Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 167 of the National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024, whether she has plans for local planning authorities to take a proactive approach to facilitating domestic decarbonisation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Paragraph 167 of the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 sets out that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should give significant weight to the need to support energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements to existing buildings, both domestic and non-domestic.
The Framework also makes clear that plans should take a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change and that the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change should be considered in preparing and assessing planning applications.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the British energy security strategy, published on 7 April 2022, for what reason his Department's review of the practical planning barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency measures has not yet been completed.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The review into the practical barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency measures has been completed and we will publish a report on the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to page 13 of his Department's publication entitled British energy security strategy, published on 7 April 2022, what her planned timeline is to publish the proposed review into the practical planning barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency measures.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The review into the practical barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency measures has been completed and we will publish a report on the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of devolution arrangements on the strength of the Union.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps he has taken to progress the review of the planning barriers that households face when installing energy efficiency measures, due at the end of 2022.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
We will announce the outcome of the review in due course.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the context of proposed boundary changes, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the representation of the historic English counties.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Historic counties are an important part of our history and traditions helping to instil community pride and strengthening long lasting ties that have bound our communities together.
Whilst the boundary changes we are proposing, which relate to establishing unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire, and Somerset, have no direct impact on historic counties, we are very alive to their significance, and so, for example, in Cumbria we are proposing that the two new unitary councils should be called the Cumberland Council and the Westmorland and Furness Council, reflecting their links with the historic past.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish his Department's criteria for putting the Highlands local authority in tier 3 for the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Luke Hall
The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets. It is open to all local areas and will be allocated competitively
As set out in the prospectus published at Budget, the index used for the Levelling Up Fund places areas into category one, two or three based on the local area’s need for economic recovery and growth, improved transport connectivity, and regeneration.
We have published further details of the methodology used to calculate the index of
places on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the process is for local authorities to appeal the tier that they have been allocated for the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Luke Hall
The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets. It is open to all local areas and will be allocated competitively
As set out in the prospectus published at Budget, the index used for the Levelling Up Fund places areas into category one, two or three based on the local area’s need for economic recovery and growth, improved transport connectivity, and regeneration.
We have published further details of the methodology used to calculate the index of
places on GOV.UK.