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Written Question
Housing: Land
Thursday 14th September 2023

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress he has made in removing the requirement for local authorities to maintain a five-year housing land supply; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

We consulted on changes to NPPF and are currently carefully considering the responses. We will set out further details later this year.


Written Question
Housing: Planning Permission
Thursday 14th September 2023

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance the Planning Inspectorate has issued to planning inspectors on taking the mental health of the wider community into consideration for housing application appeals; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Planning Inspectorate does not issue guidance on this matter.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing
Monday 6th February 2023

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the number of private properties available to rent; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government has announced £10 billion investment in housing supply since the start of this Parliament. This includes £300 million of locally led grant funding to help Local and Mayoral Combined Authorities invest in housing-led brownfield, infrastructure, and land projects in England.

We also welcome new institutional investment in the private rented sector, and our Build to Rent Fund has provided over £630 million of development finance for the supply of new homes built specifically for private rent.


Written Question
Regional Planning and Development: Gloucestershire
Friday 18th March 2022

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what investment support is available to companies in Gloucestershire under the levelling up agenda; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Neil O'Brien

The Government is committed to levelling up all areas of the UK. Gloucestershire received over £52 million levelling up fund investment, for a range of regeneration projects and infrastructure improvements. The funding will help to develop projects such as The Forge, a new innovation hub supporting emerging cyber businesses to grow, creating new opportunities for Gloucester City and wider region. Further levelling up funding will be available in the Spring when we expect to launch the next round of the Levelling Up Fund. Further details of that, and the forthcoming UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will be announced soon.


Written Question
Housing Estates: Service Charges
Monday 17th January 2022

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to remove the statutory right for owners of rentcharges to take possession or grant a lease of the property in the event of non-payment by the homeowner; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. Where people pay estate rent charges it is not appropriate that these homeowners have limited rights to challenge these costs.

That is why the Government intends to legislate to ensure that the charges that resident freeholders may pay towards the maintenance of communal area are fairer and more transparent.

To this effect, we will legislate to give freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of estate rentcharges, as well as a right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager to manage the provision of services.

In addition, we will ensure that where a freeholder pays a rentcharge, the rentcharge owner is not able to take possession or grant a lease on the property where the rentcharge remains unpaid for a short period of time. We will translate these measures into law when parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Housing Estates: Management
Monday 17th January 2022

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to allow a right to manage for residential freeholders; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. Where people pay estate rent charges it is not appropriate that these homeowners have limited rights to challenge these costs.

That is why the Government intends to legislate to ensure that the charges that resident freeholders may pay towards the maintenance of communal area are fairer and more transparent.

To this effect, we will legislate to give freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of estate rentcharges, as well as a right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager to manage the provision of services.

In addition, we will ensure that where a freeholder pays a rentcharge, the rentcharge owner is not able to take possession or grant a lease on the property where the rentcharge remains unpaid for a short period of time. We will translate these measures into law when parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Housing Estates: Service Charges
Monday 17th January 2022

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to allow owners of freehold properties who pay estate rent charges to be able to challenge these costs; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. Where people pay estate rent charges it is not appropriate that these homeowners have limited rights to challenge these costs.

That is why the Government intends to legislate to ensure that the charges that resident freeholders may pay towards the maintenance of communal area are fairer and more transparent.

To this effect, we will legislate to give freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of estate rentcharges, as well as a right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager to manage the provision of services.

In addition, we will ensure that where a freeholder pays a rentcharge, the rentcharge owner is not able to take possession or grant a lease on the property where the rentcharge remains unpaid for a short period of time. We will translate these measures into law when parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Planning Authorities: Land
Wednesday 24th February 2021

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made in determining a standard methodology for local planning authorities to use when calculating their land supply; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government is committed to realising our aim of delivering 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s and supporting housing delivery as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. A critical part of this is local authorities making land available for planning. Local planning authorities are expected annually to identify and update a supply of specific ‘deliverable’ sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirement. This is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework


In December, in response to the ‘Changes to the current planning system’ consultation, the Secretary of State announced a minor revision to the standard method formula for assessing local housing need. The announcement on the standard method provides certainty and stability during a period of economic uncertainty for our communities, businesses, and development sector whilst also focusing greater need into urban areas to maximise existing infrastructure and to support development that reduces the need for high-carbon travel


Our Planning for the Future White Paper proposed changes to housing land supply policy, and we are currently analysing responses to that consultation. A Government response will follow.


Written Question
Planning Permission: Appeals
Wednesday 24th February 2021

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what status Neighbourhood Plans have with the Planning Inspector in the determination of planning application appeals; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

Once adopted, neighbourhood plans become part of the development plan for the local area alongside the Local Plan. Planning law requires that decision takers, including planning inspectors, must determine planning applications in accordance with the development plan (including any neighbourhood plan) unless material considerations indicate otherwise.


Written Question
Land Drainage
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)

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

If he will amend planning guidance to ensure that a full assessment of the capacity of the existing local drainage system is carried out before work can begin on developments; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Our existing guidance is clear that if there are concerns about the capacity of wastewater infrastructure that is needed for drainage, applicants can be asked to provide information about how the development would be drained and wastewater dealt with. Where it is found that additional sewerage infrastructure is needed, developers can be required to fund this.