Written Statements

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

Monday 24 May 2021

Intellectual Property Office: Performance Targets 2021-22

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)]

Unleashing innovation and creativity will be at the heart of the post-pandemic recovery and support British businesses to build back better. The Government’s Research and Development Roadmap sets clear objectives for increasing investment in research and becoming world-class at securing economic and social benefits; inspiring creators, entrepreneurs and start-ups; increasing the flow of capital into firms that are committed to research and development; attracting and retaining talented, diverse teams; making long term commitments to people, places and institutions and collaborating nationally and internationally to deliver world-leading innovation and creativity that achieves world-beating results.

Last year, communities and economies across the world faced unprecedented disruption due to the covid-19 pandemic. At a time of such devastation, we saw the best in British ingenuity. From our leading research institutions to schools and colleges, and from distilleries to Formula One teams, British innovators developed and manufactured life-saving sanitisers, vaccinations and ventilators. These technologies now offer a route out of the current pandemic. By enabling collaboration and incentivising investment, IP will play an important part in beating covid-19 once and for all. We are already reaping the benefits of the IP framework through its impact in mobilising research and development of game-changing vaccines at record speed. Funding by the UK Government has been vital in the rapid development, approval and deployment of vaccines and licensing of IP will be critical in reaching global communities. We can also credit this success to the decades of investment in science and innovation and sharing of knowledge underpinned by the IP system.

The Intellectual Property Office’s ambition is to be the best IP office in the world, by providing excellent IP services, a legislative and policy framework that is world leading and a brilliant place to work. It is transforming its ways of working, its services and the way it engages customers. Thanks to the resilience, creative thinking and team-work of its staff, the IPO stayed open for business throughout the pandemic and switched to digital delivery for many services. Now it needs to build on that to help businesses recover and grow.

This year, it expects intellectual property rights applications to increase by around 25%. To respond to this demand it will grow the work force, and importantly build its culture to match its bold ambitions. It will invest in its service delivery to ensure it can uphold excellent customer satisfaction for the long term.

IP underpins economic growth by incentivising investment, safe-guarding assets and enabling the sharing of know-how in technologies like life sciences and artificial intelligence. IP will help enable Britain to forge an unbeatable competitive advantage, accelerate the transition to net zero energy, beat the pandemic, and drive up innovation and creativity to build back better.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Corporate Plan 2021-22 explains how through its stewardship of the IP system, the IPO will help the UK to become the most innovative and creative country in the world as an independent nation. It will do this through delivering excellent IP services, creating a world leading IP environment and attracting and retaining the best people by making the IPO a brilliant place to work.

As an Executive Agency and Trading Fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the IPO has set targets which are agreed by Ministers and laid before Parliament. I am glad that today I can inform the House that for 2020-21 the IPO’s targets are:

Customer: Average overall customer satisfaction with the IPO of 85% or more in Q4 2021-22.

Future proofing the IP Framework: Consult on changes to patent and copyright law to meet the future challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence, and present recommendations to ministers by Q4.

Efficiency: Delivering our services efficiently through continuously improving our systems, processes and way of working to make things better for our customers and our people. Our target is to achieve efficiencies worth at least 3.5% of our core operating costs.

The plan includes actions to help businesses recover and grow after the covid-19 pandemic. The IPO’s priorities reflect this and it will review them as the consequences of efforts to control the virus become clearer. It has the ability to adapt its finance and resource models according to emerging trends and will do so through robust quarterly reforecasting. It will also work with BEIS and its other partner organisations to review its priorities regularly, ensuring that it supports wider Government responses to the economic impact of the virus and seek to focus its efforts and resources where they will have the most significant impact driving the UK innovation and creative economy.

[HCWS45]

New Fleet Solid Support Competition

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ben Wallace)]

Today I am pleased to be able to provide an update on our plans to take forward procurement of the fleet solid support (FSS) ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The MOD’s FSS programme is delivering three warships essential to the UK’s carrier-led maritime strike group, while assuring value for money for the taxpayer.

