Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of oversight of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme by her Department; and what steps she is taking to prevent abuse of that scheme.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The British public has shown a true generosity of spirit by opening their homes to Ukrainians seeking sanctuary from Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This generosity should not be abused, and taxpayers’ money must be used to support the intended beneficiaries of the scheme.
Local authorities are responsible for the prevention and detection of sponsor payment related fraud on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The department has engaged local authorities and found they have counter-fraud measures in place and are recovering payments where fraud has been identified. As part of ongoing efforts to identify and reduce instances of fraudulent sponsorship and other abuses of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, existing guidance on GOV.UK has been expanded to improve information for guests, sponsors and local authorities on how to recognise and avoid fraudulent sponsorship or misuse of the scheme. Further mitigations to minimise the impacts of these issues on the Homes for Ukraine scheme are kept under constant review.
Guidance on reporting suspected fraud is available at: Reporting fraud: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK for guests, Reporting fraud: Homes for Ukraine - guidance for sponsors - GOV.UK for sponsors and Handling suspected fraud: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK for councils.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) infrastructure levy and (b) Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and section 106 system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government want to deliver the much-needed affordable housing local communities need and the wider infrastructure that will mitigate the impacts of new development. We do not believe the Infrastructure Levy as introduced in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 is the best way to achieve this. We therefore made clear in the consultation on proposed reforms to National Planning Policy Framework that we will not be implementing it. Instead, we intend to focus on improving the existing system of developer contributions. Further details on strengthening that system will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing local council planning fees so that they cover the costs of local planning services.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In our recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, we sought views on changes to planning application fees to cover the costs of local planning services. The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.