Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will meet with local leaders on a possible future deal on investment, infrastructure, and powers for the York City Region.
Answered by Jake Berry
We always welcome discussions with any local leaders who bring forward proposals for a deal which relates to a sensible economic area, including a York City Region deal. Any deal must have local support, and if in Yorkshire, support our, and the newly elected Sheffield City Region Mayor's, priority to implement fully as soon as practicable that City Region's deal.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment his Department has made of standards for fire safety and building regulations in other countries.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Government is committed to learning from the terrible tragedy of Grenfell Tower so that nothing like this can ever happen again.
As such, officials in my Department have considered fire safety and regulations in other countries as part of the wilder policy response and advice for the Hackitt Review, which forms part of the Government response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to report on progress in implementing the recommendations of the Hackitt Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Dame Judith Hackitt's review into Building Regulations and Fire Safety final report is expected to be published in late Spring 2018. The Government will respond to its findings in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the data included in the table produced for non-domestic rating: 2010 and 2017 revaluation rateable values by country, region and SCat code for business located in areas where the population is (a) 10,000 or less and (b) 3,000 or less.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The data held by the Valuation Office Agency is not broken down by population size, so it is not possible to produce the statistics requested on rateable values in areas where the population is (a) 10,000 or less and (b) 3,000 or less.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to provide support to businesses in rural areas affected by increases in business rates.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support to businesses, including those in rural areas, which face an increase in rates. My Department is working closely with the Treasury to determine how best to provide further support to businesses facing the steepest increases. We expect to be in a position to make an announcement on this at the Budget.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the changes in business rates on businesses located in areas where there is population of (a) 10,000 or less and (b) 3,000 or less.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The effect of the revaluation of business rates on businesses in areas where there is population of 10,000 or less and 3,000 or less will depend on the specific circumstances and location of the relevant property. A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support to properties which face an increase in rates. My Department is working closely with the Treasury to determine how best to provide further support to businesses facing the steepest increases. We expect to be in a position to make an announcement on this at the Budget.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the housing needs of older people and the demand for retirement housing.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Government believes that building more affordable homes for people, whatever their age, will lead to a housing market that meets everyone's needs. That’s why we have doubled the housing budget. We now have the largest affordable housing programme for 40 years, with £8 billion set aside to help build 400,000 affordable homes over the next five years. The forthcoming White Paper will look at ways we can go further.
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities must plan for everyone in their community. This is because local authorities are best placed to consider what services, including retirement services, meet local needs. Local Plans should address the needs of older people as well as the needs of families and other households. In recognition of the challenges and opportunities presented by our ageing society, we recommend that Local Plans be drawn up over an appropriate time scale, preferably a 15-year time horizon, to take account of longer-term requirements.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to consider the housing needs of older people as part of the forthcoming housing white paper.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Government believes that building more affordable homes for people, whatever their age, will lead to a housing market that meets everyone's needs. That’s why we have doubled the housing budget. We now have the largest affordable housing programme for 40 years, with £8 billion set aside to help build 400,000 affordable homes over the next five years. The forthcoming White Paper will look at ways we can go further.
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities must plan for everyone in their community. This is because local authorities are best placed to consider what services, including retirement services, meet local needs. Local Plans should address the needs of older people as well as the needs of families and other households. In recognition of the challenges and opportunities presented by our ageing society, we recommend that Local Plans be drawn up over an appropriate time scale, preferably a 15-year time horizon, to take account of longer-term requirements.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing clear national planning guidelines for the (a) maximum density of shale gas well sites per square mile and (b) minimum distances of such sites from towns and villages.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The planning system currently requires shale well site density and distance to settlements to be considered where relevant in plan making and decisions on planning proposals, taking into account local context. Were limits to be set in national planning guidance, they may not provide appropriate protections in some contexts, or rule out otherwise acceptable development in others.
For minerals such as shale gas, local authority mineral plans should set out environmental criteria for the assessment of applications and take into account cumulative effect of multiple impacts from individual sites and/ or from a number of sites in a locality. Planning law requires that decisions must be taken in accordance with the development plan for the local authority, including any relevant mineral plan policies, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
In all cases, national planning policy must also be taken into account when applications are determined. This is clear that when a planning permission is granted for mineral development, including shale gas, there should be no unacceptable adverse impacts on the natural and historic environment, or on human health. It also ensures relevant cumulative effects are considered.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the number of new private rented homes that will be needed to meet demand in the next five years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
It is difficult to determine the number of new private rented homes needed to meet demand as this is affected by a variety of outside impacts, including the affordability of home ownership, household formation rates and prospective sharing arrangements. The Government is committed to delivering 1 million new homes by the end of this parliament.