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Written Question
Housing: Derelict Land
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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 (a) encourage housebuilding on brownfield sites and (b) protect the green belt.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

Our National Planning Policy Framework strongly encourages housebuilding by prioritising the regeneration of brownfield land wherever practicable. To support this, Government has significantly invested in unlocking brownfield sites: for instance, the £4.35 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund; the £4.95 billion Home Building Fund; the £400 million Brownfield Housing Fund; and the £75 million Brownfield Land Release Fund.

We have a manifesto commitment to protect and enhance the Green Belt. The Framework states that a local authority can propose to alter a Green Belt boundary only in exceptional circumstances and only if it can show that it has examined all other reasonable options for meeting its identified development needs. A local authority should therefore make as much use as possible of suitable brownfield land; optimise density of development; and discuss with neighbouring authorities whether they could take some of the development required. The Framework also makes clear that most types of new building are inappropriate in Green Belt, and should be refused planning permission unless justified by very special circumstances.


Written Question
Supported Housing: Older People
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Government plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a taskforce to help improve access to housing-with-care for older people.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

Offering vulnerable people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them live independently and feel more connected to their communities. This Government is committed to the provision of suitable homes for older people, including extra care housing, which contributes to levelling up across communities. Housing-with-care allows individuals to choose where they want to live, with whom, how they can best be supported, and what happens in their home. Both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care provide capital funding to incentivise their supply. Our planning rules already mean councils must consider the needs of older people when planning for new homes. In 2019, we published guidance to help councils implement the National Planning Policy Framework policies.

We are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, where 10 per cent of delivery over the course of the programme will be used to increase the supply of much needed specialist or supported housing, including retirement housing. The Department of Health and Social Care are also continuing to subsidise new supply of specialist housing for older and disabled people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) Fund.

The Government's plan for health and social care, announced on Tuesday 7 September, also recognised the important role of housing, and supported housing in particular, in providing care and support to people in the community.

Both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people. We are engaging closely with both the sector and a range of other stakeholders on this issue. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-Government taskforce.

We continue to work closely with the older people's housing sector and across Government to look at how we can further support its growth. I look forward to engaging with representatives in the sector further and value their insight.


Written Question
Supported Housing: Older People
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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 barriers to growth for housing-with-care for older people.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

Offering vulnerable people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them live independently and feel more connected to their communities. This Government is committed to the provision of suitable homes for older people, including extra care housing, which contributes to levelling up across communities. Housing-with-care allows individuals to choose where they want to live, with whom, how they can best be supported, and what happens in their home. Both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care provide capital funding to incentivise their supply. Our planning rules already mean councils must consider the needs of older people when planning for new homes. In 2019, we published guidance to help councils implement the National Planning Policy Framework policies.

We are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, where 10 per cent of delivery over the course of the programme will be used to increase the supply of much needed specialist or supported housing, including retirement housing. The Department of Health and Social Care are also continuing to subsidise new supply of specialist housing for older and disabled people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) Fund.

The Government's plan for health and social care, announced on Tuesday 7 September, also recognised the important role of housing, and supported housing in particular, in providing care and support to people in the community.

Both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people. We are engaging closely with both the sector and a range of other stakeholders on this issue. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-Government taskforce.

We continue to work closely with the older people's housing sector and across Government to look at how we can further support its growth. I look forward to engaging with representatives in the sector further and value their insight.


Written Question
High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention
Friday 24th July 2020

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to incentivise the removal of dangerous materials from high-rise buildings.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government has made £1.6 billion of funding available for the removal of unsafe cladding systems. We have also put in place additional project management support with construction expertise to help support individual projects and oversee remediation, so there is no excuse for delay. Where building owners are failing to make acceptable progress on remediation, those responsible should expect enforcement action to be taken by local authorities and Fire and Rescue Services. The Government established a Joint Inspection Team to support local authorities in taking enforcement action.


