Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 his Department has not published a full assessment of the potential economic impact of the measures in the Renters (Reform) Bill; and if he will publish (a) an assessment of and (b) all other information held by his Department on the potential economic impact of the Bill before the Second Reading.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Renters (Reform) Bill had its First Reading in the House of Commons on 17 May. I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS778) and to the published guide to the Bill.
We have submitted our Impact Assessment for review by the Regulatory Policy Committee. This is a significant document and they now need time to scrutinise it. We will publish it once that process has finished. I look forward to discussing these issues during the passage of the Bill.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 Renters (Reform) Bill does not give tenants of social landlords the right to (a) request permission to keep a pet and (b) access residential landlord redress schemes.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Renters (Reform) Bill had its First Reading in the House of Commons on 17 May. I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS778) and to the published guide to the Bill.
We have submitted our Impact Assessment for review by the Regulatory Policy Committee. This is a significant document and they now need time to scrutinise it. We will publish it once that process has finished. I look forward to discussing these issues during the passage of the Bill.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 1 March 2023 to Question 152185 on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, what the planned timetable is for the (a) commencement and (b) conclusion of the governance and finance review; and how it will be publicised.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The independent assurance review of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (BCP) is in the process of being set up and we will be announcing further information shortly. We anticipate the review will have both started and concluded over the course of the Spring.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 16 January to Question 119880 on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, whether he will appoint the Chief Executive of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council as the reviewer of that Council's governance and finance arrangements; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The arrangements for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s governance and finance review have been finalised and it will commence shortly. It is important that any assurance review is independent, although the views of statutory officers and others at the council will be considered as well as the views of local Members of Parliament.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 23 November to Question 90729 on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, whether an assessor to conduct the assurance review of BCP Council's governance and finance arrangements has been appointed; and whether the final report of the review will be published before the May 2023 local elections.
Answered by Lee Rowley
A reviewer of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council's governance and finance arrangements will be appointed in due course. I will write to local MPs once the appointment has been made.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much (a) council tax (b) business rates remained uncollected in England at the end of (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020/21 and (iii) 2021/22.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Data on the amount of council tax and business rates arrears outstanding for these years can be found in Tables 7 and 8 of the 'Collection Rates and receipts of council tax and business rates' statistical release. The latest release can be found here.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 25 November 2022 to Question 93437 on Council Tax: Christchurch constituency, if he will apologise for his Answer to the hon. Member for Christchurch on 21 November 2022, Official Report, column 18, that he feels more sorry for people outside the Christchurch constituency than he does for people within that constituency who are in council tax poverty and less sorry for people who are relatively older than those who are not.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Secretary of State has agreed to meet my Hon. Friend to discuss this topic at his convenience.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Answer to the hon. Member for Christchurch of 21 November 2022, Official Report, column 18, for what reason he feels more sorry for people outside the Christchurch constituency than he does for people within that constituency who are in council tax poverty; and for what reason he feels less sorry for people who are relatively older than those who are not.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Further to the answer given by the Secretary of State, local councils are responsible for setting their own council tax levels. The Government maintains referendum principles to protect all households from excessive council tax increases. The Government has announced our intention to set referendum principles for 2023-24 at 3%, with an additional 2% flexibility for councils with adult social care responsibilities. For those on low incomes, council tax support is available from their council, and the nationally set Pensioner scheme maintains support at the levels of the former Council Tax Benefit, including reductions of up to 100%.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will ensure that any local authority in England which offers for sale an asset in its ownership does so in an open and transparent way which enables external organisations to bid and best value to be obtained.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Local authorities are responsible for their own financial management and remain responsible to their electorate for their decisions. This includes how they manage and dispose of their assets. However, they must comply with the best value duty, which is clear that a local authority should have regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness when exercising its functions
Where a local authority (and other public bodies) are disposing of land, they should generally dispose of surplus land at the best possible price reasonably obtainable. The Government recognises, however, that disposing of land at less than best consideration can sometimes create wider public benefits, such as supporting delivery of initiatives or facilitate regeneration projects that deliver new housing. Where land is disposed of at an undervalue, the approval of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government is required - either through a specific application or under a general consent
The Government expects authorities to demonstrate high standards of financial management and transparency, and authorities must appropriately comply with relevant rules and guidance. Practices followed by authorities should be subject to internal scrutiny, and external auditors annually review whether a council has proper processes in place for achieving value for money as part of their statutory engagement.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 1 November 2022 to Question 72914, when the external assurance review of BCP Council's governance and finance arrangements will begin; who will conduct the review; whether local Members of Parliament will be able to give evidence; whether the hearings will be in public and whether the report will be published.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Department continues to make progress on the necessary arrangements for an assurance review of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council’s governance and finance arrangements and an assessor will be appointed in due course. I will write to local MPs once the appointment has been made and the review has started.
BCP’s external assurance review will be led by a sector expert and, whilst the review will not be conducted through public hearings, the assessor will speak with key officers and members, review relevant documentation and consider any representations from other sources (as they deem necessary) – I expect and will ask for the assessor to contact members of parliament as part of this process. The final report will be publicly available and published on GOV.UK.