Last year I said the new competition would be launched in spring 2021, and today I am pleased to announce that a contract notice has now been issued, inviting companies to register interest in participating in the tender for the design and build of FSS ships.



I am determined that all these ships will be integrated in the UK as well as keen to see British build playing a full or part role in the competition. The competition therefore seeks to maximise UK social value, balanced with the need to deliver value for money, while encouraging investment in domestic shipyards.

This is also an opportunity for British firms to work alongside international partners.

The competition consists of a two-phase process. Phase 1 is focused on the initial design maturity, with phase 2 focused on the manufacture contract negotiation. Contract award is expected to be within two years, following approvals.

[HCWS47]

Expert Panel for Fan-led Review of Football Governance

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Nigel Huddleston)]

This statement sets out the full membership of the advisory panel to support the work of the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch), as she commences the fan-led review of football.

The panel features fan representation at its heart and includes former players, managers, current administrators, non-league, independent members and representatives of the women’s game. The chair and panel will now begin a series of roundtable meetings that will reach out to fans and governing bodies across the football pyramid to hear their views on the future of football.

Fans are at the heart of our national game and the Government are ensuring their safe return to stadia across the country. Fans will be at the centre of the review, with extensive engagement with the premier league, championship, women’s football, leagues one and two and non-league, as well as community and diversity fan networks.

The chair and panel will canvass fans’ views on ownership, governance and financial flows within the game. In addition, they will assess the need for an independent football regulator charged with implementing regulation and compliance, and how that might work within the existing framework provided by the Football Association, Premier League and English Football League.

The panel announced reflects all parts of the game, and the review of football governance wants to hear that diversity reflected in the views it receives on how our national game can be changed for the better for all fans.

A copy of the membership of the panel will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

Fan-led Review of Football Governance Advisory Panel: the full panel is as follows:

Fans’ representative - Kevin Miles (CEO, The Football Supporters’ Association)

Former footballer - Clarke Carlisle

Commercial expertise - Dan Jones (Deloitte)

Football administration - Prof Denise Barrett-Baxendale (CEO, Everton FC)

Independent - Danny Finkelstein, independent member

Independent/regulation - David Mahoney (COO, England and Wales Cricket Board, formerly Ofcom)

Independent - Godric Smith, Director, Cambridge United

Women’s Game - Dawn Airy, Chair WSL

Non-league Representation - James Tedford, formerly Secretary, Southport FC

Former manager - Roy Hodgson

[HCWS51]

Law Enforcement Records

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

[The Minister for Crime and Policing (Kit Malthouse)]

Further to my statement to the House on the 18 January and a further written statement on 8 February (HCWS774), this is an update on recovery of the “No Further Action” records deleted from the police national computer (PNC) in error.

Today, I am confirming that the data that was wrongly deleted from the PNC, fingerprint and DNA databases has now been fully recovered. 100% of the deleted records has been recovered and returned to the affected databases.

Over 99% of the data deleted from the PNC was recovered within the previously announced timeline. The remaining records required manual insertion into the PNC, which is a more time-consuming process. Intensive work has been undertaken with our colleagues at the ACRO Criminal Records Office over recent weeks and I can confirm that this work is now also complete.

I want to thank the National Police Chiefs Council, ACRO and the engineers and members of staff across the Home Office who have worked around the clock to make this possible.

I know that members across this House have rightly been eager to understand the operational impact that this data deletion has had while the recovery effort has progressed.

To date, we are not aware of any law enforcement operations that were significantly adversely affected by this incident. However, further work is ongoing to help us understand the full impact now that the data has been fully restored, which is being led by the National Police Chiefs Council.

It is important to reaffirm that no records of convictions were deleted as a result of this incident, and deletions only related to records in cases that occurred prior to 2015.

As set out previously, mitigations were put into place to minimise the impact of the deletion of the data; those mitigations have been effective.

