Planning: Onshore Wind
Debate between Baroness Hanham and Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, the Statement referred to the thresholds that will be considered. I have no doubt that that is one of the aspects that will need to be taken into account. Of course, it is something that local communities will be expected to think about in the process of having discussions and deciding whether to oppose strongly any application or to see if it can be amended. With a great sadness that Lord Reay is not here himself to make that point, I think that he might be quite satisfied with the way things are moving.
Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
My Lords, are the Government thinking of doing the same with open-cast coal, which they do not seem to be interested in at all? I would welcome the Minister to Durham, where I am surrounded by wind turbines, which are so much more attractive than the coal mines and the open-cast mines that we had, and still have, in our locality. There are a lot of myths around this. The Government need to show leadership, which will get us cheaper, more effective energy that is long-lasting and sustainable.
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, I do not think that this Government or the previous Government ever pretended or thought that wind power was ever going to provide for all our energy needs. Therefore, this is part and parcel of the package that we need to take us into the future. That also includes nuclear and coal, which are still there. I come from the north-east so I appreciate what impact mines have, but until we are clearer about the need for energy they probably will not be abandoned.
Homelessness: Rough Sleepers in London
Debate between Baroness Hanham and Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, the Government have taken a number of initiatives over the past couple of years to ensure that affordable housing is provided. The question of whether pension funds can be used for this is not something that I can address today. That would be, I think, a matter for each individual pension fund and I am not sure whether local government pension funds would be entitled to do that. If I can find the answer for the right reverend Prelate, I will do so, but I do not have a brief on that today.
Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
My Lords, I want to assure myself and other noble Lords that the Minister is not complacent about this issue. The numbers of rough sleepers not just in London but throughout the country have risen substantially in the past year. We know that many of them now have mental health issues. The challenge of getting mental health services for rough sleepers is enormous, as I know only too well from trying to do so for rough sleepers around the north-east. For example, in Durham city, we have for the first time seven rough sleepers where we have never had them before. Are the Government tackling this urgently and are they going to commit to making sure that we end rough sleeping?
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, I can absolutely assure the noble Baroness that there is no complacency. This is a very unhappy situation for those who are sleeping rough and it is an unacceptable situation for the country in which we live. Perhaps that will answer the first part of the question. The second part of the question referred to those with mental health problems. It is fair to say that particularly in London, which is where the Question refers to, 43% of rough sleepers have mental health problems. Within that, of course, are hidden alcohol needs and drug needs. Services are already available to deal with those problems. Westminster has a mental health team. There are specialists to assess those conditions and to deal with them. But there is no complacency.
Homelessness
Debate between Baroness Hanham and Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, I do not know the specific number of children who are sleeping rough, but I hope that the answer is nil because it would be a very serious matter if there were more than a few. If I can find out the answer, I will of course let the noble Baroness know. I am very well aware of her interest and that of the House as a whole in the problem of the trafficking of children and women. I know that it will be very high on the police radar to ensure that any child found in the street is immediately taken in.
Local Government: Finance
Debate between Baroness Hanham and Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, asked three clear questions. Is it a progressive settlement and reallocation? I think that we will take it year by year. This is a two-year settlement; whether it progresses on, I do not know. Whether it progresses in terms of how the grant is dealt with, we will have to wait and see. The £650 million is the repayment for 2.5 per cent of council tax if it is frozen. The question of whether that will be carried on next year will have to be decided. If it is, that will determine whether it is part and parcel of the baseline. As the noble Lord knows, capitalisation is treated as revenue by the Treasury, so whatever is spent goes back on to the revenue expectation. If that proves not to be sufficient, it will be a matter for each local authority to deal with.
Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
Will the Minister confirm that areas of deprivation have lost out from more than just today’s settlement, because other grants such as the working neighbourhoods grant went directly to the most deprived and vulnerable people? What will the Government do to make sure that some of those communities do not sink further away from being able to turn themselves around? That is what that money was used for. Where is the money coming from that is being used to dampen the worst excesses of the settlement? Which other areas in the rest of the department are losing in order to make sure that the dampening effect can be exerted on the settlement?
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, we should be clear that the working neighbourhoods grant was just a three-year fund. There was no expectation—and no money was put aside—for it to continue for longer than three years. The noble Baroness shakes her head, but that is the situation. The previous Government could have decided to continue it, but they did not make that decision; they left it as a three-year grant.
The noble Baroness asked where the other money will come from. We have set up a £1.4 billion regional growth fund, which will be administered by the noble Lord, Lord Heseltine. Councils and local enterprise partnerships will be able to bid for money from that fund, which will be available in particular for private sector-led growth. The expectation is that local councils will work closely with the private sector, not only in local enterprise partnerships but in general, so they will be able to lean on that sector for additional assets.