Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will include a degradation factor for new builds that applies to loft insulation over time in her Department's proposed Future Homes Standard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024; a government response has not yet been issued.
Government fully supports the need for low carbon homes and buildings, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation, including those on loft insulation, and will publish the Government response in due course.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in her Department was in each of the last three years; and what information she holds on the the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in local authorities in the same period.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, 100 (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) employees have taken paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child. The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below.
Calendar Year | AWDT |
2021 | 10 |
2022 | 11 |
2023 | 12 |
2024 (Jan to Oct) | 10 |
Staff employed in local authorities are subject to the pay terms and conditions for those organisations. This department does not keep a central record on employment data relating to these organisations.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) economic growth, (b) new homes and (c) new jobs that will be delivered by the Telford Land Deal; and whether her Department will take steps to extend the scope of the deal to other Government-owned land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department and Homes England are working with Telford and Wrekin Council through the Telford Land Deal and Funding and Co-operation Agreement to deliver up to 2,800 homes as well as 8,500 jobs and 300,000 sqm of employment floorspace. Homes England continues to engage with Telford and Wrekin Council and other councils across England on opportunities in their areas.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many proposed homes have received planning permission to be built but have not been built after (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five and (f) six years or more.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Estimates of how many homes received planning permission in each year are published by the department as part of its quarterly statistics on Planning Applications in England and can be found here: Planning applications statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
We do not hold information on how many of these had not been built after one, two, three, four, five, six years or more.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what powers combined authorities have to expand; what criteria they need to fulfil to expand; what consent from other public bodies will be required for expansion; and what the timescales are for such expansions.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The process for combined authority expansion is set out in the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. A combined authority must apply to the Secretary of State regarding their proposal to expand. There must be a public consultation on that proposal across the whole of the proposed expanded area. The legislation sets out the consent criteria for expansion which will depend on the nature of the proposal. The timescales for expansions are subject to this process, along with Parliamentary timescales for approval of the required secondary legislation and will therefore vary for any combined authority seeking to expand. We will consider all aspects of devolution and Combined Authorities in the landmark English Devolution Bill.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will allow upper tier councils to increase council tax by a set cash amount.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Council tax levels are decided by individual local authorities. Decisions on future local authority funding will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that up to date population data is used to determine (a) local government, (b) police and (c) fire authority grant funding.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We understand that improving how local government is funded is crucial to enabling councils to deliver for local residents and ensuring we can deliver our missions. We are committed to delivering a multiyear settlement in this Parliament giving certainty on allocations going forward. The department will work with local government leaders to ensure they are better able to fulfil their statutory duties.