Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to increase the amount of the affordable housing programme dedicated to modern methods of construction.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) is committed to promoting Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), and provides incentives for the market to expand its use without compromising the number of homes we deliver.
In August 2021 we announced allocations for Strategic Partnerships worth £8.6 billion to deliver 119,000 affordable homes. Through these allocations we have achieved our target of 25% of delivery through MMC.
The Government is working with its delivery agencies to confirm the 2021 - 26 Programme's capacity to deliver as part of a review of programme commitments in light of economic challenges faced by providers. This is due to complete in Spring 2023.
There are no current plans to revise this target as part of the AHP 21-26.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of the affordable housing programme is allocated to modern methods of construction.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) is committed to promoting Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), and provides incentives for the market to expand its use without compromising the number of homes we deliver.
In August 2021 we announced allocations for Strategic Partnerships worth £8.6 billion to deliver 119,000 affordable homes. Through these allocations we have achieved our target of 25% of delivery through MMC.
The Government is working with its delivery agencies to confirm the 2021 - 26 Programme's capacity to deliver as part of a review of programme commitments in light of economic challenges faced by providers. This is due to complete in Spring 2023.
There are no current plans to revise this target as part of the AHP 21-26.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to reply to the letter of 10 March 2023 from the Association of Town and City Management and Tesco Plc to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State on Town Centre First Planning Policy.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
A response was issued on 19th April 2023.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 4.117 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC1183, published on 15 March 2023, how much funding he plans to allocate to a successful region under the Investment Zones policy over (a) one year and b) five years.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As set out in the Investment Zones policy prospectus, officials will work in partnership with places, and their local stakeholders, to co-develop their Investment Zone proposals.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to publish a draft bill on leasehold reform.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We are due to bring forward further leasehold reforms later in this Parliament.
We welcome the work that has already been done by Parliamentarians to date to highlight the injustices and unfairness of the leasehold system. We will of course consider how best to involve Parliamentarians, and wider stakeholders in the development of future legislation.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the competency framework for heating and plumbing so that installers and service engineers are trained and qualified to advise consumers on the efficiency of their heating systems whenever a boiler is changed or serviced.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The operators of competent person schemes must meet conditions of authorisation set by the government. As such, all installers registered to competent person schemes need to ensure all the work they carry out in a property complies with the Building Regulations.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what funding has been allocated to the six boroughs in the Liverpool City Region since 2010.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Local authorities receive a wide range of grants from multiple government departments to reflect their broad responsibilities. Information on specific grants, including where relevant the amount returned, is held by the department that is responsible for administering the grant.
Core funding for local authorities is available through the local government finance settlement. We measure core funding through ‘Core Spending Power’ which consists of grant funding, redistributed business rates and council tax. It reflects regular, annual funding government makes available to deliver local authorities to deliver key services, both incorporating central grants and locally raised taxation, and allows comparisons across years which ensures a transparent measure of available funding. Due to changes in the function and financing of local government, comparable data on Core Spending Power is not available prior to 2015/16. Allocations back to 2015/16, including provisional allocations for 2023/24 are available here.
| Core Spending Power | ||||||||
Local Authority | 2015 - 16 | 2016 - 17 | 2017 - 18 | 2018 - 19 | 2019 - 20 | 2020 - 21 | 2021 - 22 | 2022 - 23 | 2023 - 24 |
Halton | 104.0 | 100.7 | 102.9 | 105.0 | 106.7 | 113.1 | 116.8 | 125.7 | 137.9 |
Knowsley | 152.5 | 146.3 | 149.3 | 152.3 | 154.5 | 165.0 | 172.3 | 186.8 | 206.7 |
Liverpool | 445.0 | 436.2 | 445.9 | 454.2 | 460.7 | 492.6 | 505.8 | 547.2 | 606.3 |
Sefton | 221.8 | 216.5 | 221.2 | 227.3 | 231.0 | 245.7 | 252.4 | 273.7 | 301.1 |
St Helens | 141.8 | 137.7 | 141.6 | 144.8 | 146.8 | 156.8 | 162.2 | 176.7 | 194.4 |
Wirral | 261.9 | 252.2 | 257.8 | 264.4 | 268.3 | 285.0 | 297.4 | 321.2 | 355.4 |
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what change there has been in real-term levels of funding for each of the six boroughs in the Liverpool City Region since 2010.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Local authorities receive a wide range of grants from multiple government departments to reflect their broad responsibilities. Information on specific grants, including where relevant the amount returned, is held by the department that is responsible for administering the grant.
Core funding for local authorities is available through the local government finance settlement. We measure core funding through ‘Core Spending Power’ which consists of grant funding, redistributed business rates and council tax. It reflects regular, annual funding government makes available to deliver local authorities to deliver key services, both incorporating central grants and locally raised taxation, and allows comparisons across years which ensures a transparent measure of available funding. Due to changes in the function and financing of local government, comparable data on Core Spending Power is not available prior to 2015/16. Allocations back to 2015/16, including provisional allocations for 2023/24 are available here.
| Core Spending Power | ||||||||
Local Authority | 2015 - 16 | 2016 - 17 | 2017 - 18 | 2018 - 19 | 2019 - 20 | 2020 - 21 | 2021 - 22 | 2022 - 23 | 2023 - 24 |
Halton | 104.0 | 100.7 | 102.9 | 105.0 | 106.7 | 113.1 | 116.8 | 125.7 | 137.9 |
Knowsley | 152.5 | 146.3 | 149.3 | 152.3 | 154.5 | 165.0 | 172.3 | 186.8 | 206.7 |
Liverpool | 445.0 | 436.2 | 445.9 | 454.2 | 460.7 | 492.6 | 505.8 | 547.2 | 606.3 |
Sefton | 221.8 | 216.5 | 221.2 | 227.3 | 231.0 | 245.7 | 252.4 | 273.7 | 301.1 |
St Helens | 141.8 | 137.7 | 141.6 | 144.8 | 146.8 | 156.8 | 162.2 | 176.7 | 194.4 |
Wirral | 261.9 | 252.2 | 257.8 | 264.4 | 268.3 | 285.0 | 297.4 | 321.2 | 355.4 |
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which constituencies have the highest proportion of homes with an Energy Performance Certificate below level Level E.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 105314 on 12 December 2022.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many homes have an Energy Performance Certificate below Level E as of 8 December 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 105314 on 12 December 2022.