Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the investment zones policy announced in the Growth Plan 2022 will allow for the creation of such zones in (a) National Parks and (b) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
While this Government sees Investment Zones as being critical to turbocharging growth across the country, this growth will not come at the expense of downgrading the strong and long-established protections for National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The recently launched Expression of Interest process specifically asks whether the proposed development would be on land that is in or adjacent to National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to make sure that we treat these sites with the appropriate care and consideration. The EOI also makes clear that any successful Investment Zone must agree to mitigate the environmental impacts of development.
Local consent is critical to this, and Investment Zones will not be imposed on any area or specific site. The Local Planning Authority, that includes National Park Authorities, must support any proposal for an Investment Zone site through the EOI process. Proposals without this local consent will not be taken forward.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether people in receipt of Pension Credit are entitled to the full £150 council tax rebate to help with energy costs in every part of the UK.
Answered by Paul Scully
Most households in Council Tax bands A to D qualify for the core council tax energy rebate of £150, if they are occupied as a sole or main residence on 1 April 2022. Eligibility for the scheme is not dependent on a household’s qualification for benefits. Alongside the core council tax rebate, local councils have been provided with £144 million of discretionary funding to support any household suffering financial hardship as a result of rising energy bills. Local councils are responsible for determining who is eligible and for making payments under their discretionary fund.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing an applicant to transfer an individual from the family visa scheme to the Homes for Ukraine scheme following a change in circumstances.
Answered by Paul Scully
We continually review our immigration policy and schemes to ensure they deliver the intended aims.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will take steps to ensure that homebuyer reports include information on (a) whether or not water supply is connected to mains water and (b) whether sewerage is connected to the mains sewers or to a septic tank.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Homebuyer reports are undertaken by qualified surveyors, and the report contents will depend upon the nature of the property and the type of report commissioned. Prior to commissioning a survey, buyers should check the terms and scope carefully to ensure it meets their needs.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps local authorities can take to efficiently remove dangerous trees that are subject to Tree Protection Orders.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local authorities can remove dangerous trees subject to Tree Preservation Orders.
If a tree presents an immediate risk of serious harm, requiring urgent work, the work can be undertaken without needing to apply for consent.
Alternatively, the local authority can revoke the Tree Preservation Order (as set out in the regulations). The tree is then no longer protected so can be removed.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what sanctions are available against people in local government who break rules on standards; and whether those sanctions are the same in every council and local authority across the country.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Councils have a number of sanctions for code of conduct breaches including a formal rebuke, removing any portfolio responsibilities and representative roles, and requiring members to undertake training. These sanctions apply to all councils across England.
It is crucial that elected members in local government inspire confidence and have the trust of the electorate by adhering to their council’s code of conduct. All councillors are ultimately held to account via the ballot box.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new (a) council and (b) social landlord properties have been built in each year since 2005 in each (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority area.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Statistics on numbers of dwellings owned by local authorities and private registered providers as at 31 March by local authority area are published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the gov.uk website in live tables 116 and 115 respectively, which can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants.
Statistics on the supply of new affordable housing in each local authority area, including acquisitions of existing stock for affordable housing, are also published on the gov.uk website, in live tables 1008C and 1011 at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply. The open datafile available at the same link breaks these statistics down into those that are new build and acquisitions of existing stock, and by provider. The Department does not collect these data by parliamentary constituency.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the total amount of (a) council housing and (b) social housing in each (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority area.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Statistics on numbers of dwellings owned by local authorities and private registered providers as at 31 March by local authority area are published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the gov.uk website in live tables 116 and 115 respectively, which can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants.
Statistics on the supply of new affordable housing in each local authority area, including acquisitions of existing stock for affordable housing, are also published on the gov.uk website, in live tables 1008C and 1011 at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply. The open datafile available at the same link breaks these statistics down into those that are new build and acquisitions of existing stock, and by provider. The Department does not collect these data by parliamentary constituency.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many tenants of (a) councils and (b) social landlords have exercised the right to buy, voluntary or otherwise, in each year since 2005, by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority area.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We maintain our commitment to the Right to Buy for council tenants. Right to Buy gives people from a broad sector of the community the opportunity to own their home, encouraging stronger links and a wider interest in their local communities.
The Government is grateful for the participation of the Midlands housing associations in piloting the VRTB and for the valuable partnership working with the sector. This has enabled over 1,800 housing association tenants to become homeowners, and enjoy the benefits that homeownership brings. The Government is looking at the findings from the Midlands evaluation, which will be used to help inform future policy. We will announce further details on Voluntary Right to Buy in the coming months.
The statistics on local authority Right to Buy sales, as well as information on the total number of sales to tenants by local authority area (which includes Right to Acquire and other social landlord schemes) can be found in the open data here: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales#social-housing-sales-open-data.
There is no information by parliamentary constituency, as it is all collected by local authority area.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much each local authority has saved as a direct result of the abolition of non-domestic rates on public lavatories.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The value of the relief is estimated to be worth around £6 million p.a. to eligible public lavatories in England. This includes both privately or publicly occupied public lavatories, we do not hold data on the split of support between privately and publicly occupied public lavatories.