
date	24/04/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March to Question 132182 on Housing: Finance, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the bidding process for local authorities councils to be allocate housing-related funding.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	137637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2018 answer text <p>The Government is investing over £9 billion in the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21, to support councils and housing associations to deliver genuinely affordable homes where they are needed most.</p><p>We have confirmed long-term rent certainty for social landlords in England and announced that we will be providing councils with £1 billion of additional borrowing to deliver homes where demand is greatest. These measures, and the additional Affordable Homes Programme funding, will support local authorities to deliver a new generation of council house building.</p><p>The programme is flexible and sets no ring-fences on particular forms of tenure, so providers can bid into the programme to develop a wide range of homes to meet the housing needs of a range of people in different circumstances and housing markets – building the right homes in the right places.</p> answering member constituency Esher and Walton answering member printed Dominic Raab question first answered 01/05/2018 12:24:28 answering member 4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab previous answer version 54658 answering member constituency Esher and Walton answering member printed Dominic Raab answering member 4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

886231

registered interest
date	18/04/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Unitary Councils
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons his Department has changed the lower parameter of a population of 300,000 for a unitary authority from being set only in guidance to being a requirement; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	136426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2018 answer text <p>It is the statutory guidance, issued by the Secretary of State on 27 March 2018 under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, which states that a proposal for unitary local government should seek to achieve unitary authorities with populations as a minimum substantially in excess of 300,000.</p><p>The Secretary of State has issued this guidance, including on population size, having regard to past reorganisations, the Northamptonshire County Council Best Value Inspection Report of March 2018, and research, including that from the County Councils Network in 2016 into lessons from previous unitarisations which found that the scale of a unitary council was key, with larger authorities able to deliver economies of scale while smaller unitary councils were more likely to be less resilient, putting key services at potential risk.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak grouped question UIN 136427 136428 question first answered 23/04/2018 15:27:18 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

886232

registered interest
date	18/04/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Unitary Councils
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the (a) reasons and (b) evidential basis are for the threshold of a population of 300,000 being chosen as a requirement for unitary authorities.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	136427
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2018 answer text <p>It is the statutory guidance, issued by the Secretary of State on 27 March 2018 under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, which states that a proposal for unitary local government should seek to achieve unitary authorities with populations as a minimum substantially in excess of 300,000.</p><p>The Secretary of State has issued this guidance, including on population size, having regard to past reorganisations, the Northamptonshire County Council Best Value Inspection Report of March 2018, and research, including that from the County Councils Network in 2016 into lessons from previous unitarisations which found that the scale of a unitary council was key, with larger authorities able to deliver economies of scale while smaller unitary councils were more likely to be less resilient, putting key services at potential risk.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak grouped question UIN 136426 136428 question first answered 23/04/2018 15:27:18 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

886233

registered interest
date	18/04/2018
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Unitary Councils
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for other unitary authorities of its requirement for the population of a unitary council at a minimum being substantially in excess of 300,000.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	136428
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2018 answer text <p>It is the statutory guidance, issued by the Secretary of State on 27 March 2018 under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, which states that a proposal for unitary local government should seek to achieve unitary authorities with populations as a minimum substantially in excess of 300,000.</p><p>The Secretary of State has issued this guidance, including on population size, having regard to past reorganisations, the Northamptonshire County Council Best Value Inspection Report of March 2018, and research, including that from the County Councils Network in 2016 into lessons from previous unitarisations which found that the scale of a unitary council was key, with larger authorities able to deliver economies of scale while smaller unitary councils were more likely to be less resilient, putting key services at potential risk.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak grouped question UIN 136426 136427 question first answered 23/04/2018 15:27:18 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse