Did you mean an AUSTIN?
Ian Austin: The Department launched a public consultation on 23 December 2009 in order to seek views and comments on what Ordnance Survey datasets should be made available for free re-use under the Making Public Data Public agenda. During the consultation period, the Department will engage with key stakeholders, including Royal Mail which owns the Postcode Address File database, in order to seek their...
Ian Austin: The weekend before last, 13 British citizens including, disgracefully, a Member of this House, were present at a party in a French restaurant where members of that group—[Interruption.] It is no laughing matter—where members of that group toasted the Third Reich and chanted “Hitler, Hitler, Hitler,” behaviour which, I understand, is illegal in France. Will the Home Secretary give me...
Ian Austin: Information on the number of dwellings in each region of England is shown on an annual basis in live table 109 on the Communities and Local Government website at the following link: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table-10 9.xls Information on the number of households in each region of England is shown on an annual basis in live table S135a on the Communities and Local...
Ian Austin: May we have an urgent debate on the welfare benefits system? Ordinary decent people in Dudley and elsewhere will have been shocked to discover this morning that while they are having to work harder, pay more tax, receive poorer services and, in some cases, lose child benefit and tax credits, hundreds of thousands of east European migrants will be able to claim hundreds of pounds a...
Ian Austin: If we are to make real improvements in cycling, we must ensure that it is considered properly as part of all decisions and policies on road use, so will the Minister consider the Cycle Stakeholder Forum’s proposal to add a mandatory risk assessment and consultation on cycling to every policy review that affects road users? That would have no cost implications but would make a real...
Ian Austin: The Secretary of State will be aware that Dudley is home to A Squadron The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, a brilliant reserve unit that is well supported and has deep roots in the local community. Will he join me in congratulating it on the brilliant recruitment day it organised a few weeks ago, which I was privileged to be invited to attend? Is that not exactly the sort of...
Ian Austin: I want to place on the record that I have been contacted by constituents in Dudley who have told me how grateful they are to my hon. Friend for the lead she has given and for the campaigning she has done on this issue. One constituent has written to me about allegations of impropriety in relation to doctors being encouraged by pharmaceutical companies to use plasma concentrates instead of...
Ian Austin: Local planning authorities can already make preservation orders to protect trees on Network Rail property, including railway embankments. Local planning authorities can also intervene on proposals by Network Rail to undertake works on such trees. Network Rail, as a statutory undertaker, has an exemption within the legislation to undertake works to protected trees which is necessary for public...
Ian Austin: Planning applications under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 are made to the relevant local planning authority. In London, the Mayor has powers to take certain planning decisions. The Secretary of State deals with appeals and projects called in for determination. Nationally significant infrastructure projects will in future be considered by the Infrastructure Planning Commission which...
Ian Austin: With regard to social housing, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 5 May 2009, Official Report, column 127W and the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 11 March 2009, Official Report, column 506W. With regard to private sector housing, the Government's planning policy for housing (PPS3) is clear on the need...
Ian Austin: Policy EC6 of Draft PPS4 supports small shops proposing that local planning authorities should recognise that such shops can significantly enhance the character and vibrancy of centres and make a valuable contribution to consumer choice. Draft policy EC13 also requires local planning authorities to protect and strengthen local and village shops ensuring that their importance to the local...
Ian Austin: The Department has issued statutory guidance to local authorities about responding to tenants of private landlords who apply to the local authority for housing assistance following receipt of a notice of intention to recover possession from their landlord. The guidance, at paragraph 8.30 et seq of the 'Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities', was issued in July 2006. The code of...
Ian Austin: We cannot provide figures at constituency level. We do not hold a figure for the number of properties improved by the London borough of Hounslow each year under the decent homes programme. The number of non-decent homes each year is shown in the table. Non-decent dwelling estimates-Hounslow Total stock Non-decent dwellings Percentage non-decent 2001 15,091 10,500 70 ...
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if he will put in place measures to ensure that the reduction in funding for local authorities will not result in the closure of local sports and leisure facilities; (2) if he will put in place measures to ensure that the reduction in funding for local authorities will not result in a rise in (a) discretionary rates...
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment he has made of the extent to which sentences given to drivers who (a) injure and (b) kill cyclists as a result of (i) careless and (ii) dangerous driving reflect the effect of such offences on victims and their families; (2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sentences given to drivers who (a) injure and (b)...
Ian Austin: I listened to the answer to Question 7 earlier, but surely the best way to improve accountability in the NHS would be much greater consumer choice and competition when it comes to GP services, for which there are virtually no comparative data at the moment. With modern IT, why can patients not choose to have their own medical records and then ring round to find a GP who will treat them when...
Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the (a) name, (b) location, (c) floor space, (d) tenure status and (e) value is of properties (i) owned and (ii) occupied by (A) his Department and (B) agencies and public bodies accountable to him; (2) which central government office estate buildings are currently (a) unoccupied and (b) under-occupied; (3) what progress has been made on...
Ian Austin: Would not next year's anniversary be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our Britishness and the shared values of democracy, equality, freedom, fairness and tolerance that bind this united country together? Given that people from all parts of the United Kingdom have worked and fought together for centuries, would not the anniversary be a great opportunity to reject once and for all divisive,...
Ian Austin: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However neither source has data on the number of bedrooms of the property being repossessed. The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest press release on repossessions is on their website at:...
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what recent representations she has received on the operation of Union of Good in the UK; (2) what recent representations she has received on alleged financial and political links between Union of Good and (a) Interpal and (b) Islamic Relief Worldwide; (3) what recent representations she has received on alleged financial and...