Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when Homes England’s next strategic plan will be published.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Announcements will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to publish the names of developers who sign the developer remediation contract by the deadline of 13 March 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government has made it clear that it expects major developers to sign the developer remediation contract by 13 March and that if they do not sign the contract, they can expect this fact to become publicly known.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish research commissioned by his Department from the University of Liverpool on the implications of the new infrastructure levy as provided for by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department is intending to publish a consultation on the detailed operation of the Infrastructure Levy shortly. This will be accompanied by the University of Liverpool research report.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many developers who signed the building safety repairs pledge have signed the developer remediation contract as of 27 February 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
On 30 January 2023, the Government published the developer remediation contract and wrote to developers asking them to sign the contract by 13 March.
The Government is now working with developers to get execution copies prepared and signed by 13 March which developers have signed the contract and which have failed to do so after 13 March.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Housing and Planning of 20 February 2023, Official Report, column 15, how his Department defines a rural local authority in England.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The department uses the DEFRA rural-urban classification, updated since the publication of this classification for local authority mergers.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Homes and Communities Agency records data on the delivery of new affordable homes in settlements of fewer than 3,000 people.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities collects and publishes data on delivery of affordable homes in populations of less than 3,000 people. These data are available in Section I of the Local Authority Housing Statistics dataset, as well as in the accompanying open data. For the years 2011-12 onwards, these data can be broken down by new build and acquisitions.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new affordable homes were delivered in settlements with a population of less than 3,000 between April 2010 and March 2022.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities collects and publishes data on delivery of affordable homes in populations of less than 3,000 people. These data are available in Section I of the Local Authority Housing Statistics dataset, as well as in the accompanying open data. For the years 2011-12 onwards, these data can be broken down by new build and acquisitions.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason the final developer remediation contract does not use the definition of relevant defect in the Building Safety Act 2022 to define life-critical fire-safety defects.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The definition of 'Defect' in the developer remediation contract and the definition of 'Relevant Defect' in the Building Safety Act were drafted for different purposes.
The definition of 'Relevant Defect' in the Building Safety Act 2022 is used within the Act to cover a wide range of actors, defect types and circumstances. The definition of 'Defect' in the developer remediation contract was drafted to match the wording of a public pledge signed by 49 developers. Under the pledge and the contract which codifies the pledge commitments, developers specifically commit to addressing life-critical fire safety defects arising from works that were the developer's responsibility because they arise from the original design, construction or refurbishment of the building, and to do so in line with relevant standards.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to The Help to Buy: Equity Loan Funding Administration Agreement, what estimate he has made of the number of Help to Buy Eligible Dwellings that will have reservations cancelled as a result of failing to reach Practical Completion by 31 January 2023.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We have extended the Help to Buy deadline to make sure people do not lose out because of delays to developers completing their homes. Housebuilders must ensure they finish building work on all properties by 31 January.
Information on how many housebuilders may fail to meet the 31 January 2023 deadline or will need to have their reservations cancelled is not held centrally.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of further extending the date all Help to Buy Eligible Dwellings must reach Practical Completion to 28 February 2023 to help avoid customer detriment.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We have extended the Help to Buy deadline to make sure people do not lose out because of delays to developers completing their homes. Housebuilders must ensure they finish building work on all properties by 31 January.
Information on how many housebuilders may fail to meet the 31 January 2023 deadline or will need to have their reservations cancelled is not held centrally.