Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has determined the appropriateness of central recovery support following flooding in Chippenham after Storm Berk.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 18286 on 10 December 2024.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Minister for Water and Flooding following her visit to Chippenham on 26 November 2024; and if she will publish a note of those discussions.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My thoughts remain with householders and business owners impacted by flooding after Storm Bert, flooding is a devastating experience for those affected.
Activation of the Flood Recovery Framework is at Ministerial discretion and there is no fixed threshold for activation. When making that decision each event is considered on its own merits looking at factors including how widespread the event is, the significance and scale of impacts, comparison to previous events / activations and the severity of the on-going situation. These factors combined help to determine if an event can be considered exceptional.
Overall, the scale of impacts was similar to that seen in many local areas this autumn and were not sufficiently significant for Government to intervene and for the Framework to be activated.
The government has set up a floods resilience taskforce to provide a forum in which partners from across government, frontline agencies, emergency responders and interest groups will work together to strengthen flood resilience across the country.
Ministers and officials from the department are in regular contact with counterparts in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As has been the case under successive administrations, we do not normally disclose details of internal discussions.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 16051 on Storms: Disaster Relief, how she defines exceptional.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My thoughts remain with householders and business owners impacted by flooding after Storm Bert, flooding is a devastating experience for those affected.
Activation of the Flood Recovery Framework is at Ministerial discretion and there is no fixed threshold for activation. When making that decision each event is considered on its own merits looking at factors including how widespread the event is, the significance and scale of impacts, comparison to previous events / activations and the severity of the on-going situation. These factors combined help to determine if an event can be considered exceptional.
Overall, the scale of impacts was similar to that seen in many local areas this autumn and were not sufficiently significant for Government to intervene and for the Framework to be activated.
The government has set up a floods resilience taskforce to provide a forum in which partners from across government, frontline agencies, emergency responders and interest groups will work together to strengthen flood resilience across the country.
Ministers and officials from the department are in regular contact with counterparts in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As has been the case under successive administrations, we do not normally disclose details of internal discussions.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department is providing to (a) residents and (b) businesses affected by flooding following Storm Bert in Chippenham.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My thoughts are with householders and business owners impacted by flooding after Storm Bert, flooding is a devastating experience for those affected. Government support for flood recovery, administrated via the Flood Recovery Framework, is only made available in the most exceptional circumstances. Most recently this was after Storms Babet in October 2023 and Henk in January this year when over 8,500 homes and businesses were impacted. My officials will continue to monitor the data on impacts following Storm Bert and will keep me updated.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that changes to the national planning policy framework prevent developers from land banking; and what steps she plans to take to help ensure that local authorities are able to build homes that suit local needs.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system that began on Tuesday 30 July includes proposals designed to support increased build out rates and promote mixed-tenure schemes that meet the housing needs of local people. In conjunction with the start of that consultation, the housebuilding industry made a public commitment to increase the pace at which homes are delivered and to get on and build where sites are viable and have implementable consent. The Government has also taken swift action to speed up site delivery through the New Homes Accelerator.
Local Plans, prepared by a local planning authority in consultation with its community, are the most effective means of shaping the future development of an area and meeting local housing need. The Government has made clear it is seeking to achieve universal coverage of ambitious local plans as quickly as possible. To support local authorities, we are funding 300 additional planning officers and consulting on increasing planning fees.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that changes to the National Planning Policy Framework prevent developers from land banking.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system that began on Tuesday 30 July includes proposals designed to support increased build out rates.
In conjunction with the start of that consultation, the housebuilding industry made a public commitment to increase the pace at which homes are delivered and to get on and build where sites are viable and have implementable consent.