Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he last met with the National Fire Chiefs Council to discuss wildfires; and if he will publish the minutes.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. As is precedent, details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of lowering the population thresholds of the Pride in Place programme to include smaller rural communities in the eligibility criteria.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 25 September, the Government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities.
The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March.
Neighbourhoods in England were selected through a robust, metric-based methodology, which uses a composite measure of deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)) and community need (Community Needs Index (CNI)) to identify areas with the poorest social and economic outcomes and create a single index of need. Our allocation methodology targets need everywhere (regardless of type of community) and includes a number of rural communities.
We’re working closely with devolved governments to make sure funding supports local priorities everywhere. Further details on our approach in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow.
The full list of areas and place selection methodology is set out here: Pride in Place Programme Phase 2: Methodology note.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the value for money of new jobs created by Special Economic Zones in Wales.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Government applies rigorous value for money assessment during the development of policy, including in relation to the creation of special economic zones. Welsh Freeports and Investment Zones are required to demonstrate value for money before their proposals are approved. Appraisals are carried out in collaboration with the Welsh Government and consider both direct jobs created and wider economic benefits against the costs of the policy interventions, ensuring that public resources are used effectively to deliver the government's growth mission.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
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 Chancellor of the Exchequer's official Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, whether the 1.3million homes to be built will be built in the UK or in England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The 1.3 million homes figure referenced represents a forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) based solely on the impact of the changes the government made to the National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024. The OBR does not provide a breakdown between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The government’s Plan for Change includes an ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
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 Chancellor of the Exchequer's Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, Official Report, column 945, how many and what proportion of the 1.3 million homes to be built in the UK this parliament will be built in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The 1.3 million homes figure referenced represents a forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) based solely on the impact of the changes the government made to the National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024. The OBR does not provide a breakdown between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department plans to provide through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to projects in Wales in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial year by project.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) operates under a delegated delivery model, meaning lead local authorities are responsible for managing the funding for their area and the allocation of funds to projects.
Lead local authorities in Wales have been paid £260 million of the £307 million Core UKSPF allocation and £5 million of the £35 million Multiply allocation available to them this financial year for delivery up to March 2025. The outstanding amounts remain available to be paid to lead local authorities at the end of the financial year, based on actual spend. We intend to confirm allocations for 2025-26 as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Welsh Government and (b) local authorities in Wales on the operation of the Shared Prosperity Fund after March 2025.
Answered by Jacob Young
Decisions regarding funding beyond March 2025 are ultimately a matter for the next Spending Review. We nevertheless appreciate the case for certainty and are committed to setting out further detail at the earliest opportunity.
Officials are in regular communication with all local authorities in Wales on this issue, as well as with the Welsh Local Government Association. We will work closely with the Welsh Government on the future of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring greater protection to landscapes with a distinct literary (a) heritage and (b) value in planning policy.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that planning policies and decisions should recognise the character and beauty of the countryside, and local authorities are expected to protect heritage assets which can include landscape and setting of listed buildings.
Substantial harm to, or loss of, the significance of designated heritage assets of the highest significance – including World Heritage Sites – should be wholly exceptional. A notable example of protected landscape is the Lake District, inscribed as a World Heritage Site for its rich cultural landscape in recognition of its importance to Wordsworth.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason the draft Order giving effect to the new parliamentary constituency boundaries was not submitted to the Privy Council within four months.
Answered by Simon Hoare
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 754 on 13 November 2023.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations set out in the Welsh Parliament Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee's report entitled Post-EU regional development funding, published in September 2023.
Answered by Jacob Young
Transparency information on meetings with the devolved administrations, which cover a range of issues, is published as part of the Intergovernmental relations quarterly reports. These are available here.
Whilst DLUHC ministers are formally accountable to UK Parliament, we have engaged with the Senedd's scrutiny of the Government's vision for Levelling Up in Wales, including by responding formally to recommendations made by the Finance Committee in October 2022.
My department is considering the most recent recommendations made by the Senedd's Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs committee and will respond in due course.
To support local authorities in developing proposals for the Levelling Up Fund, my department provided every local authority in Wales with a £125,000 capacity funding payment.
The vast majority of Levelling Up funding in Wales has been distributed via an allocative model, including the £585 million of investment to Wales via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
In the Secretary of State's speech to the Local Government Association conference in July 2023, where he announced the Government's funding simplification plan, he explained that we will change how government provides local growth funding to local authorities. From next year, all departments will need to consider whether they can use existing funds to deliver new money, or can use an allocation methodology to distribute it rather than launching another new competition.