Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 17987 on Homelessness: Burnley, if he will provide a link to the relevant page on his Department’s website where allocations of grant funding to Burnley Borough Council are published; and whether his Department publishes information on other support provided to local authorities on gov.uk.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Burnley Borough Council have received £1,080,784 in Homelessness Prevention Grant funding since the first year of the grant, 2021/22. Burnley Borough Council have also been beneficiaries of up to £650,497 through direct allocations and as members of joint local authority bids in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding since they were first funded in 2020/21.
The funding allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant are published here: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24-2024/25. The funding allocations for the Rough Sleeping Initiative are published here:2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23-2024/25.
Policy, guidance, research and grant funding allocations for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping are published here Homelessness and rough sleeping - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 17987 on Homelessness: Burnley, how much funding his Department provided to Burnley Borough Council through the (a) Homelessness Prevention Grant and (b) Rough Sleeping Initiative since 2019.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Burnley Borough Council have received £1,080,784 in Homelessness Prevention Grant funding since the first year of the grant, 2021/22. Burnley Borough Council have also been beneficiaries of up to £650,497 through direct allocations and as members of joint local authority bids in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding since they were first funded in 2020/21.
The funding allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant are published here: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24-2024/25. The funding allocations for the Rough Sleeping Initiative are published here:2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23-2024/25.
Policy, guidance, research and grant funding allocations for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping are published here Homelessness and rough sleeping - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what (a) funding and (b) other support his Department has provided to Burnley Borough Council to tackle (i) homelessness and (ii) rough sleeping since December 2019.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government is supporting local authorities to reduce homelessness and rough sleeping through, for example, the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG) and the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI). Allocations of Government funding are published on gov.uk.
DLUHC’s dedicated team of homelessness and rough sleeping advisers also work regularly with local authorities to provide expert support in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in their area.
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential role of canals and waterways in the Government’s levelling-up agenda.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
As set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, infrastructure and connectivity are key to levelling up the country.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is currently conducting a review of the annual Government grant provided to the Canal and River Trust, and the potential role of the canal network in the levelling-up agenda is being considered as part of that review.
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans are in place for local authorities to bring derelict housing stock back into use.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Local authorities are equipped with a range of powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes, including those that are derelict. Through the New Homes Bonus, they earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as for building a new one. Billing authorities have the discretion to charge up to 100 per cent extra council tax – on top of the standard bill – on properties that have been empty for at least two years.
In certain circumstances, local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) to temporarily take over the management of a property that has been empty for more than two years and bring it back into use. Local authorities have a variety of compulsory purchase powers which they can use to acquire and develop derelict or empty property, including for housing purposes. However, compulsory purchase is intended for use as a last resort and there must always be a compelling case in the public interest.
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
What steps his Department is taking to support towns.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
This Government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund will support an initial 100 Town Deals, unleashing towns’ economic potential and sharing prosperity across the country. We are forming a Towns Hub to make Whitehall work for towns and communities and have provided places with over £16 million capacity funding – to prepare their plans and secure up to £25 million each.
We will be investing in town centres and high streets to help them evolve – with more housing, safer streets, culture and transport to make them more accessible.