Draft Domestic Abuse Bill: Draft Domestic Abuse Bill.
Witnesses: Mrs Heather Wheeler MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care
Heather Wheeler: The area of Victoria Tower Gardens to be occupied by the structures and courtyard paving of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning centre in square metres was 1400 m2 in the planning application submitted in December 2018 (7.43 per cent of the park area) and 1429 m2 in the revised proposals of April 2019 (7.58 per cent of the park area).
Heather Wheeler: The additional £25 million will provide further funding for the revised entrance pavilion, the Memorial courtyard and surrounding landscaping, and to take account of VAT incurred on the overall project costs.
Heather Wheeler: The estimated total cost for building the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre is £102 million (including VAT). Government has committed up to £75 million towards the overall costs subject to at least £25 million being secured from private sources.
Heather Wheeler: A fund-raising campaign is being led by a newly established independent charity, led by Foundation member Gerald Ronson CBE, who has committed to securing pledges of at least £25 million.
Heather Wheeler: MHCLG’s latest annual rough sleeping statistics are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-e ngland-autumn-2018 These statistics provide a single night snapshot of people sleeping rough across each local authority in England. The snapshot is taken annually by local authorities using street counts, evidence-based estimates, and estimates...
Heather Wheeler: The Wiltshire & Swindon Local Resilience Forum debrief report into the Salisbury and Amesbury nerve agent incidents in 2018 cannot be placed into the Library of the House of Commons because it contains sensitive information which cannot be released into the public domain.
Heather Wheeler: We expect to consult on our reforms over the summer. We want to collaborate with landlords and tenants to ensure these reforms are introduced effectively.
Heather Wheeler: The Government is working in partnership with places to develop Local Industrial Strategies by Spring 2020 to ensure that all places, including coastal communities, can contribute to and benefit from growth and sustainable job creation through employment and skills policies. Local Growth Deals are also providing coastal Local Enterprise Partnerships with funding to promote economic growth and...
Heather Wheeler: We will be publishing our consultation on the New Homes Ombudsman in due course. The consultation will also seek views on whether a Code of Practice for developers should be underpinned in statute.
Heather Wheeler: Our veterans play a vital role in keeping our country safe and we are committed to ensuring that they are provided with all the support they need to successfully adjust back into civilian life. In March we allocated an additional £1 million of bespoke funding to support ex-members of the armed forces who are or are at risk of becoming homeless. The funding has been allocated between the...
Heather Wheeler: I want to ensure we can be proud of the next generation of homes we build. We know more needs to be done to protect consumers. We have announced our intention for a New Homes Ombudsman to be established and I am considering options for a shadow ombudsman. We will be bringing forward legislation to require developers to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman, which will treat home buyers fairly....
Heather Wheeler: It is also my first time serving with you in the Chair, Ms McDonagh. I congratulate the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mike Hill) on securing the debate. I am sure it was a bit of a lottery and that probably many people applied for it. As we have heard, more than 355,000 signatures are on the petition. That shows the strength of feeling about the misuse of anti-bird netting in our country, so I...
Heather Wheeler: The hon. Lady makes a very good point. That council has learnt its lesson. It should have brought the RSPB in much earlier, but it did rectify the situation. I also watched that footage and it was very distressing. Netting is permissible if the intention is to protect birds, but I suspect that many of those who signed the petition are concerned that these rules are often carefully...
Heather Wheeler: There’s a scoop for you.
Heather Wheeler: Regretfully, we need legislation to do that. When the Bill comes in, that will be the legislative vehicle for it, because whether it is birds or hedgehogs, we are determined that our wildlife does not just survive, but thrives.
Heather Wheeler: Again, the hon. Lady makes a perfectly reasonable point. I am sure the people in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will have heard it and will pick up on it. DEFRA’s recent consultation proposed introducing a requirement for new developments to deliver a 10% net gain for biodiversity, onsite or off. It also includes an alternative tariff that developers could pay to...
Heather Wheeler: In every planning application, the matter will be dealt with at the local level, so local wishes will be part of the decision-making process.
Heather Wheeler: Indeed, and as I like to remind hon. Members, that will be debated as part of the Environment Bill when it is introduced. I am sure all hon. Members present would like to take part in that debate when it happens.
Heather Wheeler: In due course. There is no question of making a choice between homes and nature. We can and must have both, because for us, as well as for animals, the benefits are clear. Our natural environment can have a profound impact on our physical and mental health. We need access to our natural environment; it is part of what makes life on earth worth while. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with...