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170622

registered interest
date	16/12/2014
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 Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has published to assist local authorities to reduce waste and make savings rather than cutting frontline services.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	218982
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2015 answer text <p>My Department has undertaken a range of work to help councils deliver sensible savings and improve local services. A list of examples is below:</p><p> </p><p>50 ways to save – examples of sensible savings in local government</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/50-ways-to-save-examples-of-sensible-savings-in-local-government" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/50-ways-to-save-examples-of-sensible-savings-in-local-government</a></p><p> </p><p>Good practice in local government savings</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-practice-in-local-government-savings" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-practice-in-local-government-savings</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on detecting and preventing fraud (part of the Transparency Code)</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-transparency-code-2014" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-transparency-code-2014</a></p><p> </p><p>The Knight Review on the scope for efficiencies and operational improvements in the fire sector</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/facing-the-future" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/facing-the-future</a></p><p> </p><p>Fire and rescue procurement and collaboration</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-and-rescue-procurement-aggregation-and-collaboration" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-and-rescue-procurement-aggregation-and-collaboration</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on weekly rubbish collections (including guidance on delivering savings whilst maintaining a comprehensive weekly service)</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><p>Localism Act pay statements guidance (how councillors can use their powers to control senior pay deals)</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/openness-and-accountability-in-local-pay-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/openness-and-accountability-in-local-pay-guidance</a></p><p> </p><p>Taxpayer funding of trade unions: delivering sensible savings in local government</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taxpayer-funding-of-trade-unions-delivering-sensible-savings-in-local-government" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taxpayer-funding-of-trade-unions-delivering-sensible-savings-in-local-government</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 07/01/2015 15:50:52 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

170763

registered interest
date	16/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Squatting: Prosecutions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Crown Prosecution Service on ensuring that prosecutions are made under squatting legislation.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	219044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2015 answer text <p>Squatting in someone’s home can cause the rightful owner untold misery and it is right that the practice is now criminal. We worked closely with the enforcement agencies when preparing for the commencement of the offence of squatting in a residential building, created by section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Prosecutions will always be brought where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 07/01/2015 17:39:02 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

170764

registered interest
date	16/12/2014
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	Travellers: Caravan Sites
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Department has made of the prevalence of the use of pre-emptive injunctions to protect land from unauthorised encampments.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	219045
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p>The Government is concerned about the cost and disruption that can be caused by unauthorised encampments. In August 2013, we sent all council leaders in England updated guidance <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments-a-summary-of-available-powers" target="_blank">(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments-a-summary-of-available-powers</a>) reminding them to act swiftly and setting out the strong powers councils and landowners have to deal with illegal and unauthorised encampments, including the use of pre-emptive injunctions. There are concerns about reports that, at times, the police and local authorities, have not been willing to use powers available to them. The Department will therefore be looking to have discussions with Ministerial colleagues to look at what more we can do to help councils and the police deal effectively with unauthorised encampments.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis grouped question UIN 219043 question first answered 06/01/2015 17:27:52 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

170329

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	Council Tax
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which councils have signed up to his Department's offer of additional funding to freeze council tax in 2014-15.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	218809
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>In total 251 authorities in England froze or reduced their band D council tax in 2014-15, which is 60% of those eligible. A list of authorities which met the criteria of the 2014-15 council tax freeze scheme and therefore received the additional funding is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/317658/140415_312335_Council_Tax_Freeze__Revenue__Grant_Determination_2014-15.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/317658/140415_312335_Council_Tax_Freeze__Revenue__Grant_Determination_2014-15.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 18/12/2014 16:07:08 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

170331

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	Non-domestic Rates: Barnet
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 the Department has made of the number of small firms and shops in (a) the London borough of Barnet and (b) Hendon constituency which will have a reduction in business rates in 2015-16.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	218808
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>The Chancellor announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement polices in 2015-16 to £1.4 billion. Autumn Statement 2014 help includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>doubling small business rate relief for a further year. In England, this means an estimated 385,000 properties will pay no rates at all, while a further 190,000 properties will benefit from tapered relief.</li><li>a 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier. This is a continuation of the 2% cap introduced in 2014-15 as part of Autumn Statement 2013 measures;</li><li>increasing the temporary £1,000 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16, benefitting an estimated 300,000 properties in England; and</li><li>extending the existing transitional relief scheme for two years for properties with a rateable value up to and including £50,000.</li></ul><p> </p><p>These policies are in addition to previous Autumn Statement measures that continue into 2015-16, including:</p><p> </p><ul><li>a 50 per cent discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops;</li><li>allowing businesses to keep their small business rate relief for a year where they take on an additional property; and</li><li>business rates relief for empty new builds.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Central Government also now funds 50% of any local discount granted.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not collect data on a constituency basis, but Hendon constituency lies entirely within the boundary of the London Borough of Barnet. In addition to this, local authority level data is not yet available for the number of properties that will benefit from Autumn Statement 2014 measures in 2015-16. The attached table shows the number of properties in 2014-15 within the boundary of the London Borough of Barnet that benefit from business rates measures extended in this year’s Autumn Statement.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 18/12/2014 16:23:33 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name 218808 Offord - Table.docx title Table
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

