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Written Question
Leisure: Learning Disability
Wednesday 17th July 2019

Asked by: Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - Saffron Walden)

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 ensure that local authorities provide adequate leisure and recreational facilities for people with learning disabilities.

Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union

The Government recognises that access to high-quality inclusive spaces and opportunities for sport and recreation can make an important contribution to the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities.

In 2015, the Government sport strategy, Sporting Future: A Strategy for an Active Nation placed a focus on encouraging activity amongst those less likely to be active - including people with disabilities. The Government supports efforts that aim to encourage people with all forms of disability to become active and to fulfil their sporting potential.

The Activity Alliance's ‘Inclusive Fitness Initiative’ is supporting leisure centres to become more welcoming and accessible environments to disabled people. Activity Alliance run the initiative in collaboration with Sport England and UK Active and aim to give the active leisure sector support to improve, modernise and invest in its facilities, with the ambition that every facility in the country complies with the Activity Alliance ‘Inclusive Fitness Initiative’.

In 2018-19 the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government committed over £15 million to support a robust package of new Government initiatives to support vibrant and inclusive open spaces to enable more people to participate in leisure activities. This included the Pocket Parks Plus programme which is providing funding for 198 community-led projects across England to create new or renovate existing parks. A number of the successful projects will be creating open spaces that address social inclusion - and increasing access for people with different disabilities to leisure and wellbeing activities.


Written Question
Housing
Friday 15th June 2018

Asked by: Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - Saffron Walden)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what methodology is used to determine his Department's Objectively Assessed Housing Need and Strategic Housing Market Assessment figures.

Answered by Dominic Raab

There is currently no standard way of assessing housing need among local planning authorities, which causes delays and increases costs for councils. In the draft revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, we have proposed a standard method that will result in an easier, cheaper and more transparent process. We intend to publish the revised Framework this summer.


Written Question
Community Infrastructure Levy
Friday 2nd February 2018

Asked by: Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - Saffron Walden)

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 ensure that communities affected by multiple small developments will be able to charge the community infrastructure levy.

Answered by Dominic Raab

Local authorities are able to adopt the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). CIL is used to help fund the infrastructure needed to address the cumulative impact of development across the wider area, including the impact of multiple small developments.

To date 150 authorities have adopted CIL, with many others in the process of doing so. CIL rates are subject to public consultation and independent examination before they can be charged.

The Government announced an ambitious package of reforms to CIL at Autumn Budget which we will be consulting on in due course. Our proposals include measures to speed up the process of setting up and revising CIL, to make it easier to respond to changes to the market.


Written Question
Housing: Rural Areas
Tuesday 30th January 2018

Asked by: Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - Saffron Walden)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that infrastructure improvements are made in rural areas before new housing development is permitted.

Answered by Dominic Raab

The Government's National Planning Policy Framework sets out that local authorities should plan for the mix of housing and supporting infrastructure they need through the Local Plan process. Planning decisions are taken in accordance with the Local Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Powers also exist to ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place to support new housing development. A local planning authority is able to seek a section 106 planning obligation as a requirement of a planning permission. Such obligations are used to mitigate the impact of a development to make it acceptable in planning terms. They might, for example, require the provision of a new or improved road or school. They can also be used to specify when infrastructure should be delivered, so that development is sequenced appropriately.

Local authorities are also able to adopt the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This is a set charge on most development to help fund the infrastructure needed to address the cumulative impact of development across the wider area. CIL funds can be used to provide and maintain infrastructure.