Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following an election that has changed the political composition of a local authority, that authority is able to withdraw a submission made to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England on a local boundaries review in their area and replace it with an alternative submission.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
This is a matter for the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which is accountable to the Speaker’s Committee of the House of Commons.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their definition of a town for the purpose of the Stronger Towns Fund; and what steps they will take to make sure that the relevant towns are involved closely in the decisions over the use of the Fund and in submissions for that part of the Fund for which bids will be invited.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
A prospectus for the Stronger Towns Fund will be published before the summer recess. It will detail the role of local partners, relevant definitions and eligibility criteria. This will also set out the process for the £600 million competitive component of the fund.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether funding from the Stronger Towns Fund could be allocated to schemes for the restoration of railway lines and services, such as the link between the towns of Colne, Earby and Skipton.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
A prospectus for the Stronger Towns Fund will be published before the summer recess. It will detail the role of local partners, relevant definitions and eligibility criteria. This will also set out the process for the £600 million competitive component of the fund.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether district councils in two-tier areas will be able to bid for funds from the £600 million pot in the Stronger Towns Fund; and whether town and parish councils will be able to bid for any of this funding where they are the representative body which encompasses a town.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
A prospectus for the Stronger Towns Fund will be published before the summer recess. It will detail the role of local partners, relevant definitions and eligibility criteria. This will also set out the process for the £600 million competitive component of the fund.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £281 million allocated to the North West over seven years under the Stronger Towns Fund will be allocated to Lancashire; how the funding will be phased over the seven years; and how much will be allocated to (1) the County Council, (2) the two Unitary Authorities, and (3) the County Districts.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
A prospectus for the Stronger Towns Fund will be published before the summer recess. It will detail the role of local partners, relevant definitions and eligibility criteria. This will also set out the process for the £600 million competitive component of the fund.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Neighbourhood Plans have been adopted since 2011; and of those, how many have applied to unparished areas.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
While we do not formally monitor the production of neighbourhood plans, our records suggest that over 700 neighbourhood plans have been adopted (made) since 2011. Of these around 40 were for unparished areas.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to provide protection, support and advice to UK residents and their families from (1) other EU member states, and (2) other countries as a precaution against possible antisocial or unlawful behaviour towards them on or after 29 March.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
All forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable including antisocial or unlawful behaviour on the grounds of faith or race, this includes protection to those from other EU member states and other countries. This country has one of the strongest legal frameworks in the world to report, record and prosecute hate crime.
In October 2018, the government published a refreshed hate crime action plan setting out the Government’s approach to tackling hate crime, ranging from prevention to victim support. A major national communications campaign was launched in late 2018 to raise awareness about hate crime.
There is no room for complacency. As we prepare to leave the European Union, it is entirely responsible and appropriate we continue to work closely with all of our operational partners, including the police, to ensure we are alive to any issues that may arise.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan that the one per cent reduction in rents for social landlord properties each year will continue after 2020.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government announced plans in October 2017 to set a long term rent deal for councils and housing associations. The proposal is for increases to social housing rents to be limited to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1 per cent for 5 years from 2020.
The Government consulted on these proposals in the Autumn. Details of the consultation are available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/rents-for-social-housing-from-2020-to-2021. We are currently analysing the feedback and we aim to publish our response to the consultation by the Spring.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether local housing authorities that divested themselves of their council housing stocks in the past and closed their housing revenue accounts (HRAs) are able to set up new HRAs and build new council housing under their new proposals for lifting the cap on local authority borrowing for such purposes or otherwise.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Yes. All local housing authorities (LHA) retain the power to provide housing under Part II of the Housing Act 1985. Where they do they are under a duty to account for this in a Housing Revenue Account by section 74 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, unless that requirement is dis-applied by direction by the Secretary of State – which may be considered appropriate if the LHA only has limited housing stock.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they provide to local authorities on managing risks in community asset transfers; and whether the advice in the document Managing Risks in Asset Transfer: A Guide published by the Department for Communities and Local Government in June 2008 is still current.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Local authorities are responsible for developing their own community asset transfer policy based on their unique knowledge of local circumstance and council priorities. The risks set out in the 2008 guidance are still relevant, and Government has funded the online My Community platform as resource to assist both local authorities and community groups about the risks and opportunities associated with Community Asset Transfer. Complementing this support is bespoke help and advice from key supporters of community asset transfer such as Sport England, Power to Change, the Big Lottery and Heritage Lottery who work with community groups and councils to establish the most sustainable ways of helping move valued local assets into community ownership.