Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities

This Government intends to compensate public sector employers for the increased cost of the Levy.

This Government intends to compensate public sector employers for the increased cost of the Levy.

This Government intends to compensate public sector employers for the increased cost of the Levy.

The Government does not have any plans to replace council tax with a proportional property tax, but keeps all taxes under review.

We have consulted on introducing a new infrastructure levy to replace section 106 planning obligations and the Community Infrastructure Levy. We are currently analysing the 44,000 responses to the 'Planning for the Future' consultation and will be publishing our response.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local planning authorities should identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years' worth of housing against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies.

The Government wants to see homes built faster and expects house builders to build out as soon as possible once planning permission is granted.

Where build-out is delayed, it is for councils and developers to work closely together to overcome any barriers. To support them, this Government is looking at strengthening the tools available to local authorities to encourage faster build out rates. We are considering the responses to the Planning for the Future consultation and will publish our response.

Information on the number of high-rise (over 18 metres) residential and publicly-owned buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations by local authority is published in the Building Safety Programme data release.

For high-rise residential buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding, the Department is continuing to work with building owners to progress applications for the Building Safety Fund at pace so that more remedial works can begin as swiftly as possible. Information on registrations to the Building Safety Fund by local authority can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-registration-statistics.

It is important that local authorities plan well for the infrastructure required to support housing development, taking into account Government funding streams such as the Road Investment Strategy and securing appropriate contributions from developers. Developer contributions can be secured through section 106 planning obligations or the Community Infrastructure Levy. The 'Planning for the Future' White Paper' proposes a new 'Infrastructure Levy' to replace the existing system. The consultation on 'Planning for the Future' closed on 29 October 2020 and we will be responding formally.

The Government published its second Road Investment Strategy in October 2019, which allocated grant funding of £27.4 billion from 2020-2025. Other funding streams include NHS England, the Environment Agency, and various schools funding programmes. We recognise there is still a need for further infrastructure funding, which is why the Government committed £4.3 billion from the Housing Infrastructure Fund for 133 projects across England unlocking over 300,000 homes.

We have received the letter and a response will be sent shortly.

The first round of the Levelling Up Fund received significant interest from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland bidding authorities across the three investment priorities of the Fund. Bids are currently being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes from the first round of bids for the Levelling Up Fund will be announced later in the year and bidding authorities will be informed in due course.

The new Levelling Up Fund will directly support communities across the UK making available up to £4.8 billion through to 2024-25 for local infrastructure and capital programmes. For the first round of funding, at least 5% of total UK allocations will be in Wales with a focus on supporting town centre and high street regeneration.

The UK Community Renewal Fund is also prioritising applications that target the 100 places most in need across the UK. Through the Community Renewal Fund we are also looking to invest in places that demonstrate a good contribution to strategic fit and delivery/effectiveness. Newport Council has invited bids to come forward into the Fund from local partners.

We have received applications from Newport Council for both the Levelling Up Fund and Community Renewal Fund.

I am delighted to say that the first round of the Levelling Up Fund received significant interest. Bids are currently being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes from the first round of bids for the Levelling Up Fund will be announced later in the year and bidding authorities will be informed in due course.

In the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, we will prioritise projects which are able to demonstrate investment or begin delivery on the ground in the 2021-22 financial year. We would expect all funding provided from the Fund to be spent by 31 March 2024, and, exceptionally, into 2024-25 for larger schemes. The approach set out in the Prospectus will be kept under review for future rounds and announcements about the future of the Fund will be made later this year.

I am delighted to say that the first round of the Levelling Up Fund received significant interest from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland bidding authorities across the three investment priorities of the Fund. Bids are currently being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes from the first round of bids for the Levelling Up Fund will be announced later in the year and bidding authorities will be informed in due course.

The Department does not hold figures on the amount of money spent by councils in England to tackle flyposting in each of the last ten years. In this year's settlement, the Government made available an increase in Core Spending Power in England from £49 billion in 2020-21 to up to £51.3 billion in 2021-22, a 4.6% increase in cash terms. This funding is largely unringfenced in recognition that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the needs of their local area.

The Department does not hold information on the level of debt counselling and advice provided by councils in England. In this year's settlement, the Government made available an increase in Core Spending Power in England from £49 billion in 2020-21 to up to £51.3 billion in 2021-22, a 4.6% increase in cash terms. This funding is largely unringfenced in recognition that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the needs of their local area, including the provision of debt counselling and advice.

The Department does not hold this information.

The Department does not hold data on the quantity and value of grants provided by councils in England to voluntary sector organisations.

How grants are issued is determined at a local level, as local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the pressures in their local area.

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill's provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders.

This includes retirement properties, where purchasers of new leases will not be faced with financial demands for ground rent.

The Government is committed to ending rough sleeping this Parliament and is spending more than £750 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year, with the majority of funding going to local authorities.

Funding for future years will be a matter for the Spending Review that is currently underway.

The Government’s priority is to ensure that the Hong Kong Welcome Programme is UK wide and supports British National (Overseas) status holders wherever they choose to settle in the UK. My Department continues to work closely with the Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership and the Northern Ireland Executive, including through regular officials’ meetings, to support implementation of the programme.

