Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the replacement of the Shared Prosperity Fund with the Local Growth Fund on child poverty.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
With the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) ending in 2026, the Government is changing how local growth is funded, as part of a wider approach comprising targeted interventions to drive growth and strengthen communities.
Across these new interventions, Scotland will receive the same annual funding in cash terms over the next three years as it would have received under the UKSPF this year to support economic growth, community cohesion, regeneration and public realm improvements - around £76 million a year and £228 million over the Spending Review period.
As part of this approach MHCLG and the Scotland Office are working together to design and deliver a new Local Growth Fund for Scotland. The programme will fund regional projects which will drive economic growth. That might mean projects like infrastructure investment, business support, or skills development - projects which will make a real difference in terms of skilled jobs and people’s prosperity. We will share the full investment and interventions framework in due course.
Further, the Pride in Place Programme is providing support to Scottish communities, helping build strong, resilient and integrated communities in areas that experience the most entrenched social and economic challenges.
By investing in local areas, reducing child poverty, and bringing down inflation, the Government is focused on delivering material change to people across the country – boosting living standards and improving public services. This sits alongside substantial increases to devolved budgets through the Barnett formula as a result of greater funding for English local authorities, giving devolved governments additional flexibility to target resource spending to their priorities, including tackling child poverty.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 granted refugee status have presented to local authorities as homeless or have slept rough within three months of the termination of asylum support in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government publishes homelessness and rough sleeping data for England on gov.uk here. This includes data on the number of people owed a homelessness duty due to leaving asylum accommodation and the number of people seen sleeping rough who had left asylum accommodation within the last 85 days.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 new developments are safe and accessible for pedestrians.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Housing within Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government.
In England, the National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that when assessing sites that may be allocated in local development plans, or specific applications for development, it should be ensured that safe and suitable access to the site can be achieved for all users.
The Framework also sets out that applications for development should give priority first to pedestrian and cycle movements, both within the scheme and with neighbouring areas, and should create places that are safe, secure, and attractive and which minimise scope for conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 Secretary of State for Transport on providing English Local Authorities the powers to enforce a pavement parking ban.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Department for Transport on this matter. The Department for Transport held a public consultation in 2020 and has been considering all the views expressed in response to the consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 help ensure that innovative UK building products are approved for use in a timely manner.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Construction Products Green Paper, published earlier this year, set out a range of potential measures for reform. This included proposals which seek to encourage the adoption of new technologies and methodologies that promote safety and sustainability in construction, simultaneously facilitating growth. We also sought views through the green paper on ways to support and encourage innovation in the built environment by ensuring that the safety and regulation of emerging technologies is robust enough to assure a safer future for the built environment. We also consider that there is a need for greater public sector testing and research capacity to support regulatory activity and research safety issues.
We are now analysing responses and will set out the government’s initial response, and our next steps for long term reform.
More broadly, all building works need to meet the functional requirements of the Building Regulations 2010 regardless of the products or methods used. The functional requirements are product agnostic, allowing designers the freedom to innovate and design new ways to comply.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 Green Freeports have the (a) authority and (b) mechanisms to hold businesses accountable in relation to their commitments on (i) fair work and (ii) achieving net zero.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
As detailed in guidance, Green Freeports are required to implement robust tax site management strategies that ensure investments align with the overarching vision and policy objectives.
Green Freeports must ensure that their partners deliver on the commitments set out in the approved business case. To support this, tax site landholders are expected to enter into formal legal agreements with the Green Freeport operating company to enforce compliance including fair work practices and net zero commitments. The governments reserve the right to sanction Green Freeports where these commitments are not upheld.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 provide urban nesting habitats for small birds within housebuilding targets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 with the build to rent sector to increase the supply of housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting the Build to Rent sector. We are unlocking nearly £2 billion in additional lending through the Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme and have announced a £700 million extension to the Home Building Fund to help deliver more homes alongside institutional investors, including those provided by Build to Rent operators.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 support the Build to Rent sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting the Build to Rent sector. We are unlocking nearly £2 billion in additional lending through the Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme and have announced a £700 million extension to the Home Building Fund to help deliver more homes alongside institutional investors, including those provided by Build to Rent operators.