Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish the (a) details of what constitutes high affordability and (b) criteria used in determining how support will be allocated under the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap announced in Autumn Budget 2017.
Answered by Dominic Raab
At Autumn Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that we will raise the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap by a total of up to £1 billion in areas of high affordability pressure, for local authorities that are ready to start building new homes. Local authorities will be able to bid for increases in their caps from 2019/20, up to a total of £1 billion by the end of 2021/22. We will set out more details shortly.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to allow local authorities operating joint committees, parish councils and combined authorities to hold meetings using video conferencing facilities.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The Government consulted last year on a proposal to give local authorities operating joint committees, and combined authorities, but not councils as a whole, the freedom to hold formal meetings using video conferencing facilities. We will respond in due course.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to Autumn Budget 2017, (a) how and (b) when local authorities will be able to increase their Housing Revenue Account borrowing caps.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
At Autumn Budget 2017 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that we will raise the Housing Revenue Account borrowing caps by a total of up to £1 billion. This will apply to in areas of high affordability pressure with local authorities that are ready to start building new homes. Local authorities will be able to bid for increases in their caps from 2019/20 up to a total of £1 billion by the end of 2021/22. We will set out more details shortly.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to Autumn Budget 2017, how the announced £8 billion of new guarantees to support house building will operate in practice.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government has provided debt guarantees to support the provision of affordable and privately rented homes since 2013. The existing guarantee schemes have supported the delivery of over 42,000 homes.
The further £8 billion guarantee capacity will ensure that the housing sector continues to be able to the access debt markets once the existing guarantee schemes have expired.
We will engage the market over the coming months as to the most effective way of deploying this new guarantee capacity.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when she expects the fair funding review for local government to be finalised.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
We are undertaking the Fair Funding Review to address concerns about the fairness of current funding distributions to local authorities. There have been widespread calls for a thorough, evidence-based Review, and we will deliver this.
It is important to get funding distributions right and we have been working closely with the Local Government Association and representatives from across local government to seek views on our approach and the target date for implementation. We will shortly be bringing forward a technical consultation on the Review in which we intend to provide further certainty regarding the timeline for this important work.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to implement an up-to-date needs assessment for local authority area funding in the absence of the 100 per cent business rates retention scheme.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
We are undertaking the Fair Funding Review to address concerns about the fairness of current funding distributions to local authorities. There have been widespread calls for a thorough, evidence-based Review, and we will deliver this.
It is important to get funding distributions right and we have been working closely with the Local Government Association and representatives from across local government to seek views on our approach and the target date for implementation. We will shortly be bringing forward a technical consultation on the Review in which we intend to provide further certainty regarding the timeline for this important work.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to provide funding agreements for local authorities that did not sign up to the four-year funding settlement in the belief that the 100 per cent retention scheme would be implemented.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Local authorities that did not sign up to the four-year settlement deal from 2016-17 will have their allocations confirmed on an annual basis. I expect to publish the provisional settlement for 2018-19 shortly.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of adopting the recommendations of the report of the Northern Ireland Assembly's Committee for the Environment of 2015 on wind energy to replace ETSU-R-97 with a method of measuring loudness that brings wind turbine noise controls in line with other industrial controls.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Northern Ireland Assembly Environment committee made their recommendation to revise wind turbine noise guidelines with a view to considering the noise impact on nearby resident's day to day lives. This issue has been addressed through the written statement covering wind farm applications, made by my Rt Hon Friend Greg Clark MP, the previous Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on 18 June 2015, Official Report, column 9WS: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2015-06-18/HCWS42/
Only if the applicant is able to demonstrate that the planning impacts identified by the affected local community have been fully addressed, including noise, can the planning authority grant permission.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders including, housing associations, builders and developers on the need for a review of funding options for the Right-to-Buy scheme.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
My officials and I have regular discussions with stakeholders on many issues including the Right to Buy.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 July 2017, Official Report, column 1156, on revenue-raising powers for mayors, who will disburse the new funding referred; how that funding will be disbursed; and whether that funding will be available to all local authorities across England.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The funding of £770 million, to which my Rt Hon Friend referred, is to be disbursed by government to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and comprises £600 million capital investment funding to be paid at £20 million per year for 30 years, and £170 million to be made available for housing and infrastructure, £70 million being for investment in Cambridge City. In addition, the Combined Authority Mayor has powers to set a precept for 2018/19 and subsequent years, with increases subject to the council tax referendum arrangements.