The invitation is under consideration and a response will be issued shortly.

In 2017, the Law Commission published a report of their review of event fees on behalf of this Department. This followed concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority about the fairness of some retirement property leases that have resulted in leaseholders paying an event fee of between 0.25% and 30% of the sale price of the property when selling or sub-letting. Concerns were also raised about the lack of transparency of event fees for older people and their families when purchasing a leasehold retirement property. The Law Commission made a number of recommendations in its report, which can be downloaded at http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/event-fees-in-retirement-properties.

The Government responded to the Law Commission, thanking them for the report and agreeing to implement the majority of the recommendations.

This includes a new statutory code of practice which will ensure that these fees cannot be charged unexpectedly, while fees that breach it will be regarded as unenforceable and developers and estate agents will be required to make all such fees crystal clear to people before they buy, so prospective buyers can make an informed decision before forming a financial or emotional attachment to a property.

The Government is considering two further recommendations, on succession rights and a database of leasehold retirement properties with event fees, and will respond.

To ensure safe and high-quality buildings, it is important that anyone involved in a project throughout a building's lifecycle is competent to do their job properly and in compliance with the Building Regulations. The Government is working with industry to develop the professional standards of competence of those working across the built environment and enforcing a stringent new regulatory regime for high-rise residential and other in scope buildings for the Building Safety Regulator.

The Party Wall Act provides a framework for preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls, boundary walls and excavations near buildings. The Act is separate from obtaining planning permission or building regulations approval. At present, there are no plans to amend the Act.

A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is a property where three or more people from two or more households share facilities, such as a kitchen and/or bathroom. Under mandatory HMO licensing, all local authorities must license HMOs in which five or more people from two or more households share facilities.

The Department gathers data from local authorities on the estimated number of HMOs annually. The latest returns can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2019-to-2020.

As we stated in our previous responses, we aim to publish a full Regulatory Impact Assessment on the measures as soon as possible.

Local authorities are responsible for drawing up and operating their allocation scheme for social housing within the framework of legislation which ensures that they must give 'reasonable preference' to specific groups including people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability. This will include people with mental health problems.

Statutory guidance in 2012 advises local authorities to consider giving additional preference to those who those who need to move urgently because of a sudden disability.

The Social Housing White Paper sets out clear expectations that all social housing tenants, especially those with mental health problems, receive a professional service from competent and empathetic landlord staff. The White Paper commits to a review of professionalisation in the social housing sector including how well housing staff are equipped to support those with mental health needs and will encourage landlords to adopt best practice in this area.

Following severe weather events which have significant and wide area impacts, support may be made available to impacted local authorities through the activation of the Flood Recovery Framework

Before activating the Framework, Government considers many factors - such as the severity, duration, and the extent of reported impacts and how these compare to past events. The overall reported impacts affecting areas including Ellesmere Port and Neston following Storm Christoph in January 2021 were far lower than the trigger for previous activations in November 2019 and February 2020, and therefore the Framework was not activated.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

Assisted garden maintenance services, such as hedge or grass trimming, can be provided to support people who are unable to look after their garden themselves (such as the elderly or people with disabilities). They can be offered free of charge or for a small fee.

MHCLG does not collect information on which councils provide these services, as it is a matter for local authorities.

The Government recognises that councils have delivered above and beyond throughout the pandemic. To support the reopening of local authority buildings and the return to face-to-face meetings, we advise use of the 'Working Safely During Coronavirus' guidance available on gov.uk which provides advice on precautions to manage risk.

Meetings where councils deem in-person attendance is not required can continue virtually. This would include non-statutory or other informal meetings.

High Pressure Laminate (HPL) panels can have a wide range of fire performance and so the Department has not published a list of approved HPL products.

However, following the test carried out by the Department in 2019, an advice note was published to provide advice to building owners on the fire performance of HPL cladding system. This advice note was then included in the Consolidated Advice Note which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/869532/Building_safety_advice_for_building_owners_including_fire_doors_January_2020.pdf

The Secretary of State has confirmed that we will shortly retire the consolidated advice note in favour of the development of new more risk-proportionate guidelines for fire risk assessors including PAS 9980 which will include information on HPL.

The Government will improve security of tenure for renters with Assured Shorthold Tenancies by removing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, putting an end to evictions where the landlord does not have to provide a reason. At the same time, we will ensure landlords have the tools they need to gain possession of their property when they have a valid reason to do so. We have rightly been focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic but will publish a White Paper detailing these reforms.

This Government is committed to reducing overcrowding, by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock. As such we are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.

The Localism Act 2011 has also maintained the statutory 'reasonable preference' requirements which ensure that social housing is prioritised for those who need it most, including people who are in overcrowded housing. Building on this, statutory guidance recommends local authorities consider giving 'additional preference' (high priority') to families in severe overcrowding which poses a serious health hazard.

The development of policy changes and local differences across England in terms of housing pressures has meant that the national picture of allocations is a complex one. We need to better understand how the system is playing out in local areas in order to understand if it is striking the right balance between fairness, support and aspiration.

