Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of potential brownfield development sites in London; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
According to the National Land Use Database, there were an estimated 3,660 hectares of brownfield land in London that might have been available for redevelopment in 2010 (the latest, complete database). However redevelopment is not expected to be viable on all sites.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the Mayor of London and members of the Greater London Assembly on the devolution of his Department's powers to the Greater London area; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Ministers and officials in the Department have regular discussions with representatives of the Greater London Authority on topical matters and matters relating to decentralisation, including, for example, provisions in the Infrastructure Bill, and the implementation of the housing and regeneration powers devolved through the Localism Act 2011.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning applications for new housing developments in London have been agreed under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in each year since 2008.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 1 September, PQ 206859.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many social housing homes in (a) Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, (b) the London Borough of Hackney, (c) London and (d) England have failed to meet the Decent Homes standard in each year since 2010.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 21 October 2014, PQ 206256.
Figures are held by local authority area, not Parliamentary constituency.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the number of betting shops on high streets; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Gambling Commission publishes figures on the total number of licensed betting shops. Their most recent figures show that as of March 2012, there were 9,128 licensed betting shops in Great Britain; 9,066 as of March 2013; and 9,021 as of March 2014. In other words, the number of betting shops is falling.
In April 2014, the Government published its gambling strategy “Gambling protections and controls” including a number of measures to tackle problem gambling and address the problems caused by the Labour Government’s gambling legislation.
In July 2014, my Department published a technical consultation paper on planning, which included reforms to require a planning application for a change of use to a betting shop. We are currently reviewing the responses and will publish our conclusions in due course.