Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) quantum and (b) proportion of greenbelt land in England has been built on in each year since 2010.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
a) The amounts of Green Belt land within England changing to developed use in each year from 2013-14 to 2017-18 are published in Live Table P381 within the '2017 to 2018 land use based change tables' at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-land-use-change-statistics. Figures for previous years exist only for 2011 and earlier years and are not on the same basis as those included within Table P381
b) Corresponding figures for the proportion of Green Belt land that has been developed in each year from 2013-14 to 2017-18 can be obtained by expressing the figures within Live Table P381 as a percentage of the total area of Green Belt land for the relevant year as shown in the 'Area since 1997 - England' table within the Accompanying tables at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-green-belt-statistics-for-england-2017-to-2018
The Government remains committed to protecting the Green Belt. Most types of new building are inappropriate there, and should be refused permission unless in very special circumstances. Only in exceptional circumstances may a Green Belt boundary be altered, using the Local Plan process of consultation of consultation, followed by rigorous examination of the revised Plan. By clarifying the exceptional circumstances test and increasing support for higher density and re-use of brownfield land, our revised National Planning Policy Framework gives local authorities more power to protect their Green Belts and manage the allocation of land for development.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of houses that have been built in (a) Hertfordshire, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Surrey, (d) Northamptonshire and (e) Berkshire in each year since 2010.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Estimates of house building; new build dwellings completions for Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Northamptonshire and Berkshire, in each year to March quarter 2019, are shown in Live Table 253 at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building.
These cover new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply. The Department also publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply
(a) The figures show 21,950 'house building; new build dwelling completions' in Hertfordshire since April 2010
(b) The figures show 20,990 'house building; new build dwelling completions' in Bedfordshire since April 2010
(c) The figures show 23,180 'house building; new build dwelling completions' in Surrey since April 2010
(d) The figures show 24,080 'house building; new build dwelling completions' in Northamptonshire since April 2010
(e) The figures show 20,290 'house building; new build dwelling completions' in Berkshire since April 2010.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much money has been spent in each English local authority area on (a) social care, and (b) transport in each year since 2010.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Expenditure data on all services delivered by local authorities, including social care and transport, are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing.
Further detail on expenditure on adults’ and children’s social care are available at https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-social-care-activity-and-finance-report and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/section-251-materials.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund has been allocated to be spent in (a) St Albans and (b) North Hertfordshire district.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Through the Housing Infrastructure Fund we are awarding £5.5 billion of grant funding for infrastructure that will unlock new homes in areas of the greatest housing need, such as Hertfordshire. We are supporting the County Council to develop their proposals and look forward to receiving the full business cases by 22 March 2019. Once assessed against the published criteria, I will be making funding decisions shortly thereafter.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many areas throughout England have passed Neighbourhood Plans.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
While we do not formally monitor the production of neighbourhood plans, our records suggest that over 700 neighbourhood plans have been adopted (made) since 2011.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the additional powers granted to Homes England that were announced in Autumn Budget 2017 will be; and what the timetable is for guidance to be given to planning inspectors on the nature, extent and exercise of those powers.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
As the Chancellor set out in the Autumn Budget, the Homes and Community Agency will expand to become Homes England. This will bring together money, expertise, and planning and compulsory purchase powers, Homes England will have a clear remit to facilitate delivery of sufficient new homes, where they are most needed, to deliver a sustained improvement in affordability.
Homes England will have access to a number of planning powers. The Budget statement signalled a new role for an expanded, more assertive Homes England. Homes England will use its money, expertise and available powers, where necessary, to intervene in local markets to get more homes built. Further details on the remit of Homes England will follow in due course.