Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with environmental groups on his proposals to introduce Investment Zones.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Expression of Interest for Investment Zones closed on Friday 14 October. DLUHC officials are now assessing those proposals received.
We have engaged a variety of stakeholders in a variety of ways for discussion on the detail of Investment Zones and would expect to continue to do so in the weeks ahead. We are in written correspondence with environmental groups and are keen to hear their further thoughts as the proposals develop.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 it his policy that large retail developments should be required to include solar farms on their roofs; and if he will publish planning guidance to this effect.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
To facilitate the take up of renewable energy permitted development rights allow for the installation of solar panels on non-domestic properties without having to make a planning application. The right is subject to limitations and conditions and in the case of larger installations prior approval from the local authority is required to consider impacts such as glare.
The Government is exploring ways to accelerate solar deployment in the UK, including on rooftops of commercial buildings.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 it his policy to introduce rent controls in the context of the increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not support the introduction of rent controls in the private rented sector to set the level of rent at the outset of a tenancy. Historical evidence suggests that these would discourage investment in the sector and would lead to declining property standards as a result, which would not help landlords or tenants.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department will provide to young people from Hong Kong who will become eligible for the British National (Overseas) visa from November this year.
Answered by Paul Scully
In April 2021 the department launched a new UK-wide Welcome Programme to support BN(O) status holders, and in July 2022 announced the continuation of the Programme. This cohort of young people will be able to access the full Hong Kong BN(O) Welcome Programme, including support from Welcome Hubs across the UK, support from community organisations providing a range of services including help with social integration, mental health and employability, they will also be eligible to access English language and destitution support via local Councils (England only). They can already access a comprehensive online Welcome Pack, in English and Cantonese on GOV.UK that provides advice on life in the UK.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to reduce waiting lists for social housing.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2010, more than 574,000 affordable homes have been delivered, including 154,600 for social rent. A further £11.5 billion of taxpayer subsidy is being made available with £8.6 billion of that already allocated.
Local authorities are best placed to develop solutions which make best use of local social homes. That is why the Government has given local authorities the freedom to manage their own waiting lists and to determine who qualifies for social housing.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 estimate of the number of self-contained residential properties that have been empty for six months or longer.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
There were 237,340 long-term vacant dwellings in England on 4 October 2021, a decrease of 31,045 (11.6%) from 268,385 on 5 October 2020. The data is published annually with the next publication scheduled for March 2023.
In this dataset, long-term vacant dwellings are defined as properties liable for council tax that have been empty for more than six months and that are not subject to Empty Homes Discount class D or empty due to specific flooding events.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 it his policy to require the fitting of sprinklers in (a) care homes, b) extra care facilities, (c) specialised housing, (d) flats and apartment blocks, (e) houses in multiple occupation, (f) schools and (g) large high bay warehousing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We recognise that sprinklers are an effective means of controlling fire, but they are only one of a range of measures which make a building safe.
In 2020, following a consultation, we introduced changes to the statutory guidance to the building regulations (Approved Document B) to lower the threshold for provision of sprinkler systems in new blocks of flats from 30m to 11m.
We are also currently undertaking research on the current design approaches across the specialised housing and care home sector.
The design of schools is the responsibility of the Department for Education who are committed to increasing the safety standards in school buildings. They have consulted on updated guidance on fire safety design in schools, including the use of sprinklers. They plan to set out details shortly.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 provide additional funding for the Levelling Up Fund after the completion of the second round of allocations.
Answered by Lia Nici
The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund invests in infrastructure that improves everyday life for local residents across the UK, focusing on regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.
We are determined to learn all the lessons we can in continuing to improve our support for local places. We are therefore not yet committing to the timing or format of future rounds of the Fund and have encouraged applicants who are in a position to do so to submit bids for the current round of the Fund.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much the council tax precept for town and parish councils has increased for each of the past five years.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Statistics on council tax, including increases in town and parish council precepts, are available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-council-tax#council-tax-statistics-for-town-and-parish-councils-in-england.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the thank you payment from the Homes for Ukraine Scheme will be made available to British residents who are providing accommodation to their own relatives fleeing Ukraine.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The £350 “thank you” payment is only available to sponsors on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. This includes guests sponsored by a relative through that scheme.