Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what process needs to be followed by local authority areas which would like to achieve unitary status.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Devolution White Paper to be published this Autumn will set out our transformative plans for economic recovery and renewal, and for levelling up opportunity, prosperity, and well-being across the country. These plans will include restructuring our local institutions to deliver these outcomes, establishing more mayors and more unitary councils the populations of which will depend on local circumstances but as a rule of thumb are expected to be substantially in excess of 300k-400k. Under current legislation it is open to the Secretary of State, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval, to implement if he thinks fit any unitary proposal submitted by a council in response to an invitation which any council may request. In considering a unitary proposal the Secretary of State expects to have regard to the extent it is likely to support the delivery of the outcomes sought in the White Paper.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria his Department will use to assess bids to establish a unitary authority; and whether unanimity of affected local authorities is required.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Devolution White Paper to be published this Autumn will set out our transformative plans for economic recovery and renewal, and for levelling up opportunity, prosperity, and well-being across the country. These plans will include restructuring our local institutions to deliver these outcomes, establishing more mayors and more unitary councils the populations of which will depend on local circumstances but as a rule of thumb are expected to be substantially in excess of 300k-400k. Under current legislation it is open to the Secretary of State, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval, to implement if he thinks fit any unitary proposal submitted by a council in response to an invitation which any council may request. In considering a unitary proposal the Secretary of State expects to have regard to the extent it is likely to support the delivery of the outcomes sought in the White Paper.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the minimum population size required is to form a unitary authority.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Devolution White Paper to be published this Autumn will set out our transformative plans for economic recovery and renewal, and for levelling up opportunity, prosperity, and well-being across the country. These plans will include restructuring our local institutions to deliver these outcomes, establishing more mayors and more unitary councils the populations of which will depend on local circumstances but as a rule of thumb are expected to be substantially in excess of 300k-400k. Under current legislation it is open to the Secretary of State, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval, to implement if he thinks fit any unitary proposal submitted by a council in response to an invitation which any council may request. In considering a unitary proposal the Secretary of State expects to have regard to the extent it is likely to support the delivery of the outcomes sought in the White Paper.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the maximum population size is in which a single unitary authority should operate.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Devolution White Paper to be published this Autumn will set out our transformative plans for economic recovery and renewal, and for levelling up opportunity, prosperity, and well-being across the country. These plans will include restructuring our local institutions to deliver these outcomes, establishing more mayors and more unitary councils the populations of which will depend on local circumstances but as a rule of thumb are expected to be substantially in excess of 300k-400k. Under current legislation it is open to the Secretary of State, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval, to implement if he thinks fit any unitary proposal submitted by a council in response to an invitation which any council may request. In considering a unitary proposal the Secretary of State expects to have regard to the extent it is likely to support the delivery of the outcomes sought in the White Paper.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of co-terminosity of local service provision; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Devolution White Paper will set out our transformative plans for economic recovery and renewal, and for levelling up opportunity, prosperity, and well-being across the country, including what this means for the geography of local institutions and local service providers.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release of 18 April 2020 entitled Government pledges extra £1.6 billion for councils, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the equitable allocation of that extra funding between local authorities in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government continues to work closely with local authorities in the UK to manage the impacts of Covid-19 on households and the most vulnerable in our society.
On 18 April, the UK Government announced an additional £1.6 billion for councils in England, with an extra £300 million allocated for the devolved administrations in Barnett consequentials. Of this, £50 million has been allocated to Northern Ireland.
The allocation of additional funds to Northern Ireland that arise from this announcement are unhypothecated. This means it is for the locally accountable Northern Ireland Executive to determine the most appropriate allocation, rather than the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
The functions of Northern Ireland District Councils and their funding arrangements differ to that of local councils elsewhere in the UK. Whilst English councils have responsibility for the provision of social care, education, libraries, road-building and housing, in Northern Ireland the equivalent functions are carried out by the Northern Ireland Executive.
It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to consider these differences in function in allocating the additional funding made available to Northern Ireland in this announcement.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking on the proposal to exempt local authority owned public conveniences from business rates.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government recognises that local authority owned public toilets are valuable community amenities. However, primary legislation would be required to provide business rates relief for public toilets owned by principal local authorities and parish councils, as such bodies cannot currently have their rates bills reduced through reliefs. The Non-Domestic Rating (Lavatories) Bill, which would have resolved this matter, fell when Parliament was dissolved. The Government will consider reintroducing the measure in due course.