Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Hollingbery and Lord Stunell

Monday 2nd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Stunell]

The right hon. Gentleman prays in aid the UK Statistics Authority, so if I may I shall very briefly quote this:

“Official estimates of net change are available for social rented dwellings, but not for the wider stock of ‘affordable’ housing beyond this category. They show an overall reduction of 421,000 in the stock of homes rented from local authorities and housing associations over the period 1997 to 2010.”

That seems to me a horrific indictment of Opposition Front Benchers, and what Government Members are doing is repairing some of that damage.

[George Hollingbery (Meon Valley) (Con)]

10. What progress his Department has made in protecting the rights of people who live in park homes.

New Homes Bonus

Debate between George Hollingbery and Lord Stunell

Tuesday 15th March 2011 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Stunell]

I will shortly be speaking about some of the other incentives that are in place, but I agree with my hon. Friend that if we had more money we could have bigger incentives. Nevertheless, it might be wise to wait for the scheme to bed in before starting that revision.

The scheme will pay grant equal to the national average for the council tax band concerned on each additional property, and it will be paid for the following six years as an un-ring-fenced grant. I stress that it is not ring-fenced; the Government make no prescription and give no advice to local authorities on how they might spend the money. It is entirely a matter for the recipient authorities. That brings me to who are the recipient authorities.

My hon. Friend the Member for Meon Valley asked me to say something about the split between the county and district tiers in two-tier areas. First, I should say that in single-tier areas, 100% goes to the principal local authority; in county areas, 80% goes to the district planning authority, and 20% to the county council. When I say “it goes”, that is the default position, but it is open to each of those authorities to consider whether they want that to be the case in all circumstances. For instance—this is an example; it is not intended to be a Government directive—if the tipping point for the creation of a new primary school were involved, there might well be some other consideration than 80:20. I remind the House that when it comes to local authority spending, it is generally the case that 80% is spent by the county and 20% by the district, so we are inverting that ratio.

Every development is different and will need different services to support it, and different local concerns will drive the choice on how to spend the new homes bonus. Local authorities and local communities are best placed to negotiate those choices in meeting the needs of local neighbourhoods. My hon. Friend spoke of local communities having the loudest voice. I certainly agree with him on that, hence the 80%, but there are also parish and town councils; and in many unparished areas there will be residents’ and community groups. I would expect sensible local authorities, in working through the new local planning arrangements with neighbourhood plans, to see the bonus as a vital part of negotiating effectively with those communities on how the new homes bonus should apply in those areas.

My hon. Friend also asked how the boundaries question would be dealt with, and gave the example of Whiteley. That may be seen as pulling in the opposite direction to his point about county and district investment, because both of the areas that he spoke of are in Hampshire. The county council will benefit by just over £1 million from the new homes bonus—that will be its 20% for the coming year—and it is a provider of services across both of the areas mentioned. In such situations, the fact that there is a top-tier section of the new homes bonus may be to everyone’s advantage. In addition, the Localism Bill introduces a duty for local authorities to co-operate, which is relevant in establishing plans, taking decisions about how things such as the new homes bonus should be spent, and how some common objectives can be met.

My hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) asked about the possibility of adapting the new homes bonus to give preference to approvals on certain types of land. That is not part of the scheme; nor, as things stand, do I foresee it happening in future. However, the introduction of the neighbourhood planning system will give local communities and local neighbourhoods a much firmer grasp of such decisions as they build up their neighbourhood plans under the district plan, which is subject to the national planning policy framework. I hope that my hon. Friends are satisfied to hear that.

If I may, Mr Williams, I shall use the rest of my time speaking about the different streams of money that support the Government’s intention to see vigorous, sustainable development across the country. My hon. Friend the Member for Meon Valley asked about open spaces funding. The Department has set aside £11.2 million for community green spaces funding for the coming year. That goes principally to supporting groundwork for the green flag award accreditation scheme, and the federation of city farms and community gardens partnership work programme. Those programmes continue on a comparatively modest scale, but the amount that local authorities choose to allocate for parks and other green spaces is rightly a matter for them.

[George Hollingbery]

Do I take the Minister to mean that open spaces funding will not be levied on developments from now on?

[Andrew Stunell]

I am sorry to say that I did not catch what my hon. Friend said.

[George Hollingbery]

I apologise. Am I to take his comments to mean that local authorities will no longer be levying an open spaces fund—a charge for open spaces?

[Andrew Stunell]

I shall take note of that question and write to my hon. Friend, so that I do not give a misleading response.

The Government have given communities the opportunity to participate much more strongly in the process of protecting spaces through the community assets list, the community right to reclaim land and the community right to bid and challenge. Local communities that are concerned about these matters therefore have a number of opportunities to become directly involved.

As well as the new homes bonus there is, as my hon. Friend said, the community infrastructure levy and section 106 agreements. Both are specifically directed to infrastructure investment and planning outcomes. They are different from the new homes bonus; they are not ring-fenced and there is no obligation for the money to be spent on infrastructure or related matters.

Local authorities will have the opportunity to introduce a community infrastructure levy. I note the concerns that my hon. Friend passes on from Hampshire, but it is important that we get these incentives in place quickly. If my hon. Friend lets me have that correspondence, the Department will give some thought to those matters.

Section 106 will be scaled back so that it is specifically directed to deal with the impact of particular developments. Statutory tests were introduced in 2010 to ensure that obligations are directly related to proposed developments. Regulations prevent section 106 agreements and the community infrastructure levy being collected for the same piece of infrastructure. After 2014, tariff-style planning and obligations will not be permitted. The characteristic level at which the community infrastructure levy is likely to fall would be between £5,000 and £10,000 per home. Taken with the new homes bonus, it is a really powerful incentive for communities to agree to new developments.