Key amongst those was the ability of the police to continue to conduct simultaneous searches on other unaffected law enforcement systems such as the police national database. Alongside this, the Home Office and our suppliers worked to make the incorrectly deleted DNA profiles available to policing and to reinstate fingerprint records whilst the full capability was being restored.

As well as the data recovery exercise, we have also taken steps to provide additional assurances on the PNC system since the incident occurred. This includes bringing in extra personnel for quality control and ensuring extra checks are in place on all work being undertaken. The Home Office has engaged intensively with policing to strengthen checks on any future updates to law enforcement systems. This includes the development and introduction of new processes and operating models to bolster the checks to ensure an error like this one does not happen again.

The Home Secretary and I commissioned an independent review, led by an external panel chaired by Lord Hogan-Howe, to investigate how this happened and to ensure the necessary lessons are learned to avoid similar incidents in the future. We are extremely grateful to Lord Hogan-Howe and his team for their work.

In line with the commitment made when this review was commissioned, a summary of this review will today be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The report confirms the minimal impact that the incident has had on police investigations as well as the criminal justice system more widely and will enable us to address the operational and technical failures that led to this error.

The review sets out a wide range of recommendations for both the Home Office as well as the police to address the underlying factors that led to this unacceptable incident. We have considered these recommendations very carefully and I can confirm both the Home Office and the police have accepted all the recommendations in full and work is already under way to take the necessary steps to respond to the recommendations.

Work will now commence on phase 4 of the recovery effort, which will aim to delete data which should have been deleted but erroneously has remained on the PNC as a result of this incident. I will provide a further update to the House on this work in due course.

[HCWS49]

New Plan for Immigration: Legal Migration and Border Control

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel)]

On 31 December 2020, freedom of movement between the United Kingdom and the European Union ended. The UK’s new points-based immigration system is now in place and receiving applications. This was a significant milestone which delivered on a key HM Government commitment to the British people to take back control of our borders and put in place an immigration system which works in the interests of our whole United Kingdom.

However, this only marked the beginning of a wider programme of change to radically transform the operation of our border and immigration system.



In March I set out our plans to fix our broken asylum system and build a fair, but also firm, system for dealing with humanitarian protection claims and illegal migration through this Government’s New Plan for Immigration.

Today I am laying before the House a command paper (CP 441) setting out our New Plan for Immigration for legal migration and border control. Together both papers provide a complete picture of the Government’s plan to take back control of our borders and immigration system.

Building on the success of the EU settlement scheme and the points-based system, over the next four years we will implement further reforms to bring more radical changes and benefits to the way all individuals cross the border and come to the UK. This will support the plan for growth and two strands of the Government’s build back better agenda: to build back safer by securing the UK border and ensuring compliance with a new system of controlled immigration, and to build back stronger by supporting the UK’s domestic labour market and attracting the brightest and best global talent to the UK to live, work and study.

The strategy statement I have published today sets out our programme for 2021 and 2022. This includes: further reform to the points-based system, a new graduate visa, new routes to attract top talent to the UK, and a new international sportsperson route, alongside further simplification of our immigration rules to streamline our systems and reduce complexity. We will also be improving the user experience by implementing digital solutions, removing paper from the process and reducing the need to attend application centres. This will lay the groundwork for the full transformation of the border and immigration system in the coming years.

It also outlines our vision for the border and immigration system beyond 2022, with this next phase of our programme being truly transformational for everyone using our systems and crossing the UK border, implementing major elements of HM Government’s published 2025 UK border strategy.

We are moving away from a complex system reliant on people proving their rights through physical documents, sometimes decades old, to a streamlined system which is digital by default. Our goal is to achieve this by the end of 2024. This will make the system quicker, easier and in some cases safer for people applying to come to the UK and proving their rights when in the UK.

Through upstream transformation to our border and immigration system we will also improve our ability to know more about people before they reach the UK border. We will introduce an electronic travel authorisation scheme as part of a wider universal permission to travel requirement for everyone wishing to travel to the UK—except British and Irish citizens. This will support us in our ambition to be global leaders in providing a streamlined and seamless customer experience.

