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18743

registered interest
date	04/11/2013
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 funding was allocated from Homes and Community Agency to (a) develop new affordable housing and (b) bring empty homes back into use in Harrow in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Mr Gareth Thomas
uin	174351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Thursday 7 November 2013]</em></p><p>The figures for affordable housing are as follows for the London Borough of Harrow area:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2008-09</p></td><td><p>£22 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>£45 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£26 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£15 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£13 million</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Since April 2012, allocations from the Affordable Housing Programme have been overseen by the Greater London Authority rather than the Homes and Communities Agency. There have been no specific allocations on empty homes over this period.</p><p>As outlined to the hon. Member in the answer of 7 January 2013, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 121W, I would note that the new Affordable Rent model now allows for more affordable housing to be delivered with lower levels of taxpayer capital subsidy and lever in more private investment.</p><p>As the National Audit Office has observed: “The Department selected the best delivery model open to it for the funds it had available” and “The Department has so far achieved its policy objective to maximise the number of homes delivered within the available grant funding” (National Audit Office, “Financial viability of the social housing sector; introducing the Affordable Homes Programme”, 4 July 2012, HC465, pp.6-7).</p><p>I also note that the Mayor's proposed Housing Strategy states: “£1.8 billion of public funding has been secured by the Mayor which will unlock an estimated additional £3.7 billion of other investment for London to enable 55,000 affordable homes to be delivered between 2011-15” (Mayor of London, “The Revised London Housing Strategy”, December2011, p.35).</p><p>Across England, 170,000 affordable homes have been delivered so far since April 2010, and a total of £19.5 billion of public and private investment is being spent on affordable housing over the current Spending Review period.</p><p> </p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

447

registered interest
date	25/06/2013
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 powers and freedoms relating to (a) skills and employment, (b) housing and (c) economic development have been devolved since May 2010 to (i) local government and (ii) local enterprise partnerships.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	162343
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Monday 1 July 2013]</em></p><p>The Government is taking considerable steps to devolve power and freedom to local government and Local Enterprise Partnerships.</p><p>Through the Localism Act, councils now have the general power of competence that enables them to do anything that an individual might do, apart from that which is specifically prohibited. In addition we have radically reformed the local government finance system putting levers and incentives in the hands of local authorities, for instance:</p><p>· The removal of ring-fencing from local government grants has given councils the freedom and flexibility over the money they receive and allows them to work with their residents to decide how best to make their spending decisions to fit their local priority needs.</p><p>· rewarded places that deliver growth, through the New Homes Bonus and Business Rate Retention.</p><p>· Local authorities now directly retain 50% of business rates locally which amounts to nearly £11 billion, instead of returning it to Whitehall.</p><p>· We established five pilot Rural Growth Networks aimed at tackling the barriers to economic growth in rural areas, such as a shortage of work premises, slow internet connectivity and fragmented business networks. These pilots expect to create up to 3,000 new jobs and support up to 700 new businesses, offering a local approach to local problems. We will share the lessons they learn with other Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Authorities to help them promote growth in other rural areas.</p><p>We have also given councils the ability to borrow against their Housing Revenue Account.</p><p>Through the city deals programme we have devolved powers and responsibilities to 26 cities. For example we have:</p><p>•provided levers to deliver the skills and jobs that local businesses and people need;</p><p>•created joint investment programmes; and</p><p>• devolved greater financial powers and incentives to invest in growth to all cities.</p><p>As we made clear in our response to Lord Heseltine's review of Growth, we intend to go further. We have committed to negotiating Growth Deals with every Local Enterprise Partnership through which we will allocate the Local Growth Fund and negotiate broader powers, freedoms and flexibilities where a strong case for decentralisation can be made. The Local Growth Fund brings together funding from skills, housing and transport and we have committed £2 billion in 2015/16 and it will continue to be at least £2 billion a year up to 2021. The Local Growth Fund includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>over £6 billion of transport funding;</li><li>£300 million of additional Housing Revenue Account borrowing;</li><li>£50 million of Local Infrastructure Funding for housing developers; and</li><li>£300 million skills capital funding.</li></ul><p>We are also for the first time putting £5 billion of European Structural Investment Funds for the 2014-20 period under the strategic direction of Local Enterprise Partnerships, bringing the total resource (including the Local Growth Fund) under the control of Local Enterprise Partnerships to over £17 billion up until 2020.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 13/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

11895

registered interest
date	08/05/2013
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
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 Education, whether he plans to consult on eligibility for free school meals ahead of the introduction of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield South East
tabling member printed	Mr Clive Betts
uin	153906
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2014 answer text <p>We are working very closely with other departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, to simplify free school meals criteria under universal credit, while ensuring that free lunches continue to be available to the families who need them most. These discussions, which include consideration of a phased implementation timetable, are in recognition of the significant number and complexity of passported benefits across Government, most of which have different eligibility criteria.</p><p>We will allow good time to enable schools, local authorities and children's charities to comment on our proposals before we introduce new entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 26/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
tabling member	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts

5741

registered interest
date	08/05/2013
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department scrutinises the Fundraising Standards Board; when a review was last conducted; and what the outcome was of this review.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Glamorgan
tabling member printed	Alun Cairns
uin	153902
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2014 answer text <p>Lord Hodgson assessed the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) as part of his review of the Charities Act 2006 and concluded in his report &lsquo;Trusted and Independent: Giving charity back to charities&rsquo; that it had broadly met 10 of the 12 success criteria set out when it was established in 2006. The FRSB and Cabinet Office are members of the Steering Committee established in response to Lord Hodgson's recommendations to drive forward further progress in strengthening self-regulation.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 25/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	4086 label Biography information for Alun Cairns