Written questions by Bedford.

Communities and Local Government, how many new homes have been built in (a) the UK, (b) Leicestershire and (c) Mid Leicestershire constituency since 5 July 2024.

The Department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build starts and completions in England, Leicestershire and in each local authority district. Statistics to the quarter ending September 2024 can be found in Table 253a on gov.uk here.Estimates of new build starts and completions in the UK are collated and published by the Office for National Statistics and are available on its website here.Both of these datasets cover new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply.The Department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply. This includes estimates of new homes delivered in each local authority, in each financial year, since 2001/02 to 2023-24 can be found in Live Table 122 on gov.uk here.Figures at parliamentary constituency level are not centrally collected.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of people who live in social housing in Mid Leicestershire constituency who were born in the UK.

The Department does not hold the required information. MHCLG publishes data on the number and proportion of people living in a new social housing letting issued in 2023/24 by local authority area, but this data does not cover all people living in the social rented sector.

What recent progress his Department has made on negotiating a free-trade agreement with the US.

The UK-US trading relationship is already worth around £300 billion, supporting over a million jobs and representing 17% of total UK trade. This government's priority is economic growth and increasing trade with international partners is a major part of that. The Prime Minister had a warm call with President Trump on 26 January where they discussed trade and the economy and agreed to meet soon for further discussions.

Representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what assessment the Committee has made of the effectiveness of the technology platform used to (a) process and (b) administer hon. Members' business costs.

The Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority annually scrutinises IPSA’s main estimate and business plan. This has included regular consideration of the effectiveness of IPSA Online, the system used in the processing and administration of MPs’ business costs, and plans for its improvement.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how his Department (a) tracks and (b) reports on the use of UK foreign aid funds in (a) Bangladesh and (b) other countries with known corruption risks; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that funds are not (i) diverted and (ii) misappropriated.

The official source of data on UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend (commonly referred to as foreign aid spend) is the Accredited Official Statistics publication "Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend" which includes a breakdown of bilateral ODA by benefitting country, including Bangladesh. The data is also reported to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in line with our obligations as a DAC member.The FCDO has a low appetite for fraud risks. This reflects our willingness to only accept the risks necessary for effective delivery, given our commitment to managing public money well. We take our responsibilities on counter-fraud seriously, and we expect our external partners to do the same.To help ensure that our ODA funding reaches its intended recipients, the FCDO maintains high standards of programme delivery and risk management. This includes, but is not limited to, maintaining clear audit trails, investigating suspicions or credible allegations of fraud, bribery, and corruption, maintaining financial oversight of programmes, and carrying out formal reviews of programmes to ensure that UK funds are being used for the purposes intended. The FCDO ensures that our delivery partners have robust fraud policies in place, and our due diligence assessments cover their ability to manage downstream partners.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has plans to introduce union representation onto freeport boards.

Freeports can play an important role in achieving our number one priority – economic growth – by attracting investment and creating jobs in former industrial heartlands across the UK. That is why the government confirmed it is backing the Freeports Programme in October 2024. We are, however, working closely with Freeports to review progress to date and how to best align the Programme with this government’s growth strategy. We will provide further details on these changes in due course.

What the average actual clearance times were for Pension Credit claims made from 25 November 2024 until the most recent date available.

Pension Credit application Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) are measured weekly. The AACT clearances are based on the week the claim was cleared, rather than the week the claim was made. The table below the most recent national AACT data. Week Date25/11/2402/12/2409/12/2416/12/2423/12/2430/12/2406/01/2513/01/2520/1/25PC Claims AACT (Working Days)828387664742444545 Please noteThe AACT is shown rounded to the nearest whole working day.The data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.These figures will not align to previous PQ responses due to retrospective updates as the data is sourced from live systems.DWP currently works to a planned timescale of 50 working days to clear Pension Credit claims.

Representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the transparency of the governance arrangements for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is accountable to the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (SCIPSA). SCIPSA has oversight of IPSA’s governance arrangements and its stewardship of its resources. SCIPSA is a statutory body whose role is defined by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as amended by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.The 2009 Act specifies the composition and powers of IPSA’s governing body, its board. IPSA’s board sets out the strategic vision for IPSA and approves its corporate plan and annual report and accounts, reviews the performance of the organisation, holds the executive to account and is responsible for determining schemes of MPs’ pay, pensions and business costs. The Board is statutorily responsible for the decisions about the regulation of MPs’ pay, pensions and business costs and therefore has collective responsibility for those decisions.IPSA's board publishes minutes of all its meetings, consults widely on proposals for remuneration and Scheme rules, and is required to be transparent in its use of public funds by virtue of the 2009 Act.As part of its statutory functions, the Speaker’s Committee reviews IPSA's annual estimates of the resources IPSA needs and must ensure these are consistent with the efficient and cost-effective discharge of IPSA's functions, before an estimate is laid before the House. The Committee takes into account any advice received from the Treasury as part of this process. If the Committee does not consider an estimate meets this test, then it has the power to seek modification of an estimate, in which case it must report its reasons for doing so to the House.At several points throughout the year SCIPSA meets IPSA to assess its performance, running costs and effectiveness in handling MPs’ staffing and business costs. The Committee last met IPSA in a public session on 22 January. A transcript of that session is available on the Committee’s website:https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/15257/pdf/The Committee is expected to hold its next meeting with IPSA on 11 March to consider its draft main estimate for 2025/26. This will be a public meeting and a recording of the session will be made available on Parliament Live. Later in the year the Committee will consider IPSA’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2024/25 at which point it will assess IPSA’s latest results against its performance indicators.In addition, the Speaker’s Committee has a statutory function to consider the Speaker’s selection, on the basis of fair and open competition, of IPSA’s board members. IPSA’s Chair is supported by four Board members, all of whom are appointed by SCIPSA. They are made up of a former MP, a statutory auditor, a former holder of high judicial office, and one other.In 2010, lay members were added to the Committee. The role of the lay member is to help promote greater transparency and independence in the Speaker’s Committee’s operations and to help support oversight of IPSA’s governance arrangements.

What proportion of accidents in England involved lane-keep assist intervention in 2023/24; and what steps she is taking to tackle concerns over the safety of such systems.

This information is not held by the Department.The internationally harmonised requirements for lane-keep assist systems that are mandated for UK vehicles provide assurance that they operate safely. Where there is evidence of genuine safety concerns with such systems, the Department will raise this at an international level with an aim to amend the regulatory requirements to address this.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the reliability of lane-keeping assist technologies (a) in challenging environmental conditions and (b) generally.

Lane keeping technology is designed to assist drivers but they must remain attentive and are still responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle at all times. Lane-keeping assist technologies must be approved to internationally agreed technical requirements that provide assurance of the safe operation of these systems. Manufacturers are free to determine the extent to which their system operates across a range of environmental conditions provided it is considered safe by the approval authority. The UK is an active participant in the negotiation of these requirements and has recently been involved in the development of a new regulation specifically to allow more sophisticated driver assistance systems. This new regulation gives approval authorities clearer direction on assessing the safe functioning of these systems, benefitting manufacturers when making the case for allowing their system to operate across a wider range of environmental conditions.

What steps her Department is taking to improve driver (a) awareness of and (b) education in the (i) limitations and (ii) proper usage of lane-keeping assist systems.

The Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) has developed a range of products to improve awareness and education of lane-keeping assist systems and other advanced driver assistance systems. The DVSA has also developed guidance to support the introduction of self-driving vehicles. This includes updating the Highway Code and introducing new guidance to a range of DVSA publications, such as their Essential Skills, Better Driving, and Theory Test for Cars publications. The DVSA have also created 18 videos on ADAS in their Essential Skills video series.

Representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, whether IPSA plans to implement efficiency savings to reduce operating costs to the levels of 2018-19.

IPSA has a statutory duty to support MPs in their parliamentary duties efficiently and cost effectively. As a proporation of IPSA's overall funding, operating costs have remained within 5% of its total budget.For 2018-19, IPSA's resourcing was subsequently recognised to be inadequate. The corporate plan for 2021-24 saw the introduction of IPSA's transformation programme which included resourcing IPSA effectively to address the issues MPs and their staff were experiencing.The feedback from MPs and their staff, and the year-on-year KPI data IPSA provides to SCIPSA, is evidence of increased efficiency and effectiveness. IPSA presents its fully-costed plans, including those relating to its own operating costs, for SCIPSA's review, challenge and approval annually.

Representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what proportion of employee work-time was spent working from (a) home and (b) an IPSA office location in 2023-24.

IPSA does not record data on the proportion of employee work-time spent working from home versus the office. IPSA changed its policy in 2020 to recruit nationwide to ensure its employees have a local understanding of the constituencies MPs serve. It operates a flexible hybrid working policy where staff will work from home, IPSA's office, or the House, attending engagements that need a physical presence.We measure performance based on outcomes and delivery rather than presence in the office. IPSA's performance has improved significantly since 2020, as recognised by SCIPSA.

What steps are taken to inform local (a) doctors and (b) police when children in care are relocated by a local authority to a privately run children's home.

