Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
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 plans to take to help tackle the backlog in certificate of lawfulness appeals at the planning inspectorate.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs and meeting all Ministerial targets by 2027.
Casework including nationally significant infrastructure projects, local plan examinations, critical Secretary of State casework, appeals against refusal of planning permission and appeals against enforcement notices are currently being prioritised.
In addition, the Inspectorate has designed and developed a new digital Appeals Service currently in Beta phase. This new service improves the process for submitting appeals, including reducing the number of invalid appeals submitted. In turn, this reduces the number of validation checks required and is speeding up the time taken to validate appeals.
The new service has been expanded to cover all local planning authority areas.
The Planning Inspectorate is an Arm's Length Government Body with responsibility for allocation of resources, prioritisation and overall operational performance. The Inspectorate publishes updates on its performance on its website regularly.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to announce which local authorities have been selected for the devolution priority programme.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We received proposals from a number of local authorities on 10 January expressing interest in joining the Devolution Priority Programme. We are reviewing these at pace, and we hope to announce places on the Programme in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on local authorities in Norfolk.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 11851 on 8 November 2024.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
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 (a) Norfolk County Council and (b) North Norfolk District Council on a devolution deal for Norfolk.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.
This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.
Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when her Department plans to bring forward the English Devolution Bill; and how that bill will impact Norfolk.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.
This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.
Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason she has scrapped the proposed devolution deal for Norfolk.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.
This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.
Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving further powers on transport to Norfolk local authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.
This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.
Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
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 provide a devolution deal for Norfolk.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.
This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.
Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.