Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to reform the leasehold system for residential property; and whether she has a planned timetable for such reforms.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, including those designed to increase service charge transparency.
Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.
The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people are sleeping rough.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
According to the official Rough Sleeping Snapshot statistics, 3,898 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in England in autumn 2023. This was 27% higher than the previous year and represented an annual increase for the second year in a row.
The Government is committed to taking action to address all forms of homelessness and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us on back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.
We will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament. I refer the Hon Member to the written statement made on 30 July 2024 (HCWS48), setting out our first steps on how we achieve this.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take to assess the adequacy of (a) roads, (b) other physical infrastructure, (c) GP services, (d) schools and (e) other service infrastructure in the reform of planning restrictions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Local planning authorities are required to plan for infrastructure delivery as part of plan-making and report on their use of developer contributions in Infrastructure Funding Statements.
The Government will keep the provision of local infrastructure under review, including when considering revisions to national planning policy.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has discussed the Laindon Centre with Basildon Council.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials at Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, are in dialogue with Basildon Council to discuss where their programmes, capacity and funding may be able to support the Council’s priorities.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
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 - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
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 - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
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.