This is an ambitious programme to deliver a world-leading border and immigration system. The plans set out in the strategy statement are essential if we are to have a border and immigration system which will attract highly skilled people, while also strengthening the security of our United Kingdom.

[HCWS46]

Policing of Clapham Common Vigil for Sarah Everard

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

[The Minister for Crime and Policing (Kit Malthouse)]

On 13 March at Clapham Common, an unofficial vigil took place to mark the tragic death of Sarah Everard. Following the coverage of the policing of the vigil, the Home Secretary—and subsequently the Mayor of London—asked Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of the Constabulary, Sir Tom Winsor, to conduct a bespoke inspection into the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) handling of the vigil. This was set in the context of the “stay at home” covid-19 regulations in place at the time, which put in place temporary restrictions on gatherings of more than two people save for specific exemptions, to protect the NHS and prevent the spread of covid-19. This included temporarily and proportionately reducing the opportunities for people to exercise their freedom of assembly as part of an organised protest.



Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, fire and rescue services (HMICFRS) published its report on 30 March. I am grateful to Sir Thomas Winsor and his team for conducting this review at speed.

The report sets out the context for the events of 13 March. Following the death of Sarah Everard, members of Reclaim These Streets proposed to organise a vigil close to where she was last seen. However, after a High Court judgment on 12 March refused an application by Reclaim These Streets, it was announced by the organisers that the vigil would not take place. Members of the public however still attended.

The report’s main findings were that: the inspectorate is satisfied that, on balance, the MPS’s desire for consistency in policing mass gatherings justified its stance towards the vigil; there were three principles why MPS supporting a “covid-19 friendly” event was not a realistic option; and the police’s actions at the event were proportionate. While the vast majority of attendees were peaceful and respectful throughout the vigil, after 6 pm the report found that the event changed and became far more like a rally with dense crowds and little or no social distancing.

The report concluded that the police’s response to the events of the evening was proportionate, even in the face of severe provocations in the later stages of the event by a minority of those present. It also provided operational feedback for the Metropolitan Police Service to consider in relation to improving the communications between commanding officers and those on the ground.

The Government welcome the findings from this report. Officers were policing the vigil in extremely difficult circumstances and the violence and abuse directed towards them by a minority of attendees was unacceptable. The police have a challenging job to do, regularly putting themselves at risk to ensure that the rules are followed, and that people are kept safe. The Government will continue to support the police in carrying out their important work and learning the lessons from the policing of this event.

Finally, I would like to once more offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Sarah Everard.

[HCWS48]

Affordable Homes

Monday 24th May 2021 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing (Christopher Pincher)]

On 1 April 2021 the Government published responses to two consultations: delivering First Homes and the new model for shared ownership. This statement sets out the Government’s plans for the delivery of First Homes and our new model for shared ownership through the planning system.

This statement issues substantial changes to planning policy which will come into effect on 28 June 2021.

The issues covered in this statement include:

The definition of a First Home

Eligibility criteria for First Homes

Setting developer contributions for First Homes

The remaining 75% of affordable housing secured through developer contributions

Plans, development management and transitional arrangements

Level of discount

Exception sites

Delivering shared ownership homes

Introduction

The Government are committed to supporting people to own their home and make home ownership a reality for households and families. Since spring 2010 almost 709,000 households have been helped by Government schemes, including Help to Buy and Right to Buy, and we are taking steps to increase the supply of new housing. The Government are undertaking the most ambitious reforms to our planning system since the second world war, making it easier to build homes where they are most needed, and the stamp duty holiday, applying to the first £500,000 of property sales, has given a much needed boost to the economy. Ensuring access to home ownership remains a key priority and challenge for this Government. However, rising prices, high deposits and difficulty accessing mortgage finance still mean that far too many people are denied the opportunity to own a home of their own. Polling shows that 87% of people would prefer to own their home given a free choice. Therefore, the Government are determined to ensure that there is an adequate supply and variety of options to help hard-working people on to the housing ladder across England.

