Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had discussions with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council on (a) progress in relation to its housebuilding targets and (b) its development of a local plan in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Departmental officials monitor and engage with Local Planning Authorities across England, which included meeting with officers at Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council to discuss plan making in June 2023 and January 2024.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has plans to help Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council with its budget shortfall for financial year 2024-25.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The provisional local government finance settlement for 2024-25 makes available over £300.1 million for Stockport Council, an increase in Core Spending Power of almost £17.5 million or 6.2% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country.
Further details of funding for England, including the hon. Member’s local authority area can be found at the following link.
We have launched a consultation on the proposals for 2024-25 through the provisional settlement, which closed on 15 January 2024. After the consultation responses are considered and any alterations are made, we will publish a final settlement early this year which will be subject to a debate in the House of Commons.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 6351 on Local Government: Debt Collection, with reference to increases in the cost of living, if his Department will take steps to update the guidance entitled Council tax collection: best practice guidance for local authorities, published on 16 August 2021.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
While the Department keeps the guidance on council tax collection under review, there are currently no plans to update it. The Government expects councils to be sympathetic in their approach to collecting council tax, and it is open to them to adopt alternative approaches where they consider it appropriate.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to financially support voluntary and community sector organisations that support homeless people in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The government is investing over £2 billion over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, largely through local authorities, many of which use a proportion of this investment to fund voluntary and community sector projects and organisations locally.
Government is also directly investing in the sector. The £7 million Voluntary and Community Frontline Sector Grant programme supports the homelessness voluntary sector across England to develop their skills, capacity and capability through advice, training and partnership development. The £13 million Night Shelter Transformation Fund supports four night shelter projects across Greater Manchester in Wigan, Salford, Bolton and Manchester.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 6351 on Local Government: Debt Collection, if he will take steps to update his Department's best practice guidance on council tax collection and adopt the Citizens’ Advice Bureau’s charter on ethical debt collection.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department keeps the guidance on council tax collection under review in light of developments in debt collection practice. The collection of council tax is the responsibility of local authorities, and it is open to them to adopt alternative approaches.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to tackle rogue parking enforcement companies.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 4246 on 4 December 2023.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities in England on the use of debt collection agencies.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department published guidance on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears in 2013 and best practice guidance on council tax collection in 2021. The guidance encourages councils to be sympathetic to those in genuine hardship and proportionate in taking enforcement action.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department provides additional support to local authorities with increased demand for emergency accommodation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 is investing over £530 million in funding to local authorities across England from April 2022 to March 2025. This includes an additional investment of £34.6 million announced in September 2023. The Rough Sleeping Initiative supports local authorities to deliver emergency interventions and develop services to prevent people from sleeping rough, and provide more sustained off-the-street accommodation offers and tailored wrap-around support for those who are most vulnerable.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has taken steps to reduce the cost of renting residential property.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
I refer the Hon Member to the answers given in response to question 153908 on 6 March 2023, question 194156 on 24 July 2023, and questions 198931 and 198912 on 18 September 2023.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had discussions with organisations representing older people on the potential impact of card-payment-only public car parking services.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
All local authorities have existing statutory duties to ensure that they do not discriminate in their decision making against older people or those with vulnerabilities. The Secretary of State recently wrote to all local authorities in England setting out his expectations that parking services for which councils are responsible remain accessible. For example, it would not seem appropriate for parking on a high street to be solely available for those who have access to a mobile phone. Nor would it appear sensible for local authorities to phase out paper-based parking options such as 'scratch cards' if the only available replacement is an entirely digital option.