Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 21 October (HL1340), what assessment they have made as to whether any residential leases contain terms which allow alterations to be made in support of energy efficiency improvements.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The terms of individual leases will vary. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not gather data on the number of residential leases that contain terms which allow for proposed alterations in support of energy efficiency improvements.
Leaseholders can take various actions to save energy in their home. They may however need to apply for permission from their landlord (and in some cases other leaseholders) should they wish to make certain alterations or improvements which could include structural alterations. This will depend upon whether the terms of the lease allow for the proposed works to be carried out.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of market distortion and lack of parity between England and Scotland, specifically in terms of delivering off-shore wind power, if Crown Estate Scotland does not have equivalent powers to the Crown Estate following the enactment of the Crown Estates Bill.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The management of the crown estate in Scotland is a devolved matter. In the first instance it is a matter for the Scottish Government to consider any proposed changes they may want to make to Crown Estate Scotland, including, for example, changes to its existing borrowing powers or investment powers.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Livermore on 14 October (HL Deb col 30), what progress they have made in their discussions with the Scottish Government on the nature and content of the Crown Estate Bill, and whether those discussions include extending the benefits of the Bill in relation to new borrowing powers to Crown Estate Scotland.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government was initially in contact with the Scottish Government, before the introduction of the bill, to confirm that no legislative consent motion was required. This is on the basis that the bill does not legislate on devolved matters and the management of the crown estate in Scotland is devolved.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to tabling amendments to the Crown Estate Bill to extend its provisions to Crown Estate Scotland, and what discussions they have had with Scottish Government about the possibility of a legislative consent motion being put before the Scottish Parliament.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The management of the crown estate in Scotland is a devolved matter. In the first instance it is a matter for the Scottish Government to consider any proposed changes they may want to make to Crown Estate Scotland. There have been no discussions with the Scottish Government on this matter.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation of a voucher scheme for people on low incomes to buy a cycle, proposed in Sustrans' report The Cycling Opportunity, published on 11 September.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government has not made a detailed assessment of the costs and benefits of such a scheme but will consider it carefully as it develops its future plans for active travel.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure energy efficiency improvements can be undertaken in private blocks of flats that are subject to lease constraints.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government remains committed to meeting its net zero emissions targets by 2050 and recognises the important contribution that the energy efficiency of buildings has to make in meeting it.
Reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will make it easier and cheaper for more leaseholders to buy their freehold or take over the management of their building, if they wish to do so. This will provide them with greater control over their building to make alterations in support of energy efficiency improvements in accordance with the terms of the lease.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish an Access to Nature White Paper and whether they will engage with stakeholders representing public access and recreation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and we are working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors.
We are considering our approach to improving access to nature and are committed to working with our stakeholders as we develop this thinking. We will provide a further update in due course.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend that the "vision led approach" required by paragraph 112 of the draft National Planning Policy Framework should be based on any or all of (1) local transport plans, (2) local cycling and walking infrastructure plans, (3) rights of way improvement plans, and (4) bus service improvement plans.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), we are seeking views on new NPPF paragraph 112 a), which aims to set an expectation that local authorities adopt a vision-led approach to promoting sustainable transport when identifying sites in local plans and considering planning decisions.
The NPPF consultation will close on 24 September, and we will use the responses we receive to inform future steps. Details of the consultation and how to respond can be found at the following link.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what reason the second of the green belt purposes in paragraph 140 of the draft National Planning Policy Framework, "to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another", is not replicated in paragraph 155 regarding major development permitted through development management or on land which has been released from the green belt.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government recognises the important role the Green Belt plays in preventing urban sprawl and remains committed to its continued protection. The manifesto was clear that without changing its purpose or general extent, the government will take a more strategic approach to Green Belt release to build more homes in the right places.
The Government’s proposed reforms relating to the Green Belt, and approach to implementation, are set out in the consultation on our approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system. This consultation began on Tuesday 30 July and closes on Tuesday 24 September.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will commence the operation of marine net gain.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to nature recovery. Work is underway to develop options for the role marine net gain may play including consideration of timescales for operation of the policy.