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Written Question
Electoral Register: Disability
Tuesday 14th February 2023

Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)

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 white paper entitled Levelling Up the United Kingdom, published on 2 February 2022, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to include policies on increasing voter registration among disabled citizens in the Disability Action Plan.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is taking steps to support the participation of disabled people in the electoral process.

This includes making registering to vote as easy and accessible as possible. The Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service also complies with accessibility standards set by GDS.

It is the responsibility of individual Electoral Registration Officers and the Electoral Commission to raise awareness of and ensure registration of all eligible people. Recognising those responsibilities, DLUHC works closely with organisations representing disabled people and the electoral sector and helps to facilitate conversations and sharing best practice between local authorities and such bodies.


Written Question
Local Plans
Tuesday 17th January 2023

Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)

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 Written Statement of 6 December 2022, HCWS416, on An Update on Levelling Up, whether his Department is taking steps to advise local authorities which are part-way through planning inspectorate examinations on their strategic frameworks and local plans.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Due to my quasi-judicial role in the planning process I cannot comment on a specific local plan. It is the role of the independent Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, to test plans against current national policies through examination. The Government is consulting on its proposed approach to updating the National Planning Policy Framework until 2 March 2023. Any subsequent updates to policies and guidance are expected to be introduced later in the Spring, taking into account the responses received. At that stage, it will be for authorities with plans already submitted for examination, together with the Inspector, to determine how to proceed.


Written Question
Leasehold: Ground Rent
Monday 26th September 2022

Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to support leaseholders who were negatively affected by ground rent clauses in property transactions prior to 2010.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Government is committed to creating a more transparent housing system that works for everyone. We have brought forward legislation that sets ground rents on newly created leases to zero through the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022, which came into force on 30 June 2022.

We understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.

The CMA have secured commitments benefiting over 20,000 leaseholders, including commitments to return doubling ground rent terms to original rates. These settlements will help to free thousands more leaseholders from unreasonable ground rent increases. The CMA continue to engage with a number of firms and we urge other developers to follow suit.


Written Question
Green Belt
Thursday 29th April 2021

Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government has taken to protect the green belt from development.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

This Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the Green Belt and there are strong protections for Green Belt land provided in the National Planning Policy Framework. A local authority can alter the boundary of Green Belt land only in exceptional circumstances and where it can demonstrate that it has fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting its development need.

This means that the authority should show that it has used as much brownfield land as possible, optimised development densities, and discussed with neighbouring authorities whether they could accommodate some of the development needed. The Framework also makes clear that most new building is inappropriate in the Green Belt and should be refused planning permission unless there are very special circumstances.

Some examples of these circumstances are listed in the Framework, such as buildings for agriculture, or limited infilling in villages. The protection of Green Belt land will continue under the reforms of the planning system currently under consideration.


Written Question
Local Government Finance: Bury
Monday 29th March 2021

Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much financial support the Government allocated to Bury Council in financial year 2020-21.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

Bury Council’s Core Spending Power rose from £135.6 million in 2019-20 to £145.4 million in 2020-21, a 7.2% increase in cash terms. In addition, the council has received £28.1 million in direct funding to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, of which £15.6 million is unringfenced grant. The council will also have received other grants from government departments for specific purposes.


Written Question
Property Development: Green Belt
Monday 29th March 2021

Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect the green belt against development.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government is committed to continuing to protect and enhance the Green Belt. Under the reforms put forward in the White Paper Planning for the Future, local authorities would still be expected to categorise Green Belts as areas for protection.

The policies in our National Planning Policy Framework on the protection of the Green Belt, and the strong encouragement to prioritise re-use of suitable brownfield land, will remain in place.