Regulation 7 of the ‘The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010’ outlines local authorities’ responsibilities in respect of the health and wellbeing of looked after children. The responsible local authority must ensure looked after children receive appropriate health care services according to their health plan, including medical and dental care, and health advice. They must also arrange for a registered medical practitioner, nurse, or midwife to review the child’s health and provide a written report every 6 months before the child’s fifth birthday and every 12 months after the child’s fifth birthday.Specifically, under Regulation 13 of the above Regulations, the responsible authority must give written notification of the child’s placement before that placement takes place (or within 5 days if the placement is made in an emergency) to the following parties: NHS England and the integrated care board (or the local health board for a child in Wales) for both the current and new areas; the child’s registered medical practitioner and, if applicable, the new medical practitioner; any educational institution attended or to be attended by the child. The written notification of the placement arrangements should include a summary of the proposed arrangements and objectives, and for an accommodated child, it should also outline the agreed arrangements for ending the placement.

Which local authority is responsible for children's care when they are relocated to a privately run children's home by a local authority.

The local authority which has responsibility to provide services for a looked after child will be the authority within which the child is when the responsibility arises, for example when they are subject to a Section 20 or Care Order. This duty remains in place when a child is placed in a privately run children’s home, even if this home is located outside of the local authority.Under Section 22G of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a duty to ensure that they provide accommodation that meets children’s needs and is within the authority’s area. The decision to place a looked after child outside the area of the responsible authority (including a placement outside England) must not be put into effect until it has been approved by a nominated officer, and, if the placement is at a distance, the director of children’s services. The responsible authority must notify the authority area of the child’s placement, but responsibility for the child remains with the placing local authority.

What the average time taken is for Pension Credit appeals to be reviewed.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

How many private dwellings have been converted into children's homes in Leicestershire in each of the last five years.

Neither the department nor Ofsted keep a record of the number of homes that are converted into children’s homes.

How many Pension Credit decisions have been appealed since 29 July 2024; and what the success rate was of those appeals.

Information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.From 29 July to 30 September 2024 (the latest period for which statistics have been published), the Tribunal received 40 Pension Credit appeals. As of 30 September 2024, (the latest publication) none of those cases had been disposed of, as appeals need time to work their way through the Tribunals system. These disposals will be counted in future quarterly publications.

What steps her Department is taking to inform local communities before migrants are housed in hotel accommodation in that area.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered.The Home Office liaises with statutory partners, including local authorities, through Multi Agency Forums and Regional Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMP) on matters relating to its asylum accommodation footprint.  SMPs are Local Government led partnerships funded by, but independent of, the Home Office, whose role is to coordinate and support delivery of national programmes in asylum and refugee schemes as well as agreed regional and devolved migration priorities.

What safeguards are in place to ensure people who (a) own, (b) manage and (c) work in private children's homes are properly qualified.

Providers of children’s homes must register with Ofsted and prove that they are financially, mentally, and physically fit to carry on a children’s home, and that they are of integrity and good character. These requirements are set out in Regulation 26 of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015.Managers of children’s homes are required to register with Ofsted. They are required to hold a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) and to have at least two years’ experience working in children’s residential care, as per Regulation 28 of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015. They must also pass a fit and proper persons interview with Ofsted to demonstrate they have the required knowledge and skills to manage the home.Non-managerial staff in children's homes must hold Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) or an equivalent qualification, as per Regulation 32 of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015. It is the responsibility of the registered manager to verify that their staff hold, or are working towards, this qualification. Providers have a responsibility to ensure that their staff are trained to meet the needs of the children they care for.Providers and anyone working in regulated activity in a children’s home must undergo an enhanced DBS check, including the barred list.Ofsted aim to inspect children’s homes at least once per year. When a home is judged to be inadequate or require improvement to be good, Ofsted usually conduct a second, assurance visit within the same inspection period.The policy paper ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’ details the department’s ambition to introduce a provider oversight scheme to increase Ofsted’s existing powers to ensure provider groups are held responsible for the quality of the children’s homes that they own through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.This will give Ofsted the power to issue fines for breaches of the Care Standards Act 2000, including to unregistered providers, and enable them to hold provider groups to account for quality issues in the provision of care. The Bill will also protect 16 and 17-year-olds from ill-treatment or wilful neglect by making low-level abuse of these young people in children’s social care settings a prosecutable offence. The Bill will also introduce a financial oversight scheme to increase financial and corporate transparency of children’s social care providers in order to allow for assessment of financial risk and advance warning of risks to providers’ financial sustainability.