MHCLG continues to monitor the effect of lockdown on households including with regards to savings, arrears, wellbeing, and housing costs.​ In addition throughout the entire pandemic the Household Resilience Survey has also been monitoring changes in employment and income as a result of COVID-19, as well households who are in rent or mortgage arrears.

Data on the Building Safety Fund, including the number of applications being progressed and how much funding has been allocated, is published and updated monthly at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-registration-statistics. All applications to the Building Safety Fund are supported by Delivery Partners.

To ensure this critical safety work can commence at pace we also provide expert construction consultation support to those planning and undertaking remediation work under the Building Safety Fund.

Data on the Building Safety Fund, including the number of applications being progressed and how much funding has been allocated, is published and updated monthly at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-registration-statistics. All applications to the Building Safety Fund are supported by Delivery Partners.

To ensure this critical safety work can commence at pace we also provide expert construction consultation support to those planning and undertaking remediation work under the Building Safety Fund.

The Building Safety Fund only operates in England as housing is a devolved matter. Applications for buildings outside of London are processed by Homes England.

The criteria used for the Building Safety Fund is set out in the Building Safety Fund Prospectus, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#prospectus---outlining-eligibility-for-the-fund.

All buildings that meet the Building Safety Fund criteria are treated as a priority for remediation funding. Leaseholders in buildings eligible for the Building Safety Fund can be reassured that unsafe non-ACM cladding on their blocks will be funded and replaced.

The announcement on 10 February of an additional £3.5 billion of funding for remediating unsafe cladding on buildings 18 metres and above means that leaseholders and residents in eligible buildings can be reassured that unsafe non-ACM cladding on their blocks will be replaced. For any buildings that may have missed the original registration deadline for the Building Safety Fund we will be reopening for registrations in the Autumn.

Leaseholders in buildings eligible for the Building Safety Fund can be reassured that unsafe non-ACM cladding on their blocks will be funded and replaced. The £30 million Waking Watch Relief Fund will pay for the costs of installing an alarm system in buildings where a waking watch is in place while waiting to have unsafe cladding removed

The Government has also allocated additional funding to Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) to provide independent, free, initial advice to leaseholders on building safety issues to ensure they are aware of their rights and are supported to understand the terms of their leases. Building owners are supported in their applications to the Building Safety Fund by Delivery Partners and we also provide those planning and undertaking eligible remediation work expert construction consultation.

On the 27th July, the industry-led Future Homes Task Force published a Delivery Plan that sets out the action needed from industry to deliver new homes in line with government’s climate, environmental and sustainability targets by 2050. Relevant government departments (MHCLG, BEIS and Defra) were consulted on the development of the Delivery Plan, which aligns with upcoming regulation such as the Future Homes Standard and with wider environmental policies and priorities such as those on bio-diversity net gain and water efficiency.

The Task Force also announced the creation of the industry-led Future Homes Hub to oversee implementation of the Delivery Plan. The Future Homes Hub will help industry by coordinating pilot developments and prototypes, identifying operational solutions, carrying out research and analysis into delivery challenges and producing technical guidance. The knowledge and outputs from the Hub’s work will be freely shared with industry to help minimise costs and support effective delivery, which will be particularly helpful for SMEs.

It is right that industry leads this work and steps up where necessary to ensure it can meet the challenges associated with the country’s net zero ambitions. Government is pleased to support the work of the Future Homes Hub and senior officials from MHCLG, BEIS, Defra and Homes England sit on the Hub’s board in non-executive roles, helping advise on its programme of work and offering strategic guidance.

In March 2018, a set of Principles that underpin the decision-making process in relation to the future of the Grenfell Tower site were agreed and published, (attached) which led to the establishment of the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission. The terms of reference for the Memorial Commission are to establish a proposal for:

• What happens to the Grenfell Tower site in the future, assumed to be a fitting memorial to remember those who lost their lives; and
• How the memorial site will be owned and sustainably managed for the long term.

The Memorial Commission is made up of representatives of the bereaved, survivors and local residents, and will work with the local community to agree a consensus on the most fitting and appropriate way to remember those who lost their lives in the Grenfell tragedy. The Memorial Commission is continuing to work with the local community to establish its proposal.

The Government is supporting the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission and has committed to funding its work. Once the Memorial Commission has established its vision for a memorial on the Grenfell Tower site, my Department will work to establish and agree an appropriate budget.

In November 2020, a £30 million ringfenced Compliance and Enforcement Grant was allocated to all district and unitary authorities in England to spend on COVID-19 compliance and enforcement related activities. In January 2021 MHCLG issued an activity and spend survey to all councils in receipt of the grant. The responses from this informed a review of how the grant was being utilised.

The Department have no plans to release the findings of the three-month review. Information was provided in confidence by local authorities during the grant period to support the development of Government policy. The information gathered as part of the review was used to inform successive iterations of the ‘Local authority COVID-19 compliance and enforcement good practice framework’, (attached) which was archived on 19 July 2021 but it still available for reference.

The first round of the Community Ownership Fund has now closed. Bids are now being reviewed and will be announced in due course.