First Homes

The Government first consulted on First Homes, the new scheme to provide homes for first-time buyers at a discount of a minimum of 30%, in February 2020. This consultation made proposals around both the design of First Homes and changes to the planning system to support their delivery.

We received nearly 800 responses to this first consultation. There was considerable support for our proposals for a minimum discount of 30% and strong support for proposals to develop a national standard model with discretion for local areas to set their own criteria. Many local authorities, housing developers and business organisations gave very helpful comments about how our proposed changes to planning policy could be introduced and we are very grateful for this. The Government published their consultation response on 6 August 2020, which is available online. On the same day, the Government published a consultation, “Changes to the current planning system”, which included proposals on the detail of changes to planning policy to deliver First Homes. We received nearly 2,400 responses to this second consultation. The Government published their response to the First Homes part of that consultation on 1 April 2021, and a copy of that response will be placed in the Library of the House. It is also available online at: Government response to the First Homes proposals in "Changes to the current planning system" - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

After careful consideration of all the responses to both these consultations, the Government are today setting out their plans for the delivery of First Homes, defining the product and changes to planning policy as set out below.

First Homes criteria

From 28 June 2021, a home meeting the criteria of a First Home will also be considered to meet the definition of “affordable housing” for planning purposes. The First Homes criteria mean:

A First Home must be discounted by a minimum of 30% against the market value; and,

after the discount has been applied, the first sale of the home must be at a price no higher than £250,000 (or £420,000 in Greater London).

Local authorities will be able to set a deeper minimum discount at either 40% or 50% and impose lower price caps, if they can demonstrate a need for this through evidence. However, the same level of discount as a percentage below market value must apply to the home each time it is sold in perpetuity, subject to certain specific exclusions, so that communities continue to benefit from the homes for years to come. The discount in perpetuity should be secured through a planning obligation. First Homes should, as a matter of course, comply with any other applicable planning policies and /or building regulations, for example those relating to space, accessibility, energy efficiency or carbon emissions. This includes avoiding the sale of homes as leasehold where this is not necessary.

In order to ensure that suitable mortgages are available for First Homes, local authorities should provide for a mortgage lender enforcing its security over a First Homes to be able to realise the full market value of the property, returning any surplus up to the value of the First Homes discount to the local authority.

First Homes eligibility criteria

First Homes must be prioritised for first-time buyers—as defined in paragraph 6 of schedule 6ZA of the Finance Act 2003 for the purposes of stamp duty relief for first-time buyers—and not be sold to any household with a combined annual income in excess of £80,000 or £90,000 in Greater London. Local authorities will be able to apply additional criteria at a local level. For example, they may wish to set a lower income cap, prioritise key workers who also meet the first time buyer definition and/or specify a particular local connection requirement based on work or current residency. Neighbourhood plans will also be able to apply these additional criteria at neighbourhood level. We do not intend to set out a national definition for key workers or local connections for the purposes of First Homes, but instead empower local authorities to take these decisions in the best interests of their areas and residents.

In recognition of the unique nature of their circumstances, members of the armed forces, the divorced or separated spouse or civil partner of a member of the armed forces, the spouse or civil partner of a deceased member of the armed forces—if their death was caused wholly or partly by their service—or veterans within five years of leaving the armed forces should be exempt from any local connection testing restrictions.

A person who can afford to purchase a First Home without a mortgage should not be eligible to purchase a First Home. As a deterrent against the use of First Homes for investment, all purchasers of First Homes must use a mortgage or home purchase plan, if required to comply with Islamic law, for at least 50% of the discounted purchase value.

If local authorities or neighbourhood planning groups choose to introduce their own eligibility restrictions, these will be time-limited to the first three months from the start date of marketing of the property. Upon expiry of the three-month period, any homes which have not been sold or reserved will revert to the national standard criteria set out above. This is to ensure that homes do not remain unsold if suitable buyers in the local area cannot be found.

