Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the operation of the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, known as Homes for Ukraine.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The department is proud of the Homes for Ukraine scheme which has seen 116,400 Ukrainians welcomed to safety in the UK since it was launched, and a total of 153,900 visas issued. We have delivered this working in partnership with councils, the devolved administrations and other government departments including the Home Office who are responsible for issuing the visas. Figures given are correct as of 28th February 2023.
We continue to keep the scheme under constant review, and will set out any updates in the usual way.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the Affordable Homes Programme on the provision of affordable housing.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
This Government will continue to invest in the supply of affordable housing.
Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver tens of thousands of affordable homes for both rent and sale, in communities up and down the country.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of changes in the National Planning Policy Framework on the supply of new homes.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
This Government is committed to accelerating housing delivery to make home buying a reality for a new generation. We want decisions about homes to be driven locally and we want to get more local plans in place to deliver the homes we need. That is why we remain committed to a 300k target.
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the impact assessment for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill here.
The proposals in the National Planning Policy Framework consultation are not, at this time, government policy. We will carefully analyse the responses to the consultation, and any subsequent changes in policy will be confirmed when the Framework is updated later in 2023.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has responsibility for coordinating Government policy on antisocial behaviour.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, addressing anti-social behaviour and tackling crime are crucial to the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. All Government departments are working closely together to deliver this.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to prevent homelessness amongst Ukrainian refugees in the UK.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As we have set out previously, we always knew that it was sadly inevitable that a small proportion of sponsorships would fail and that there was a risk that sponsors would be unable to continue sponsoring after the conclusion of their initial period of hosting. We therefore took the decision to extend the period when sponsors can receive ‘thank you’ payments and to increase the payments for those whose guests have been in the country for over 12 months. Councils have a duty to ensure families have temporary housing and they receive government support for each Homes for Ukraine guest in their area for precisely this eventuality. In addition, we have set out further support, details of which can be found here.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether local authorities were informed in advance that any local authority that was successful in bidding for funding Levelling Up Fund Round 1 would automatically be barred from receiving funds in Levelling Up Fund Round 2.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 127879 on 24 January 2023. The published Levelling Up Fund Round 2 technical note set out the additional considerations that could be taken into account when making funding decisions. This included “ taking into account other investment in a local area, including investment made from the first round of the Fund to encourage a spread of levelling up funds across places.” The published explanatory note outlines the specifics of how decisions for the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 were made. Applicants to the Fund were informed of the outcome of decisions by letter sent on the 18 January.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 5.1 of his Department's guidance entitled Levelling Up Fund Round 2: explanatory note on the assessment and decision-making process published 19 January 2023, if he will place in the House of Commons Library the equalities analysis received by ministers which compared the list of places they had provisionally selected for funding with the list of places not selected for funding.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 127879 on 24 January 2023. The published Levelling Up Fund Round 2 technical note set out the additional considerations that could be taken into account when making funding decisions. This included “ taking into account other investment in a local area, including investment made from the first round of the Fund to encourage a spread of levelling up funds across places.” The published explanatory note outlines the specifics of how decisions for the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 were made. Applicants to the Fund were informed of the outcome of decisions by letter sent on the 18 January.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 4.4 of his Department's guidance entitled Levelling Up Fund Round 2: explanatory note on the assessment and decision-making process published on 19 January 2023, whether local authorities with multiple bids shortlisted were consulted on which bid they wanted to prioritise.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 127879 on 24 January 2023.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the average cost to (a) councils and (b) mayoral combined authorities of preparing and submitting an application to the Levelling Up Fund Round 2.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 127879 on 24 January 2023.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Prime Minister was involved in deciding successful bids for Levelling Up Fund Round 2.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 127879 on 24 January 2023.