Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to publish the results of the consultation entitled Modern Leasehold: Restricting Ground Rent for Existing Leases, which closed on 17 January 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation. We will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2024 on Leasehold and Commonhold Reform, HCWS244, what discussions she has had with the Leader of the House on bringing forward legislation to amend the operation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the Leasehold and Freehold Act contains a small number of specific but serious flaws which would prevent certain provisions from operating as intended. We intend to rectify these via primary legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle delays in approvals for Gateway (a) 2 and (b) 3 submissions to the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is an independent regulator, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is not involved in operational decisions, does not hold information on ongoing cases with the BSR, and cannot comment on an individual case. The client, or the person who submitted the application, should engage the BSR directly.
The new Building Control process for higher-risk buildings was introduced as part of the Building Safety Act in 2022 and is an important part of the government’s continuing programme of work to ensure people are safe in their homes. We understand that it is taking longer to embed than envisaged and I know the BSR is working with the sector to resolve these issues at pace.
My department is closely monitoring the situation to make sure the BSR and industry resolve outstanding delays quickly and make sure the expectations on the quality of submissions are better understood.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on when the Building Safety Regulator plans to respond to the applications for (a) Gateway 2 and (b) Gateway 3 approval for the two high rise blocks on the Wembley Park Quintain Development in Brent West constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is an independent regulator, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is not involved in operational decisions, does not hold information on ongoing cases with the BSR, and cannot comment on an individual case. The client, or the person who submitted the application, should engage the BSR directly.
The new Building Control process for higher-risk buildings was introduced as part of the Building Safety Act in 2022 and is an important part of the government’s continuing programme of work to ensure people are safe in their homes. We understand that it is taking longer to embed than envisaged and I know the BSR is working with the sector to resolve these issues at pace.
My department is closely monitoring the situation to make sure the BSR and industry resolve outstanding delays quickly and make sure the expectations on the quality of submissions are better understood.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with student accommodation providers to prevent students with tenancies having to pay for properties they cannot reside in safely during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
If students have already signed an accommodation contract for next year and, because of the COVID-19 outbreak, think it may no longer fit their requirements, they should talk directly to their accommodation provider.
During these unprecedented times, the Government encourages student accommodation providers, landlords, letting agencies and tenants to take a pragmatic, flexible approach and have a frank and open conversation at the earliest?opportunity, to allow both parties to agree a sensible way forward.
In cases where students do not wish to move into the accommodation, they are able to end or surrender their fixed term tenancy if they reach an agreement with their landlord. Where students have a joint tenancy agreement, all tenants will need to agree to the surrender as well as the landlord.
In very limited situations where a student has been legally prevented from living in their accommodation, they may be entitled to a refund from certain accommodation providers. This is dependent on the terms of their contract and their particular circumstances. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by the coronavirus. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. If students need help, organisations such as Citizens Advice offer a free service, providing information and support.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what provision he is making for local authorities to continue the Everyone In campaign to house and support people who were street homeless.
Answered by Luke Hall
Almost 15,000 vulnerable people, including those who were street homeless, have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown period, according to returns from local authorities to MHCLG.
£3.2 billion has been provided to support councils to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including supporting homeless people. This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support vulnerable rough sleepers.
On 24 May, the Secretary of State announced plans for thousands of long-term, safe homes to support many of the vulnerable rough sleepers who have been supported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, individuals taken off the streets during the pandemic can get the support they need to rebuild their lives.
This?unprecedented?commitment?– the biggest of its kind since the Government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative?began?– will be backed by?£160?million?in 2020/21 to inject 3,300 new units of accommodation over the next 12 months, part of?6,000 in total.
This means in 2020/21 we are providing £606 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. This marks a £238 million increase in funding from the previous year and further demonstrates our commitment to assist the most vulnerable in society.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what account he has taken of the Government's policy to end unabated coal in framing National Planning Policy Framework guidelines on the approval of new coal extraction projects.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Department for Energy and Climate Change will be launching a consultation on how to fulfil the Government's commitment to phase out existing unabated coal as an energy source for power stations shortly. The National Planning Policy Framework and planning practice guidance, sets the planning framework for mineral planning authorities to assess applications for the extraction of coal, they do not address the specific uses of coal.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 7 on page 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework, published in March 2012 whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent to which the UK's carbon budgets and 2050 climate target is taken into account by planning authorities when making planning decisions.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that sustainable development should be at the heart of planning, and should be pursued in a positive and integrated way. It makes it clear that policies set out in paragraphs 18 to 219, taken as a whole, constitute the Government's view of what sustainable development in England means in practice for the planning system – both in preparing local plans and taking decisions on individual planning applications. It is for the decision-maker to take these policies into account when considering applications for development.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which organisation is responsible for carrying out environmental impact assessments for hydraulic fracturing developments.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Where an environmental impact assessment is required, the applicant must produce an environmental statement to accompany the planning application. The local planning authority will consider the environmental statement and other relevant information when determining the planning application.
We do not hold information on the likely future annual costs of environmental impact assessments in respect of hydraulic fracturing development. Estimating annual costs would be difficult given uncertainties over the number of proposals coming forward each year. Additionally the costs of individual environmental impact assessments will depend on factors such as the scope and level of detail of the information required to assess the likely significant environmental effects of the proposal and will vary on a case by case basis
The majority of the cost in respect of an environmental impact assessment will be borne by the applicant. The industry has already committed to undertake environmental impact assessment for any exploration well that involves hydraulic fracturing.
A Government amendment to the Infrastructure Bill requires that, before issuing consent for associated hydraulic fracturing, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change must be satisfied that the environmental impact of the development has been taken into account by the local planning authority.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost of the environmental impact assessments required for hydraulic fracturing developments in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, (c) 2016-17, (d) 2017-18, (e) 2018-19 and (f) 2019-20; and what assessment he has made of how these costs will be met.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Where an environmental impact assessment is required, the applicant must produce an environmental statement to accompany the planning application. The local planning authority will consider the environmental statement and other relevant information when determining the planning application.
We do not hold information on the likely future annual costs of environmental impact assessments in respect of hydraulic fracturing development. Estimating annual costs would be difficult given uncertainties over the number of proposals coming forward each year. Additionally the costs of individual environmental impact assessments will depend on factors such as the scope and level of detail of the information required to assess the likely significant environmental effects of the proposal and will vary on a case by case basis
The majority of the cost in respect of an environmental impact assessment will be borne by the applicant. The industry has already committed to undertake environmental impact assessment for any exploration well that involves hydraulic fracturing.
A Government amendment to the Infrastructure Bill requires that, before issuing consent for associated hydraulic fracturing, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change must be satisfied that the environmental impact of the development has been taken into account by the local planning authority.