To support developers and local authorities in using First Homes we are currently developing model section 106 obligations that can be used to secure First Homes at the planning stage. These will make it easier for developers to meet national requirements, for local authorities to consider imposing their own time-limited restrictions and will protect the interest of mortgage lenders by ensuring they can realise the full market value of the property in defined exceptional circumstances. These model obligations will also contain wording for a model title restriction, which will be recognised by HM Land Registry and will ensure the homes retain their discount in perpetuity.

We are clear that First Homes are intended to be used as a person’s sole or primary residence and should not be used for investment or commercial gain. However, we also recognise that there are occasions when it may be necessary for owners of First Homes to let out their property for short periods of time, especially in response to unexpected life events. Therefore, a First Homes owner can only rent out their home for a maximum period of two years, as long as the relevant local authority is notified. Recognising that certain circumstances require a unique response, local authorities should be willing to grant permissions to rent out for longer periods under the following circumstances: deployment elsewhere, for members of the armed forces; primary caring responsibilities for relative/friend; short job posting elsewhere; redundancy; domestic abuse; and relationship breakdown. This will not affect restrictions on letting a property prescribed by a mortgage lender and permission from them would likely also be required.

Changes to planning policy

In order to support the future development of First Homes, the Government are today also setting out changes to planning policy as set out above and below. These changes will come into effect from 28 June 2021.

Setting developer contributions for First Homes

A minimum of 25% of all affordable housing units secured through developer contributions should be First Homes. This is a national threshold which should be applied for England.

In accordance with paragraph 62 of the National Planning Policy Framework, affordable housing is expected to be delivered on-site unless off-site provision or an appropriate financial contribution in lieu can be robustly justified; and the agreed approach contributes to the objective of creating mixed and balanced communities.

Where cash contributions for affordable housing are secured instead of on-site units, a minimum of 25% of these contributions should be used to secure First Homes. Where a mixture of cash contributions towards affordable housing and on-site units are secured, 25% of the overall value of affordable housing contributions should be applied to First Homes.

Local authorities should already have affordable housing policies set out in their development plan, which will include the amounts of affordable housing to be sought, and the tenure mix of this housing. Paragraph 57 of the National Planning Policy Framework currently states that where up-to-date policies have set out the contributions expected from development, planning applications that comply with them should be assumed to be viable. Under the approach set out in this written ministerial statement, therefore, it is necessary to define the criteria for policy compliance, under which a development is assumed to be viable.

Under the new system, a policy compliant planning application should seek to capture the same amount of value as would be captured under the local authority’s up-to-date published policy. In addition to capturing the same amount of value towards affordable housing as the existing policy, where on-site affordable housing is required, a policy compliant application will have a minimum of 25% of affordable housing units on-site as First Homes.

The remaining 75% of affordable housing secured through developer contributions

The Government recognise the importance of social rent as part of the affordable housing tenure mix. A local authority should prioritise securing their policy requirements on social rent, once they have secured the 25% First Homes requirement. Where other affordable housing units can be secured, these tenure-types should be secured in the relative proportions set out in the development plan.

If an application aligns with a local authority’s up-to-date policy on cash contributions in lieu of onsite provision, then it will be a policy compliant application in that regard.

Local planning authorities should use the most appropriate method available to them to set out how these requirements impact on their current affordable housing tenure mix policies.

Exemptions from requirements to deliver affordable home ownership products

Paragraph 64 of the National Planning Policy Framework sets out that for major development involving the provision of housing, 10% of all homes on site should be affordable home ownership products, unless one of the exceptions applies. First Homes are an affordable home ownership product. Where specific developments are exempt from delivering affordable home ownership products under paragraph 64 of the framework, they shall also be exempt from the requirement to deliver First Homes.

Plans, development management and transitional arrangements

Local plans and neighbourhood plans should take into account the new First Homes requirements from 28 June 2021. Local authorities may therefore need to review the tenure mix for the remainder of the affordable housing that they are seeking to secure. However, we also recognise that there will be a number of local plans and neighbourhood plans that have been prepared based on the existing National Planning Policy Framework and that have reached more advanced stages of the plan-making process. We do not intend that the evidence base for these should be re-opened, thus delaying the plan-making process. The following transitional arrangements will therefore apply.

