Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how combined authorities are assisting his Department in delivering new housing schemes.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Combined authorities enable local authorities to work jointly to take strategic decisions and improve the delivery of statutory functions such as transport, economic development and regeneration in the local area. Combined authority areas with devolution deals can support the delivery of new housing schemes in a number of ways, including, for example, through preparing strategic plans for their area, forming partnerships with the Homes and Communities Agency and committing to increasing house building.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of administering EU Regional Development Funds in each of the (a) last and (b) next five years.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The Department for Communities and Local Government took on full responsibility for the administration and management of the European Regional Development Fund from 1 st July 2011.
Administration costs:
| 2011/12 (1st July-31st March) | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | Total |
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Net Expenditure* | £8.18m | £10.58m | £9.28m | £10.18m | £12.58m | £50.8m |
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| *Includes income reimbursed to DCLG by the European Commission |
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This cost is approximately 2% of the EU funding administered - the current benchmark set by the Cabinet Office for grant administration is between 3 and 4%.
DCLG is currently undergoing a review of its resources following the spending review, it would not be appropriate to comment on the potential costs over the next 5 years whilst this review is ongoing.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will impose a moratorium on processing all planning applications submitted by UK Coal Production Ltd until that body has demonstrated it can meet its obligations on restoration and section 106 contributions.
Answered by Nick Boles
Coal extraction is handled through a locally-led planning process and decisions on planning applications are for the relevant mineral planning authority.
Schedule 5 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 gives mineral planning authorities the power to impose planning conditions on mineral operators to provide for site restoration and aftercare with their application for minerals extraction. In addition the National Planning Policy Framework and planning guidance allows mineral planning authorities to request financial guarantees from applicants to underpin the conditions covering the restoration and aftercare of a site in exceptional circumstances.
New Section 106 agreements are negotiated between the developer and the applicant. Existing legislation allows those entering into the planning obligation to specify the date or dates when any required sum is to be paid to the planning authority. Section 106 planning obligation agreements are legally binding, and the mineral planning authority can enforce any breach of an agreement.