Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Pauline Latham

Monday 21st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to bring empty and redundant buildings back into use.

[The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)]

With the new homes bonus we provide £235 million in grant and £130 million to local authorities for homes brought back into use. We have revised and are further reviewing permitted development rights. Since 2010, over 40,000 homes that were long-term empty have been brought back into use.

[Pauline Latham]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that bringing empty homes back into use is important not only as a sustainable way of increasing the local housing supply but because it can alleviate the negative impact that neglected empty homes can have on communities in constituencies like mine and similar areas?

[Mr Pickles]

My hon. Friend makes a very reasonable point. Derbyshire has benefited from £600,000 of empty homes funding, and I am sure that that will make quite a difference to her constituency. The substantive point is that this not only gets housing back into stock but means that streets and communities are not blighted. It is a win-win for just about everybody.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Pauline Latham

Monday 4th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)]

I have had no discussions with Derby city council, but I am disappointed to hear of plans by the Labour council to charge residents for collecting their garden waste.

[Pauline Latham]

What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of Labour-run Derby city council’s proposed £40 brown bin tax?

[Mr Pickles]

There is a very good case for comparing that bin tax with what the neighbouring Amber Valley borough council is doing. That Conservative authority is about to introduce a new recycling service, which will be more convenient for households and will reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfill, and includes a free garden waste collection service. That is good practice and I encourage other councils to follow suit.