Local plans and neighbourhood plans that have been submitted for examination[1] before 28 June 2021 are not required to reflect the First Homes policy requirements. Additionally, local plans and neighbourhood plans that have reached publication stage[2] by 28 June 2021 will also not be required to reflect the First Homes policy requirement as long as they are submitted for examination before 28 December 2021. However, reflecting our desire to introduce First Homes requirements at the earliest possible opportunity, planning inspectors should consider through the examination whether a requirement for an early update of the local plan might be appropriate.

Where local and neighbourhood plans are adopted under the aforementioned transitional arrangements, the First Homes requirements will also not need to be applied when considering planning applications in the plan area until such time as the requirements are introduced through a subsequent update.

Where local and neighbourhood plans do not benefit from the aforementioned transitional arrangements, the local planning authority should make clear how existing policies should be interpreted in the light of First Homes requirements using the most appropriate tool available to them.

We also recognise that many developers will have been preparing planning applications under different assumptions. Across all local authorities, the new requirement for 25% First Homes will not apply to sites with full or outline planning permissions already in place or determined or where a right to appeal against non-determination has arisen, before 28 December 2021, or 28 March 2022 if there has been significant pre-application engagement, although local authorities should allow developers to introduce First Homes to the tenure mix if they wish to do so. This transitional allowance will also apply to permissions and applications for entry-level exception sites.

The Government will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these transitional arrangements in the light of emerging economic circumstances.

Level of discount

The minimum discount for First Homes should be 30% from market value, which will be set by an independent registered valuer. The valuation should assume the home is sold as an open market dwelling without restrictions. Where evidence justifies it—in the local or neighbourhood plan, an emerging policy or, where appropriate, a supplementary planning document—the minimum discount in an area can be increased to 40% or 50%.

Where discounts of more than 30% are applied to First Homes, the requirement for a minimum of 25% of the affordable housing units secured through developer contributions to be First Homes will remain in place. The approach to delivering the remaining 75% of affordable housing is set out above.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The Government have introduced new Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) regulations which allow the developers of First Homes to obtain an exemption from the requirement to pay CIL, in line with other affordable housing products. These regulations came into force on 16 November 2020.

Exception sites

A key priority of this Government is to enable as many people as possible to enjoy the benefits of home ownership, and First Homes is a crucial way in which this will be achieved. In order to maximise the number of First Homes made available to those keen to get on the housing ladder, the Government are also seeking to deliver First Homes via exception sites. Exception sites are small sites brought forward outside of development plans in order to deliver affordable housing, and currently consist of rural exception sites and entry-level exception sites.

While the Government support the mechanism of allowing land to come forward outside of the development plan to deliver much-needed homes via exception sites, the entry-level exception site policy has not delivered affordable housing to the extent originally envisaged. Following the consultation, the Government are replacing this policy with a “First Homes exception sites” policy, in order to encourage First Homes-led developments on land that is not currently allocated for housing. Local authorities should support the development of these First Homes exception sites, suitable for first-time buyers, unless the need for such homes is already being met within the local authority’s area. Local connection criteria may be set where these can be supported by evidence of necessity and will not compromise site viability. First Homes exception sites should be on land which is not already allocated for housing and should:

a) comprise First Homes, as defined in this written ministerial statement.

b) be adjacent to existing settlements, proportionate in size to them, not compromise the protection given to areas or assets of particular importance in the National Planning Policy Framework[3], and comply with any local design policies and standards.

A small proportion of market homes may be allowed on the site at the local authority’s discretion, for example where essential to enable the delivery of First Homes without grant funding. Also, a small proportion of other affordable homes may be allowed on the sites where there is significant identified local need.

While the Government want to ensure that home ownership is available to as many people as possible, we recognise that certain rural areas face particular challenges in terms of affordability, and that rural exception sites can be very effective in addressing the lack of affordable housing in these areas. As such, the Government have decided that in designated rural areas[4], which includes some of the more constrained and expensive regions of the country such as national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, rural exception sites will remain as the sole exception site which can come forward. Elsewhere, First Homes exception sites and rural exception sites can both come forward.

