Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what due diligence has been conducted on loans from the public purse provided to Woking Borough Council as of 7 June 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
On 25 May 2023, the Secretary of State announced that he had considered that Woking Borough Council had failed in their best value duty. Consequently, the Council has been placed in statutory intervention for a duration of five years. Commissioners have been appointed with powers over key council functions, including finance and commercial activities. On 7 June, the Interim Finance Director of Woking Borough Council issued a notice, as required under section 114 of the Local Government Act 1988, that the Council cannot balance its budget in the current or subsequent financial years. The issuance of such a notice is a local decision.
As part of the intervention, the Secretary of State has directed the Council to prepare and agree an Improvement and Recovery Plan to the satisfaction of the Commissioners within six months.
The Government is working closely with Woking Borough Council and its Commissioners to monitor, in detail, the Council's future borrowing requirements.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Government loans to Woking Borough Council on public finances.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
On 25 May 2023, the Secretary of State announced that he had considered that Woking Borough Council had failed in their best value duty. Consequently, the Council has been placed in statutory intervention for a duration of five years. Commissioners have been appointed with powers over key council functions, including finance and commercial activities. On 7 June, the Interim Finance Director of Woking Borough Council issued a notice, as required under section 114 of the Local Government Act 1988, that the Council cannot balance its budget in the current or subsequent financial years. The issuance of such a notice is a local decision.
As part of the intervention, the Secretary of State has directed the Council to prepare and agree an Improvement and Recovery Plan to the satisfaction of the Commissioners within six months.
The Government is working closely with Woking Borough Council and its Commissioners to monitor, in detail, the Council's future borrowing requirements.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the changes to the Building Safety regulatory system in Amendment 467D made to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, whether the duties imposed on the Regulator set out in the Building Safety Act 2002 S21 and S9(1) to (a) report on certain safety-related matters relating to stairs and ramps, disabled persons escape routes and automatic fire suppression systems and (b) establish a statutory Building Regulation Committee will be retained unamended by the successor body.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Government remains committed to the Building Safety Regulator being fully operational by April 2024 in order to deliver its important work. We do not anticipate any impact on current commitments, timelines or other statutory duties of the Building Safety Regulator.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the government amendments to the Building Safety Act safety regulation system in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill on the duty imposed on the Secretary of State by section 162 of the Building Safety Act 2022 to commission an independent five-yearly review of the regulatory regime; and whether he plans to retain that regulatory regime following the reconfiguration of the Building Safety regulatory system.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Government remains committed to the Building Safety Regulator being fully operational by April 2024 in order to deliver its important work. We do not anticipate any impact on current commitments, timelines or other statutory duties of the Building Safety Regulator.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has consulted (a) the Chief Fire Officers Association and (b) Dame Judith Hackitt on the Government amendments relating to the Building Safety Act and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Government remains committed to the Building Safety Regulator being fully operational by April 2024 in order to deliver its important work. We do not anticipate any impact on current commitments, timelines or other statutory duties of the Building Safety Regulator.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he made of the potential impact of the Government's amendments to the Building Safety Act safety regulation system proposed to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill on (a) the existing Building Safety Regulator’s capacity to recruit and retain high quality leaders and staff prior to its replacement and (b) the risk of a reduced pace of inspection and enforcement action during the transition period.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Government remains committed to the Building Safety Regulator being fully operational by April 2024 in order to deliver its important work. We do not anticipate any impact on current commitments, timelines or other statutory duties of the Building Safety Regulator.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an effective and rapid implementation of the Operational Standards Rules for building control authorities published by the Health and Safety Executives and commencing in May 2024.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Following the Building Safety Act 2022, responsibility for the implementation of the Operational Standards Rules for building control authorities sits with the Building Safety Regulator in the Health and Safety Executive. The Building Safety Regulator has published the Operational Standards Rules as well as their monitoring arrangements in April 2023. These will be effective from Spring 2024, to coincide with wider changes to the regulation and oversight of the building control profession. The Department continues to work closely with the Building Safety Regulator, CICIAR and the wider sector to ensure a smooth implementation of the new oversight regime.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the recent withdrawal of L&G Capital from the MMC sector, what recent assessment he has made of the viability of that sector.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to increasing the number of MMC homes and is supporting the sector through our £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund and providing funding for up to 19,000 MMC homes through the Affordable Homes Programme.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on what basis the list of acceptable forms of voter ID were determined by his Department.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Regarding the assessment of the potential impact of voter identification on levels of fraud and turnout levels at the May 2023 local elections, I refer the Hon. Member to the response given to Question UIN 162192 on 14 March 2023.
Regarding the list of accepted forms of identification and the equality impact assessment, I refer the Hon. Member to the response to Question UIN 183968 and to UIN 180947 on 16 May 2023 and 20 April 2023.
No eligible electors should be turned away due to wearing religious head dress. Privacy screens or private areas must be, by law, available in all polling stations for electors who may wish to have their identity checked in private.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 183152 on 9 May 2023.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of voter ID on turnout levels at the local elections on 4 May 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Regarding the assessment of the potential impact of voter identification on levels of fraud and turnout levels at the May 2023 local elections, I refer the Hon. Member to the response given to Question UIN 162192 on 14 March 2023.
Regarding the list of accepted forms of identification and the equality impact assessment, I refer the Hon. Member to the response to Question UIN 183968 and to UIN 180947 on 16 May 2023 and 20 April 2023.
No eligible electors should be turned away due to wearing religious head dress. Privacy screens or private areas must be, by law, available in all polling stations for electors who may wish to have their identity checked in private.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 183152 on 9 May 2023.