Oral Answers to Questions

Lee Rowley Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

5. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Government’s levelling-up agenda on the supply of affordable housing.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lee Rowley)]

As the exchanges of the past few minutes have highlighted, the Government remain absolutely committed to the levelling-up agenda to improve opportunities for communities, including the one I have the privilege of representing. As part of that, a substantial taxpayer subsidy rightly continues to be allocated across the country to building affordable housing.

[Christine Jardine]

Will the Minister accept that the chaos we have seen in the economy, created by this Government, over the past couple of weeks has had an impact on the affordability of housing for everyone? It has put up interest rates on mortgages and put up rents in the private rented sector. In constituencies such as mine valuable projects such as North Edinburgh Arts will include affordable rented housing. So when will this Government recognise that this needs to be done quickly and we need to get the next round out and the money distributed to communities that need it?

[Lee Rowley]

As the hon. Lady will appreciate, we are in a period of economic challenge across the world and interest rates have been rising for some time. On her question about affordable rents and affordable housing, she will know that housing is largely devolved, but the UK Government have brought forward hundreds of thousands of new affordable properties in recent years and will continue to do so in the years ahead.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

6. What proportion of eligible households have received the £150 council tax energy rebate in (a) north Northamptonshire and (b) England.

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[Ruth Edwards (Rushcliffe) (Con)]

22. What assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of investment zones on the environment.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lee Rowley)]

Investment zones seek to empower communities to deliver planning and outcomes that are right for the local area, while maintaining strong environmental outcomes and keeping national green belt policies in place. They are about working with local areas, and we look forward to receiving applications from Wales in due course.

[Craig Williams]

I welcome the commitment from the Dispatch Box to get investment zones established in Wales with the Welsh Government. The Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, with which I am working closely, are seeking reassurances from those on the Front Bench about all the environmental protections we have on the statute books. We welcome investment zones and we want them in Montgomeryshire, but those strong protections are important to us. Will the Minister again confirm those protections?

[Lee Rowley]

We are absolutely committed to strong environmental outcomes, as I am happy to repeat and as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already said. We look forward to applications from Montgomeryshire.

[Ruth Edwards]

I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

For strong, sustained growth it is vital that we protect, enhance and invest in our natural capital. Can the Minister give me an absolute promise that none of the proposed reforms to the planning system, including in the investment zones, will row back on the Government’s 10% biodiversity net gain requirement, as enshrined in our landmark Environment Act 2021?

[Lee Rowley]

As my hon. Friend knows, that biodiversity net gain does not come in for some time yet. It could be that, depending on the applications received for investment zones, the planning permissions will have gone through, or be in the process of going through, under the existing planning process. However, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have repeated at the Dispatch Box, and as is clear within the expression of interest guidance on investment zones, we are committed to strong environmental outcomes in those areas and across the planning system.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lee Rowley)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question about investment zones. As we have said, strong environmental outcomes will be absolutely at the core of investment zones, and we welcome applications from his area and from everywhere else in the United Kingdom.

[Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

Many families hosted a Ukrainian family nearly six months ago. Those arrangements are coming to an end, and there is a real danger that we are going to see a large number of Ukrainian families homeless this winter. The Government need to do far more than the response of the right hon. Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson) to a previous question. Can Ministers tell us what their strategic approach is to prevent us from having Ukrainian families on our streets this Christmas?