Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation and effectiveness of the Joint Ministerial Committee.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The system of Joint Ministerial Committees (JMCs) was replaced as part of the 2022 Review of Intergovernmental Relations. The structures which replace the JMCs provide a more flexible and fit-for-purpose approach with department-led Interministerial Groups overseen by an Interministerial Standing Committee, and, ultimately, a Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council.
Since the 2022 Review, there have been almost 500 intergovernmental ministerial meetings. Ensuring the structures work effectively is the joint responsibility of UK Government and the devolved governments. The UK Government monitors the effectiveness of engagement including through quarterly and end of year transparency reports, published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the third tranche of Levelling Up funding for Northern Ireland; and when that funding will be provided.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
In Northern Ireland, the Government is not proceeding with this round of the Levelling Up Fund at this time. We will continue to work closely with projects and places in Northern Ireland that were awarded a total of £120 million in the first two rounds of the Fund and work with stakeholders on how best to level up communities in Northern Ireland.
Our priority remains seeing the restoration and return of a locally elected and accountable Executive, because that is what the people of Northern Ireland need and deserve.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria will be applied to funding decisions relating to the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund; who will make such funding decisions; and when will details of the application process and relevant timelines be made available to community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In Northern Ireland, UK Government will have oversight of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). We want to work closely with local partners to design a Northern Ireland investment plan. We will refine the plan in consultation with stakeholders in a way that reflects the needs of Northern Ireland’s economy and society. This group could include representatives from Northern Ireland Executive Departments, local authorities, businesses and the community and voluntary sector.
As noted in the UKSPF Prospectus published on April 13, from April to June/July 2022 UK Government will work with stakeholders in Northern Ireland to develop local investment plans. In Summer 2022 Application processes and templates for Northern Ireland will be published. The investment plan window closes on 1 August.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the financial, (2) the social, and (3) the logistical implications, of the arrival of British National (Overseas) passport holders from Hong Kong to the UK.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is working to understand the potential implications arising from British Nationals (Overseas) travelling to the UK from Hong Kong under the revised arrangements. Where this work meets the criteria of the new burdens doctrine on Local Government, it will include an assessment of financial and societal impact.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the challenges facing homeowners of properties that require an EWS1 Certificate in getting a surveyor's report within a reasonable time; and what steps they intend to take to alleviate delays in obtaining these certificates.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The EWS1 form was produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on behalf of industry. The Government is aware of capacity issues impacting on its use and is working with industry to help them mitigate these.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to assist private owner occupiers of properties that have hazardous cladding.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government’s priority is to ensure that residents of high-rise buildings above 18 metres with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems are, and feel, safe
A joint expert inspection team will support local authorities in ensuring, and, where necessary, enforcing remediation of private sector high-rise residential buildings with unsafe ACM cladding systems. To support the work of the inspection team, Government has made further funding available up to £1 million.
Officials continue to engage with developers, building owners and managing agents with responsibility for buildings with unsafe ACM cladding systems to ensure that they are fully remediated as quickly as possible. We have written to all relevant private sector building owners reminding them of their responsibilities towards making their buildings safe, and the Secretary of State has set his strong expectation that leaseholders should be protected from the costs of remediation.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their decision to financially assist public sector housing bodies to pay for re-cladding as a result of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, what plans they have to assist private sector owner occupiers who live in apartment buildings which require new cladding for which they have no resources.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
In the private sector, building owners are responsible for making buildings safe. We have been clear we think they or the developers of the buildings should pay and not pass costs on to leaseholders, either funding the work themselves or looking at alternative routes such as insurance claims, warranties or action to ensure those responsible for erecting unsafe cladding pay.
My Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State recently held an industry roundtable on the barriers to the remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding. We have said that we rule nothing out at this stage.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new households they estimate will be created in 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2019–20; of those in each year, how many will require public housing support; and of the total new households created in all four years that require public housing support, how many will comprise persons other than UK citizens.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The latest household projections for the United Kingdom estimate household growth from 2016 to 2017 at 261,000 households; from 2017 to 2018 at 260,000 households; from 2018 to 2019 at 259,000 households; and from 2019 to 2020 at 256,000 households. The household projections are (attached) published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-household-projections. DCLG is responsible for producing the portion of these projections which cover England.
DCLG does not publish estimates of the number of households that are expected to need public housing support in future; nor the proportion of these that are UK citizens.