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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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.
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 impact of the bidding process for levelling up funding on local authority resources in Wales.
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.
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 his Department has had with the Welsh Government on the distribution of (a) the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and (b) levelling-up funds to promote regional development in Wales.
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.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2023 to Question 155257 on Parking: Fines, what his Department's planned timescales are for the completion of the impact assessment and consultation.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Announcements will be made in the usual way.
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, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) adopting a transitional approach to implementing its Future Homes Standard and (b) allowing developments that receive planning permission by 2025 to build under earlier standards.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 180076 on 24 April 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 recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Future Homes Standard; and what his planned timeline is for implementing that Standard on new house build completions from 2025.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 180076 on 24 April 2023.