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934270

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Representation: Low Incomes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure access to legal representation for people with low incomes.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	160335
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2018 answer text <p>The ability of individuals to resolve their legal problems is vital to a just society. Legal aid continues to be available in the highest priority cases – for example, when an individual’s life or liberty is at stake, when someone faces the loss of their home, in domestic violence cases, or when children may be taken into care – subject to an applicant passing the test of means and merits. In the Crown Court, over 99% of applications for legally-aided representation are granted.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the evidence gathering phase of the Post-Implementation Review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, we are gathering evidence on people’s ability to access legal support to resolve their legal issues. The evidence gathered will be used to inform our wider considerations for the future of legal support in the justice system.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 06/07/2018 13:59:18 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

843763

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2018
	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	Local Government: Dorset
	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 merits of the proposed future Dorset local government review.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	128201
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2018 answer text <p>The assessment that the Secretary of State made on 7 November 2017, when the he announced that he was 'minded-to' implement the locally-led proposal for improving local government in Dorset, was that this proposal if implemented is likely to improve local government across the area.</p><p>I am now assessing the proposal afresh, carefully considering all of the representations I have received, and I intend to announce my final decision shortly with the aim of achieving the best result for the people of Dorset.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak grouped question UIN 128202 question first answered 22/02/2018 14:11:20 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

843764

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2018
	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	Local Government: Dorset
	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 merits of the Future Dorset Proposal.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	128202
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2018 answer text <p>The assessment that the Secretary of State made on 7 November 2017, when the he announced that he was 'minded-to' implement the locally-led proposal for improving local government in Dorset, was that this proposal if implemented is likely to improve local government across the area.</p><p>I am now assessing the proposal afresh, carefully considering all of the representations I have received, and I intend to announce my final decision shortly with the aim of achieving the best result for the people of Dorset.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak grouped question UIN 128201 question first answered 22/02/2018 14:11:20 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

843765

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2018
	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	Local Government
	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 estimate his Department has made of the average cost to the public purse of local authority mergers in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	128203
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2018 answer text <p>The three proposals for merging district councils, which the Department has been considering over the last 12 months, have been assessed as delivering annual savings ranging from £0.8 to £3.1 million with pay back periods for covering one off transition costs from 1 to 3 years.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 22/02/2018 14:11:47 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

843766

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2018
	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	Local Government
	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 make it his policy that local referenda take place in advance of local authority mergers.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	128204
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2018 answer text <p>Our policy is to consider against the criteria the Secretary of State announced on 7 November 2017, any proposal for merging district councils when requested. It is for the councils making such a proposal to decide how to demonstrate the level of local support for it.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 22/02/2018 14:09:02 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

861129

	registered interest
	date	13/03/2018
	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	Local Government: Elections
	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 permit people running in local council elections to put their electoral ward as their address for personnel security reasons.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	132278
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2018 answer text <p>In its Response (Cm9578) published on the 14 March 2018, to the Committee on Standards in Public Life Review of Intimidation in Public Life, the Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation to remove the requirement for candidates standing as local councillors to have their home address published on the ballot paper, and will look to bring forward secondary legislation to achieve this at a suitable opportunity with the aim of effecting this change in time for the 2019 local elections. The intention is for this secondary legislation to replace the requirement for a specific address with an option to include a statement of residence based on an electoral area where the candidate lives.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 16/03/2018 14:20:50 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
	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

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