Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the financial sustainability of Buckinghamshire Council in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, and the department does not monitor their day-to-day business.
The Government is under no illusions about the scale of the pressures that local authorities are facing. We recognise the vital work that local councils do for their communities and stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.
The Government will work closely with councils to provide more stability through multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system. Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to change the local government funding formula in the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement; and whether she plans to consult on (a) technical changes and (b) data sources before publication.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged. The department will work with local government leaders to ensure they are better able to fulfil their statutory duties.
We want to hear from councils about the financial challenges they are facing and we are committed to stabilising the local government finance landscape in this Parliament.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Building Safety Fund will cover the cost for thermal performance improvements associated with fire safety measures for the external cladding of buildings, where those improvements are (a) required to meet building regulation energy efficiency standards or (b) go over and above building regulation energy efficiency standards.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Fund (BSF) was established to address life safety fire risks associated with cladding on high rise residential buildings. Remediation works must meet Building Regulations requirements, including minimum standards for energy efficiency. BSF applicants may choose to self-fund further energy efficiency measures.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to redistribute assets and wealth between different (a) local authorities, (b) communities and (c) local government through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged. The department will work with local government leaders to ensure they are better able to fulfil their statutory duties.
We want to hear from councils about the financial challenges they are facing and we are committed to stabilising the local government finance landscape in this Parliament.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to reopen the next round of the Community Ownership Fund for applications.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech set out the state of the UK’s spending inheritance from the previous Government. In this context, the Chancellor has set out a path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30th.
We understand that this may have caused uncertainty about the status of the Community Ownership Fund. The Government will seek to provide certainty wherever it can between now and conclusion of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Communities Opportunities Fund has been abolished.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech set out the state of the UK’s spending inheritance from the previous Government. In this context, the Chancellor has set out a path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30th.
We understand that this may have caused uncertainty about the status of the Community Ownership Fund. The Government will seek to provide certainty wherever it can between now and conclusion of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on using (a) the Public Sector Equality Duty and (b) equality impact assessments to ensure that (i) women and (ii) women with intersecting protected characteristics are treated equally in all decision-making processes.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is each local authority's own responsibility to ensure it fulfils its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to (a) protect and (b) promote parks and green spaces within the London Borough of Havering.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given in response to Question UIN 2052 on 4 September 2024.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that new houses are built with specifications that enable them to be carbon neutral.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises the important contribution that the energy efficiency of buildings has to make in meeting it.
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. A Government response has not yet been issued.
We fully support the need for low carbon homes, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation and will publish the Government response in due course.
Asked by: Claire Hazelgrove (Labour - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of levels of house (a) buyers and (b) sellers withdrawing from a sale at the last minute.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that the current home buying and selling process in England is slow, costly and stressful, and that transactions falling through can contribute to this.
On average, around one in three transactions fall through before completion, costing consumers around £400 million in direct costs alone.
We continue to consider how to drive improvements most effectively across home buying and selling for both consumers and the sector.