Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 5 March (HL Deb col 519GC), what evidence they have that introducing a duty for local authorities to maintain a list of land in their area suitable for community cultivation would be a burden to authorities; and whether they have had any discussions with local authorities about maintaining a list of land in their area suitable for community cultivation.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) framework gives principal local authorities the power to dispose of land held by them in any manner they wish. Most local authorities will have and operate their own CAT policy, and as part of that framework they are obliged to publish a list of suitable assets and a process for communities to acquire them should they become available.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 5 March (HL Deb col 519GC) that local authorities can already publish a list of the spaces available for community cultivation, how local residents can access information about publicly owned land if their local authority does not publish that information.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) framework gives principal local authorities the power to dispose of land held by them in any manner they wish. Most local authorities will have and operate their own CAT policy, and as part of that framework they are obliged to publish a list of suitable assets and a process for communities to acquire them should they become available.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any disparity in high street rent rates between large chains and small businesses; what is the reason for any such difference in those rates; and whether they intend to introduce lower rent rates for small independent health food outlets on the high street.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department does not hold the information requested, as the level of rent paid by the tenant of a commercial property is agreed by the landlord and tenant on an individual basis. This information is not reported centrally. We do not currently have any plans to regulate the rents for small independent health food outlets on the high street.
At the Autumn Budget, we set out Our Plan to support the sustainable transformation of high streets, which included a £675 million Future High Streets Fund, to support local areas in England to invest in town centre infrastructure, to increase access to high streets and support redevelopment and densification around high streets.