Delivering shared ownership homes

This Government believe shared ownership has a vital role to play in supporting people from all backgrounds to become homeowners. By purchasing a share of a property, aspiring homeowners can overcome the income and deposit barriers that can stand in their way. This is why the Government are making shared ownership work better by introducing a new model for shared ownership which will be delivered through grant funding and through the planning system.

On 28 August 2019, we ran a discussion paper to consult on several proposed changes to the shared ownership model. In the Government response to the consultation, published in September 2020, we confirmed the outline of the new model of shared ownership and committed to set an expectation for shared ownership homes secured through the planning system to be based on the new model.

The new model for shared ownership: technical consultation, which ran from 19 November to 17 December 2020, set out further details of the new model of shared ownership, including the proposal that we will expect all shared ownership homes delivered through obligations under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to be based on the new model. We consulted on potential transitional arrangements.

We are today confirming that this expectation will come into effect from 28 June 2021. The principal changes to the shared ownership model are summarised as follows:

i) Minimum share to be purchased

The minimum share for initial shared ownership purchases will be lowered to 10% from the current 25%. The maximum share at initial purchase will remain unchanged at 75%.

ii) The purchase of further shares (“staircasing”)

New shared owners will be able to staircase in 1% increments for 15 years enabling shared owners to purchase up to 15% through this route. This option will be accompanied by reduced fees. It will still be possible to staircase in larger increments with the minimum additional share purchase reduced from 10% to 5%. Shared owners wishing to staircase in 5% increments or more will have to pay the range of fees as currently, such as a valuation fee, legal and mortgage costs as appropriate.

iii) Shared ownership resales

The new shared ownership model will end the provider’s resale nomination period at the four week point if they wish to pursue a sale on the open market.

iv) Responsibility for repairs and maintenance

The new shared ownership model introduces a new 10-year period during which the shared ownership leaseholder will receive support from their landlord with the cost of repairs and maintenance in new build homes. Only after 10 years will the shared owner take on full responsibility for any repairs and maintenance costs. This 10-year period is in addition to any repairs or maintenance covered by the new build warranty to cover any works required that the warranty does not cover.

v) Shared ownership lease term

All new leases must be issued with a minimum lease length term of 990 years. These longer leases will provide long term security for shared owners and save them from paying for multiple lease extensions.

We believe these reforms will make the scheme more consumer friendly, easier to access and fairer, leading to a better experience for a future generation of shared owners.

The Government response to the new model for shared ownership: technical consultation, which we published in April 2021, sets out further details on these changes. You can also consult the Homes England Capital Funding Guide 1. Help to Buy: Shared Ownership - Capital Funding Guide - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), or the GLA Capital Funding Guide for homes in London, for further guidance on how to implement Shared Ownership.

Later this month, Homes England will publish a model lease which can be used as a basis for leases under the new model of shared ownership.

We recognise that many developers will have been preparing planning applications under different assumptions. The new requirement for the new shared ownership model will not apply to sites with full or outline planning permissions already in place or determined or where a right to appeal against non-determination has arisen, before 28 December 2021, or 28 March 2022 if there has been significant pre-application engagement, although local authorities should allow developers to introduce the new shared ownership model if they wish to do so.

The local and neighbourhood plan transitional arrangements set out above for First Homes also apply to the new requirement for the new shared ownership model.

[1] Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 for Neighbourhood Plans, and Regulation 22 of Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 for Local Plans.

[2] Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 for Neighbourhood Plans, and Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 for Local Plans.

[3] i.e. the areas referred to in footnote 6 of the National Planning Policy Framework. First Homes exception sites should not be permitted in national parks (or within the Broads Authority), areas of outstanding natural beauty, land designated as green belt, or areas designated as rural under section 157 of the Housing Act 1985.

[4] As set out in annexe 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework

[HCWS50]