166951

registered interest
date	01/12/2014
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	Green Belt
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what further steps his Department has taken to help local authorities execute their responsibilities in relation to plan-making and protection for the greenbelt.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	216573
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p>The Coalition Government has ensured that strong protections for the Green Belt are in place. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that most types of new building are inappropriate in Green Belt and by definition, harmful to it. Such development should not be approved except in very special circumstances. Green Belt boundaries can be altered only in exceptional circumstances following local consultation and independent scrutiny of the Local Plan. The total amount of Green Belt in England has remained constant at 13 per cent.<br><br>In October we issued additional guidance to help local authorities allocate land appropriately in Local Plans [http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/housing-and-economic-land-availability-assessment/stage-5-final-evidence-base/]. This underlines the importance of Green Belt protection.<br><br><br>The Localism Act 2011 has strengthened the role of Local Plans and abolished the last Administration's top-down Regional Strategies which sought to delete the Green Belt in and around 30 towns and cities. Our streamlined Framework strongly encourages areas to get up-to-date Local Plans in place, and we have been actively supporting councils in doing so. We have recently seen a major improvement: 80 per cent of authorities now have a published Plan. To place this in context, six years after the Labour Government's 2004 Planning Act, by May 2010, only one in six local planning authorities had an adopted Core Strategy, reflecting how the tortuous regional planning process slowed down development and stymied local plan-making and local decision-making.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 06/01/2015 17:22:49 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

166978

registered interest
date	01/12/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department expects to publish the data gathered through the Property Data Survey Programme.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	216569
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p>The Property Data Survey Programme, which carried out high-level condition surveys of the school estate in England, completed its last survey in July 2014. To ensure that the data is sufficiently robust before it is put to any further use, I asked officials to share the data we had gathered with schools and responsible bodies and rectify any significant variances in the dataset.</p><p> </p><p>The deadline for feedback from schools and responsible bodies has recently passed and officials are presently considering where we need to update the survey information. Once this is completed, we will be giving further consideration to future publication of the data.</p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 05/12/2014 14:50:14 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

166979

registered interest
date	01/12/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to assist high-quality and in-demand nurseries provide more places.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	216570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Education have taken a number of actions as part of the Government’s plan to increase the supply and affordability of childcare.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has extended free early learning places to around 260,000 two-year-olds from September 2014. Low income working parents can already benefit from support through the childcare element of working tax credit. Once Universal Credit is introduced this will rise to 85% of costs. From autumn 2015 almost 2 million families could benefit from a new tax free childcare scheme, worth up to £2,000 per child which will expand support for affordable childcare and stimulate demand. We are investing £50 million through a new Early Years Pupil Premium to support the early education of disadvantaged children.</p><p> </p><p>Our reforms to the role of local authorities have reduced unnecessary bureaucracy and improved consistency in accessing Government funding. All providers judged ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and providers newly registered with Ofsted are guaranteed early education funding making it easier for existing providers to expand their business and new providers to enter the market.</p><p> </p><p>We have relaxed planning rules so that non-domestic early years childcare providers can deliver additional and high quality places to meet increasing demand allowing premises previously used for offices, hotels, non-residential institutions, and leisure and assembly purposes to be able to change use to nurseries. We are exploring local authorities’ use of their discretionary rate relief powers to support business rates costs falling to childcare providers.</p><p>We have brought forward legislation to enable providers to register multiple premises in a single registration process so, for example, a nursery chain can notify Ofsted of its intention to open a number of new settings in a single registration process.</p><p> </p><p>We have also brought forward legislation to remove the requirement for schools to register separately with Ofsted to take two-year-olds and are supporting partnership working between schools and private and voluntary providers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We know that high-quality childcare has a powerful impact on children’s outcomes, particularly the most disadvantaged children. That is why we are driving up standards through a stronger inspection framework, and focusing Local Authority support on weaker providers and improving the skills and status of the workforce.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 08/12/2014 17:11:13 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

166986

registered interest
date	01/12/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Social Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to finalise its draft Knowledge and Skills Statement for child and family social work.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	216566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2014 answer text <p>We published the statement of the knowledge and skills for child and family social work on 28 November 2014. The statement, along with the Government’s response to the consultation, can be accessed via the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/knowledge-and-skills-for-child-and-family-social-work" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/knowledge-and-skills-for-child-and-family-social-work</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 04/12/2014 18:17:13 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

167108

registered interest
date	01/12/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Terrorism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on working with internet companies to restrict access to terrorist material which is hosted overseas but is illegal under UK law.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	216571
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p>We have made considerable progress in restricting online access to terrorist related material, the majority of which is hosted overseas. Since February 2010, the police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) has secured the removal of more than 65,000 pieces of unlawful terrorist-related content, with over 46,000 of these removed since the start of this year.</p><p>Where the police cannot remove terrorist content, we are working with Internet Service Providers to further restrict access to this material and identify other legal but harmful extremist content to be included in family-friendly filters.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 05/12/2014 17:14:22 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord