Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what criteria were used in awarding round two of the Levelling Up Fund; whether these were different to those used in round one; and how levels of multiple deprivation were factored into determining the areas which should receive funding.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 129836 on 26 January 2023 and to the published prioritisation of places methodology note and index update note published on gov.uk, which outline the metrics and methodology used in the Levelling Up Fund's Index of Priority Places.
The published Explanatory Note for LUF round 1 sets out the approach to assessment and decision making for round 1.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the allocation of an additional £474 million of Government funding to local authorities in Staffordshire in response to the covid-19 outbreak, if he will publish the (a) expenditure of that funding by local authority area and (b) the budget headings under which that funding was spent.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Councils are on the front line as we tackle this pandemic, and we have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities through an un-ringfenced grant so they can address pressures in response to COVID-19.
It is important that we carefully monitor the pressures councils are facing. We have now carried out three rounds of the COVID-19 financial monitoring survey and received data for every single authority in the latest round. We are currently analysing the results from the third round and we will publish the data in due course.
We are extremely grateful for the continued collaboration from councils, which enables us to understand pressures at a national and local level. A summary of the data provided to us by councils in England from the first two rounds of monitoring can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-covid-19-financial-impact-monitoring-information . We are not currently publishing LA-level data, but are keeping this approach under review.
We know from the first two rounds of monitoring that the majority of the money is being allocated to supporting those most vulnerable in society, as we would expect. Other service areas that money is being allocated to environmental costs (which includes death management) and housing which includes homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the allocation of an additional £474 million of Government funding to local authorities in Staffordshire in response to the covid-19 outbreak, if he will publish (a) the expenditure of that funding by local authority area and (b) the budget headings under which that funding was so expended.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Councils are on the front line as we tackle this pandemic, and we have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities through an un-ringfenced grant so they can address pressures in response to Covid-19.
It is important that we carefully monitor the pressures they are facing. Across both rounds of our Covid-19 financial monitoring survey we received data from every single authority asked. We are extremely grateful for their continued collaboration, which enables us to understand pressures at a national and local level. A summary of the data provided to us by councils in England will be available in due course.
We know from the first two rounds of monitoring that the majority of the money is being allocated to supporting those most vulnerable in society, as we would expect. Other service areas that money is being allocated to environmental costs (which includes death management) and housing which includes homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding the Government has allocated from the public purse to help increase the viability of new housing development on brownfield sites in areas with lower market values.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Bringing brownfield land back into use is a priority, which is why every local authority is now required to publish and maintain a register of brownfield land, containing up-to-date information on brownfield suitable for housing in the area.
While it is for local authorities to plan and bring forward suitable land, our funding programmes, delivered through Homes England, are also supporting brownfield land being brought forward. As at the end of March 2019, £909 million of the Home Building Fund Long Term Fund (74 per cent of total spend) had been spent on contracted schemes which will lead to 70,062 housing units (61 per cent of unlocked units) being developed on brownfield land. Other funds will also help to bring forward new housing on brownfield sites, such as our £450 million Accelerated Construction programme and our £5.5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund.
Whilst this funding is available to all areas of the country, all applications undergo an assessment of their value for money for the taxpayer.