Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment has the Government made of the future housing needs for the ageing population.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Offering vulnerable people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them live independently and feel more connected to their communities. This Government is committed to the provision of suitable homes for older people, including extra care housing, which contributes to levelling up across communities. Housing-with-care allows individuals to choose where they want to live, with whom, how they can best be supported, and what happens in their home. Both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care provide capital funding to incentivise their supply. Our planning rules already mean councils must consider the needs of older people when planning for new homes. In 2019, we published guidance to help councils implement the National Planning Policy Framework policies.
We are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, where 10 per cent of delivery over the course of the programme will be used to increase the supply of much needed specialist or supported housing, including retirement housing. The Department of Health and Social Care are also continuing to subsidise new supply of specialist housing for older and disabled people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) Fund.
The Government's plan for health and social care, announced on Tuesday 7 September, also recognised the important role of housing, and supported housing in particular, in providing care and support to people in the community.
We continue to work closely with the older people's housing sector and across Government to look at how we can further support its growth. I look forward to engaging with representatives in the sector further and value their insight.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What steps he is taking to provide accommodation for rough sleepers.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
By the start of this year, this Government supported over 37,000 people as part of our Everyone In initiative during the pandemic, with over 26,000 already being moved into longer term accommodation.
At the Spending Review in November we committed an additional £254 million of resource funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. This takes resource funding in 2021-22 to £676 million - a 60% increase compared to what was announced at Spending Review 2019.
In addition, the Government has accelerated the delivery of the £433 million Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme to deliver 6,000 move-on homes and support - the largest ever investment in move-on accommodation.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the statement in the Planning for the Future white paper that the planning system needs to be better at unlocking growth and opportunity in all parts of the country, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate provision of green space.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In Planning for the Future, one key proposal is that future local plans would put all land into one of three categories: areas for growth, for renewal or for protection. That proposal makes clear that, under such a system, local authorities would use the plan-making process to earmark valued green space, which need not only be designated land such as Local Green Space or Green Belt, for protection.
We will expect local authorities to promote the provision and retention of green space, parks and other green infrastructure in their plan-making and decisions. Sound planning, in line with the policies in our National Planning Policy Framework, will continue to protect sites of biodiversity, local wildlife sites and irreplaceable habitat; recognise the character and beauty of the countryside; and take account of all the benefits from natural capital and ecosystems.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on local infrastructure of proposals in the Planning for the Future white paper to identify land suitable for development as growth areas, where permission in principle would be automatically secured for forms and types of development specified in the local plan.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The White Paper makes it clear that development plans, including the identification of Growth Areas where outline consent would be automatically granted, should continue to be informed by appropriate infrastructure planning. We are also proposing to introduce a new Infrastructure Levy, which will aim to collect more than the current system of developer contributions, and which local authorities will be able to use to fund infrastructure (including onsite provision). We are currently consulting on these proposals, which will inform our assessment of their impact.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the proposals set out in the Planning for the Future white paper are rural proofed with regard to demand for affordable homes in rural communities.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government recognises the importance of affordable homes in rural communities. National planning policy makes it clear that in rural areas, housing development that reflect local needs should be supported, and that affordable housing can be sought for residential developments that are not major developments in designated rural areas. None of our proposals change this overall approach.
In Planning for the Future, we propose to replace the existing system of developer contributions with a new Infrastructure Levy, which will deliver at least as much onsite affordable housing as at present. We are currently consulting on this approach, which will inform our assessment of the impacts of the proposed Levy.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his department will be issuing definitive guidance for introducing controlled viewings and conveyancing in the residential property sector.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
My Department issued revised guidance for England on how to move home safely on 13 May 2020.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his housebuilding target is for Milton Keynes; and what the timescale is for that target to be met.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government does not set targets for housebuilding. It is for local authorities to identify their housing targets, in light of national policy and guidance. In the case of Milton Keynes, this is set out in their current local plan (adopted in March 2019).
The Housing Delivery Test, measures local authority performance against these locally set targets. Local authorities are rising to the challenge, and the Government publishes these results annually. The 2019 measurement shows that nearly two thirds of authorities have delivered the numbers of homes their communities need.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will ensure that the proposed domestic abuse Bill enables survivors of that abuse to access a safe and permanent home by extending automatic priority need for housing to that group.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This Government believes it is vitally important that domestic abuse victims who are homeless, or are at risk of homelessness, are supported to find an accommodation solution that meets their needs and reflects their individual circumstances.
In April 2018, the Homelessness Reduction Act came into force, which puts prevention at the heart of the local authorities’ response to homelessness, irrespective of whether they are a family or single person, what has put them at risk, or if they have a local connection to the area. This means that all victims of domestic abuse who are at risk of homelessness should be provided with an offer of support from their local authority to find appropriate accommodation.
Under homelessness legislation a person who is pregnant, has dependent children, or is vulnerable as a result of having to leave accommodation due to domestic abuse already has priority need for accommodation. These duties, alongside new duties under the Domestic Abuse Bill, will ensure that all victims of domestic abuse are supported to find accommodation that meets their needs.