Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government's announcement of 21 August 2019 that ports and local areas will receive £9 million of funding to prepare for the UK leaving the EU, how much funding will be allocated to the London Port Health Authority.
Answered by Luke Hall
Across 2017/18 and 2018/19, my Department has made available £77 million to help local areas prepare for Brexit. This includes £60 million that has been distributed between all local authorities in England, including £314,952 to the City of London, and £3.14 million that was allocated to nineteen councils in March 2019 to increase capacity to plan for and accommodate changes in and around ports of entry. In August 2019 £5.01 million was announced to further support councils which either have, or are near to, a major air, land or sea port to ensure they continue to operate efficiently (£2.61 million to councils in Kent and £2.4 million to councils outside of Kent), and £4 million was allocated to Local Resilience Forums to support them with their core administration costs for preparing, testing, assuring and delivering plans for supporting the delivery of Brexit. This funding is for councils and Local Resilience Forums to boost their capacity and help them put in place measures that will protect the services that residents, communities and businesses rely upon.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to extend the current exemptions in place for the office to residential change of use provisions in (a) Westminster and (b) other parts of central London; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Permitted development rights for change of use from offices to residential were introduced for a period of three years from 30 May 2013 to 30 May 2016. These rights are contributing to a more efficient use of our existing building stock, and are providing badly needed new homes such as studios and one-bedroom flats for young people. Exemptions to this permitted development right were granted in exceptional circumstances, where local authorities could demonstrate a negative economic impact.
We are considering responses to the Technical consultation on planning which included a proposal to extend the permitted development right for change of use from offices to residential.
We recognise the strategic value of office space to the broader London and national economy in the current exempted zones.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2014 to Question 209508, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the consultation on the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We aim to publish the Government's response in due course.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many responses were submitted to his Department's consultation on local welfare provision in 2015-16 (a) in total and (b) from local authorities.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Government received more than 5,000 responses to the consultation which are being considered alongside the review by the Department for Work and Pensions into existing provision. The Government will make a decision based on this analysis in time for the provisional local government finance settlement in December 2014.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of local welfare assistance schemes on preventing and reducing homelessness.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Department has not made any assessment of the performance of local welfare assistance schemes which are administered by local authorities. The Department for Work and Pensions published a wide ranging review into existing local welfare provision on 5 November.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will wait until the Government publishes its response to the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector before taking forward the Deregulation Bill.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government has stated its clear intent to use the Deregulation Bill to help reform the outdated provisions of section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973.
Londoners who want to rent out their homes for less than 90 consecutive days, such as through a service like Airbnb, technically still have to pay to apply for planning permission from their council – something that does not apply anywhere else in the country. These provisions caused controversy during the 2012 Olympics, and are irregularly enforced by different London boroughs leading to confusion.
We want to change this archaic system by giving Londoners the freedom to rent out their homes on a temporary basis, such as when they are on holiday, without having to deal with unnecessary red tape and the bureaucracy of paying of a municipal permit. The internet is changing the way we work and live, and the law needs to catch up.
The measure will not allow homes to be turned into hotels or hostels – this would still require ‘change of use’ planning permission, and measures will be put in place to prevent abuse of such reforms or the permanent loss of residential accommodation.
Such reforms will benefit London’s strong tourism industry by expanding the pool of competitively priced accommodation, and allow families to earn some extra cash when they themselves go away on holiday.
Such reforms would follow changes introduced last year to make it easier for residents to rent out an unused home parking space to earn extra money, helping expand the availability of parking options for commuters and visitors.
Consultation with interested parties will help inform the detail of secondary legislation to implement these reforms fully. We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation on the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector later this year.