Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much the Government spent on Disabled Facilities Grants each year from 2010-2021; and whether he has made an estimate of how much funding has been provided for changes that have been reversed by subsequent home owners.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Government funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) each year from 2010 to 2021 can be found at the table below. Government does not collect data on DFG funding provided for adaptations that have been reversed by subsequent homeowners.
DLUHC Funded | DHSC Funded | ||||||||||
2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
£169m | £200m | £220m | £200m | £185m | £220m | £394m | £473m* | £523m** | £505m | £573m*** | £573m |
*£431m annual grant plus an additional £42m announced in Autumn Budget 2017
**£468m annual grant plus an additional £55m announced in Budget 2018
***£505m annual grant plus an additional £68m paid to LAs in December 2020
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homes fitted with central heating microbore pipework.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The department has made no estimate of the number of homes fitted with central heating microbore pipework. However, the English Housing Survey commissioned by the department does provide information about heating systems in homes including the number of homes with central heating. The English Housing Survey reports can be seen at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/english-housing-survey.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What progress his Department has made on the forthcoming devolution and local recovery White Paper.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
We intend to bring forward the English Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper in due course, which will set out Government’s regional economic strategy to move us from recovery into levelling up and our vision for expanding devolution across England.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria his Department used to select the places which receive funding from the Towns Fund.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Ministers considered a range of factors and different methods of identifying and prioritising towns. The metrics selected and their weighting was decided based on an analysis of the policy problem and aims and was calibrated against local intelligence and feedback. Further detail can be found within the National Audit Office Review of the Town Deals selection process.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has commissioned research on the potential effect on health of silica particulates transported in air related to mineral extraction.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The MHCLG has not commissioned any research into the potential effect on health of silica sand particulates transported in air related to mineral extraction. The remit of my Department is related to planning matters.
Our National Planning Policy Framework sets out how mineral planning authorities should approach planning for and dealing with mineral planning developments. It states that in granting planning permission for mineral extraction planning authorities should ensure that any unavoidable dust and particle emissions are controlled, mitigated or removed at source.
It is, therefore, for mineral planning authorities to plan for and determine planning applications for silica sand and assess the impacts of those proposals, including the impacts of any dust emissions. In dealing with mineral proposals, mineral planning authorities would seek the views of appropriate consultees, such as local environmental health authorities, Environment Agency, Public Health England and/or the Health and Safety Executive depending on the particular facts of the case.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Law Commission’s report, Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease, published in July 2020, what plans he has to implement the recommendations on reforming leasehold home ownership; and when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on reforming leasehold.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government asked the Law Commission to review current enfranchisement arrangements to make them easier, faster, fairer and cheaper. The Law Commission report on the enfranchisement process was published in July, alongside reports on commonhold and Right to Manage. They also reported in January on options relating to valuation, including purchasing a freehold and extending the lease of a house or flat. We are considering these in detail and will set out our preferred way forward in due course. We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to give freeholders who pay charges for the maintenance of communal areas and facilities on a private or mixed use estate access to equivalent rights as leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of such service charges.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government intends to legislate to give freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of estate rentcharges as well as a right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager for the provision of services covered by estate rentcharges. We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) total value of council tax arrears referred to bailiffs by local authorities and (b) value of arrears recovered by bailiffs in the last 12 months.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government does not hold data on the value of council tax arrears referred to, or recovered by, bailiffs. Statistics on the total council tax, including arrears, collected by local authorities for the financial years from 2014-15 are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/collection-rates-for-council-tax-and-non-domestic-rates-in-england-2018-to-2019.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to publish the findings of his Department's review of council tax collection methods.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government has been working with local government and the debt advice sector to develop updated best practice guidance on the collection of council tax and will publish this guidance in due course.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington of 13 June 2019, Official Report, column 860, whether his Department plans to adopt the target to build 155,000 social rented homes a year with at least 100,000 being council homes.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We are committed to increasing the supply of social housing and have invested over £9 billion into our Affordable Homes Programme to deliver 250,000 affordable homes by 2022, including at least 12,500 for social rent.
We do not publish yearly targets but deliver flexibly throughout the years of the programme to achieve our overall target and hold Homes England and the GLA to account for delivery.
We have increased the size of the Affordable Homes Programme, re-introduced social rent, removed the HRA borrowing cap for local authorities, and have set out a long-term rent deal for councils and housing associations in England from 2020. Housing associations and local authorities now need to accelerate delivery and build more affordable homes.