Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment has he made of the potential effect of clauses 82 to 91 and schedule 7 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill on (a) how the Mayor of London should (i) consult, (ii) draft, (iii) publish and (iv) gain approval for and (b) his role in relation to the London Plan.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will not affect how the Mayor consults on the London Plan, gains approval for it or either the Mayor's or the Secretary of State's role in relation to it. London Plan policies would, in future, need to avoid conflict with National Development Management Policies - which the Bill empowers the Secretary of State to prepare - and be of strategic importance to more than one borough. The requirement to assist with plan making will apply to prescribed bodies in relation to the London Plan and the Mayor would gain the power to prepare supplementary plans on design matters.
These, and more minor changes, are explained in the Explanatory Notes to the Bill. There have not been discussions or correspondence with the Mayor, nor consultation, on the clauses referred to prior to the Bill's publication, but my officials have had informal discussions with GLA officers following publication of the Bill.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what timeframe his Department has set for withdrawal of its Consolidated Advice Note on external wall systems and cladding to lenders, regarding flats under 18m tall, in line with his Department’s press release published 21 July 2021.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We are developing more risk-proportionate guidelines for fire risk assessors, including PAS 9980 and new statutory fire safety guidance. The Consolidated Advice Note will shortly be retired.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (a) entries, (b) offences, (c) landlords, and (d) letting agents are currently included in his Department’s rogue landlord database.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government intends to continue to develop and implement measures to widen access to and expand the scope of the database of rogue landlords and property agents. We will also give greater powers to drive improvements in standards, and empower tenants to make an informed choice about who they rent from. We intend to bring forward this legislation as part of the Renters Reform Bill.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many entries were added to his Department’s rogue landlord database in each month since April 2018.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government intends to continue to develop and implement measures to widen access to and expand the scope of the database of rogue landlords and property agents. We will also give greater powers to drive improvements in standards, and empower tenants to make an informed choice about who they rent from. We intend to bring forward this legislation as part of the Renters Reform Bill.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to make the database of rogue landlords and property agents introduced in April 2018 publicly accessible.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government intends to continue to develop and implement measures to widen access to and expand the scope of the database of rogue landlords and property agents. We will also give greater powers to drive improvements in standards, and empower tenants to make an informed choice about who they rent from. We intend to bring forward this legislation as part of the Renters Reform Bill.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much of the funding available for the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21 will be included in the £12.2 billion announced in Budget 2020.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
At Budget 2020 the Government announced we are investing £12.2 billion to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26.
Of this, £9.5 billion is new funding and £2 billion is for long-term strategic partnerships previously announced in September 2018.
This will form the new Affordable Homes Programme. A further £700 million was already allocated as part of the 2016-22 Affordable Homes Programme.
The existing Affordable Homes Programme?will be extended by one year. This will help to mitigate the impact of site closures due to COVID-19.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 March 2020 Budget, whether the £12.2 billion available for affordable housing from 2021-22 includes funds from the £9 billion Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
At Budget 2020 the Government announced we are investing £12.2 billion to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26.
Of this, £9.5 billion is new funding and £2 billion is for long-term strategic partnerships previously announced in September 2018.
This will form the new Affordable Homes Programme. A further £700 million was already allocated as part of the 2016-22 Affordable Homes Programme.
The existing Affordable Homes Programme?will be extended by one year. This will help to mitigate the impact of site closures due to COVID-19.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many of the starts on site reported in the 2019-20 Homes England Housing Statistics Tables 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020 published on 16 July 2020 refer to units which were also reported as having starts on site in each year from 2009-10 to 2018-19.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Following careful analysis, Homes England are confident that none of the starts reported as delivered for 2019/20 in the latest statistical release have been reported in previous years.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to publish a social housing White Paper.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government will publish the Social Housing White Paper later this year.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2020 to Question 58821 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, in relation to how many of the 10 buildings, against which the Department is aware of enforcement action having been taken, the Joint Inspection Team provided support to local authorities.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Of those that only had an 'intent' to remediate in December 2019, the Joint Inspection Team provided support to local authorities for enforcement on two of these buildings, resulting in two improvement notices being issued.