Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to consult on making water companies statutory consultees on certain planning applications.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government committed during the passage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 to consult on whether water companies should become statutory consultees on certain planning applications, and if so, how best to do this. The Secretary of State has since commissioned Sam Richards, to undertake an independent review of statutory consultees within the planning system, with the recommendations from this to be published in March 2024.
We remain committed to this consultation; which will be published later this year. Water companies must continue to engage local planning authorities on their applications at the right time so they can input effectively and not slow down the application process.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many staff are working in the Levelling Up Unit in his Department.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As of 28 April 2023, there are over 700 FTE staff working in the Department’s Levelling Up Group.
To drive delivery of the levelling up agenda, a Director General led group was established under Will Garton, Director General for Levelling Up. The group includes director led units working on strategy and policy, place, delivery, spatial data, funds and area teams based around the country. The group are responsible for work including, but not limited to Investment Zones, Levelling Up Partnerships, Freeports, the devolution agenda in England including the recent Trailblazer agreements secured with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, the department’s role on Anti-Social Behaviour, the Levelling Up Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Community Ownership Fund, legacy funds as well as servicing the Levelling Up Inter Ministerial Group and wider cross-cutting Levelling Up priorities (including the Levelling Up Missions). This activity is support by the Spatial Data Unit and the department’s analytical capability.
Other portfolios within the department’s wider senior leadership team also ensure that Levelling Up is the central mission of the department. There are currently Groups covering Local Government, Resilience and Communities; Building Safety, Grenfell and Net Zero; Regeneration (specifically Housing); Finance; and the Union. Further details will be set out in the department’s organogram which will be updated and published in due course on gov.uk
In early 2022, prior to the establishment of the Levelling Up group and the wider departmental reorganisation, the former Second Permanent Secretary led an external recruitment process for Levelling Up Directors. There were over 500 applicants, but – given the wider departmental changes - Ministers have decided not to proceed with the appointment of the directors.
This renewed and significant senior departmental capacity, combined with the progress of the English devolution agenda, means that we believe that we are best placed to deliver levelling up by working directly with Mayoral Combined Authorities, local government, and the devolved administrations. We will continue to co-ordinate government policy via means of specific, targeted placed based interventions. We are grateful for all those who showed an interest in the roles, and for the work of the Civil Service Commissioner who supported this recruitment.
The department will continue to keep under review its staffing dedicated to its priorities including work driving Levelling Up across the whole of the UK.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the Government plans to respond to the Law Commission’s recommendations relating to National Trust leaseholders, published on 21 July 2020 in the report entitled Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease, HC584 of Session 2019-21.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to creating a fairer and more transparent housing system that works for everyone. Leasehold reform supports our mission to level up homeownership by addressing the power imbalance at the heart of the leasehold system.
In 2017 the Government asked the Law Commission to review existing leasehold legislation. The Law Commission's findings, published in 2020, made clear that under the current system too many leaseholders find the process for extending their lease or buying their freehold too complex, lacking transparency and prohibitively expensive. The Law Commission made a number of recommendations and the government will respond to these, including those relating to National Trust leaseholders, in due course.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what legislative steps he plans to take to ensure National Trust leaseholders can extend their leases; and in what circumstances those leases would be extendable.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to creating a fairer and more transparent housing system that works for everyone. Leasehold reform supports our mission to level up homeownership by addressing the power imbalance at the heart of the leasehold system.
In 2017 the Government asked the Law Commission to review existing leasehold legislation. The Law Commission's findings, published in 2020, made clear that under the current system too many leaseholders find the process for extending their lease or buying their freehold too complex, lacking transparency and prohibitively expensive. The Law Commission made a number of recommendations and the government will respond to these, including those relating to National Trust leaseholders, in due course.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of allowing local authorities to object to planning applications for solar farms due to there being too many (a) already built and (b) pending in the local area.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s recent ‘British Energy Security Strategy’ sets out a series of changes to the planning system to support the delivery of renewable energy infrastructure. These technologies will play a key role in reaching the UK’s ambitious Carbon Budget and Net Zero targets. We will consult on amending planning rules to strengthen policy in favour of solar development on non-protected land, while ensuring communities continue to have a say and environmental protections remain in place.
Solar projects are subject to strict planning controls to protect local communities and the environment. For larger projects (over 50MW in England), planning decisions are made through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime. The NSIP regime is a rigorous process designed to scrutinise larger projects and developers must engage closely with local authorities and communities before approval is granted.
By law, planning applications are determined on their own merits in accordance with the development plan for the area unless material considerations indicate otherwise. There may be occasions though where other existing or approved development may be relevant in determining an application, in particular where it is integral as part of a more substantial development. It is for local planning authorities to consider proposals, they act independently of central Government, and Ministers have limited remit to intervene in their day-to-day affairs, particularly where it is integral as part of a more substantial development.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the Government plans to respond to the Law Commission’s recommendations relating to National Trust leaseholders in its report entitled Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease, published on 21 July 2020.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government remains committed to creating a fair and just housing system that works for everyone. The Government will be taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market.
In 2017 the Government asked the Law Commission to review the legislation on leasehold enfranchisement, with the aim of making it easier, quicker and more cost effective for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease.
The Law Commission's report on enfranchisement includes recommendations relating to how and when leaseholders would qualify for enfranchisement and lease extension rights. This included a proposal on how the rules would apply to leaseholders of the National Trust. We will bring forward a response to this and the other remaining Law Commission recommendations in due course.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to extend the 56 day rule for temporary campsites into 2022.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Nationally set permitted development rights allow for temporary use of land. To support businesses during the COVID-19 restrictions we introduced a new right which increased the length of time during which land can be temporarily used for other purposes, and for moveable structures to be set up on the land. The time was increased from the existing allowances of 28 days generally, and 14 days for particular uses such as motorsports, to 56 days and 28 days respectively.
The right allowing for additional days is due to end on 31 December 2021. This decision was taken on balance, considering the wide nature of the right to allow for the use of land for any purpose and the impacts that this can have on communities.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to amend the Planning Act 2008 to allow Town and Parish Councils to support emergency covid-19 community groups with funding that has been received through the Community Infrastructure Levy.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Neighbourhood Share of the Community Infrastructure Levy ensures that up to 25 per cent of levy revenue is passed to a parish council in the area that development occurred, and provides considerable flexibility over the use of the funding. Parish councils can use the levy to fund anything concerned with addressing the potential demands that development places on their area. This includes provision which may respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as medical infrastructure.
More generally, the Secretary of State has written to principal authorities asking them to work closely with parish councils in order to ensure that the funding support provided to principal authorities has the maximum effect where it is most needed. We continue to encourage parish and town councils to work with their principal authority where they are delivering vital services that have been affected by COVID-19.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his most recent estimate is of the number of housing units with planning permission; and for how many of those work (a) has started on site, (b) is due to start on site and (c) is not yet planned to start.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The latest quarterly National Statistics on planning applications* show that over the past three years 1.14 million housing units were granted planning permission. Planning permissions are typically valid for 3 years before expiry if construction has not commenced. As part of the Government’s ongoing development of the official statistics on housing and planning we are looking at ways to provide more information on the progress of sites with planning permission.