Written Question
Derelict Land
Friday 24th July 2020

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support housebuilding on brownfield land.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

I’m delighted that the Prime Minister recently announced that seven Mayoral Combined Authorities are each receiving a share of the £400 million Brownfield Housing Fund. This will help unlock 26,000 homes by bringing under-utilised brownfield land back into use and contribute to the levelling-up our country.


Written Question
District Councils: Coronavirus
Wednesday 22nd July 2020

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support district councils respond to the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Simon Clarke

My Department has been working closely with district councils and sector representing organisations throughout the response to this crisis to understand the challenges they face. We also recognise the excellent work already being done up and down the country by all councils to support their communities during the crisis.

On 16 July 2020, my Department confirmed allocations for individual councils from the £500 million of additional support for coronavirus related spending pressures. The funding has been distributed between district and county councils to reflect the pressures they have reported. This is in addition to the £3.2 billion announced in April, taking the total given to councils to help their communities through the crisis to over £3.7 billion in unringfenced funding, an unprecedented level of additional financial support in recent times.

We have a number of established engagement channels in place to help ensure effective communication, feedback and information sharing and to provide support and latest guidance for councils;

  • MHCLG ministers and officials regularly attend District Council Network (DCN) Covid-19 teleconferences
  • MHCLG COVID-19 webinar is a regularly held teleconference, chaired by the Secretary of State and myself. All council leaders and chief executives are invited.
  • Since 18 March, district council chief executives have received a daily bulletin from MHCLG. The MHCLG Coronavirus Bulletin contains information on the most recent central government announcements, guidance, letters and communication materials related to coronavirus.

Written Question
District Councils: Coronavirus
Wednesday 22nd July 2020

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the financial sustainability of district councils.

Answered by Simon Clarke

Councils across the country are supporting communities, protecting the most vulnerable and helping the NHS in our efforts to combat Covid-19. In order to meet additional cost pressures, the Secretary of State announced further measures as part of a comprehensive package on 2 July. The package included an additional £500 million of support for councils for the coming weeks and months of recovery. This is in addition to the £3.2 billion already announced, taking the total unringfenced funding given to councils to help with the additional costs of coronavirus to over £3.7 billion. In total the Government has provided £5 billion in cashflow measures and almost £28 billion in additional funding for local communities, to ensure they can meet the unique pressures that the Covid-19 pandemic has placed upon them.

The Secretary of State has also announced measures to address lost income, including:

  • A co-payment scheme to cover irrecoverable Sales, Fees and Charges income in 20/21 with the Government covering 75 per cent of losses beyond 5 per cent of planned income
  • Phased repayment of Collection Fund deficits over the next 3 years
  • A commitment to determine what support is needed to help councils meet the pressures of irrecoverable tax income at the Spending Review

These measures amount to a comprehensive package of support. We will continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on local government.


Written Question
Buildings: Safety
Tuesday 21st January 2020

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the role of professional freeholders in managing building (a) safety, (b) fire and (c) structural risk.

Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The government has consistently made clear that building safety is the responsibility of the building owner.

In October 2018, the government announced an independent working group of housing experts, chaired by Lord Best, to advise government on the regulation of property agents. The working group presented its final report to government on 18 July 2019. We are considering the recommendations in the report carefully.

In line with usual practice, the government’s intention would be to publish an impact assessment on our leasehold reforms as part of taking primary legislation through Parliament.


Written Question
Ground Rent
Tuesday 5th November 2019

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of banning ground rents on the management of building (a) safety, (b) fire and (c) structural risk; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The government has consistently made clear that building safety is the responsibility of the building owner. In line with usual practice, the government’s intention would be to publish an impact assessment on our leasehold reforms as part of taking primary legislation through Parliament.


Written Question
Freehold
Tuesday 5th November 2019

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the role professional freeholders play in managing building (a) safety, (b) fire and (c) structural risk.

Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.