Stephen Williams
Main Page: Stephen Williams (Liberal Democrat - Bristol West)
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
4. What steps he is taking to encourage local communities to fund social enterprises through crowdfunding and other new forms of finance.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
I follow my ministerial colleague in thanking my immediate predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr Foster), for the smooth handover into this post; it is always a good idea to be nice to the Chief Whip.
My Department established the community shares unit in October 2012, with £590,000 of funding over three years. Since then, communities have raised £16 million from 70 share offer launches. That is a significant increase on the £3 million raised the year before.
Mr Sheerman
I welcome the Minister, who was a very good member of the Education Committee under my chairmanship, to his new job. Is he aware that crowdfunding is how we could get a real renaissance of communities up and down the country? It is in peril at the moment because in the private and social enterprise sectors it is threatened by inappropriate regulation from the Financial Conduct Authority.
Mr Speaker
I am told that the hon. Gentleman has kept a list of all those members of his former Committee who went on to become Ministers. He will have satisfied himself of the causal link.
Stephen Williams
Mr Speaker, there are many distinguished alumni of that Committee, and I greatly enjoyed my three and a half years under the hon. Gentleman’s chairmanship.
The hon. Gentleman is chair of the Westminster crowdfunding forum. At the moment, the sector is completely unregulated; I am aware that the hon. Gentleman has recently raised concerns in The Sunday Times. If he has specific concerns about the heavy hand of regulation, he should write to me and I shall raise the matter with colleagues at the Treasury, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office.
Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)
5. What steps he is taking to promote the take-up of the community rights introduced by the Localism Act 2011.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
The provisions of the Localism Act 2011 have been able to be adopted for the past 12 months, and there have already been more than 1,000 such uses. We continue to promote use of the 2011 Act through local partners and the media. In addition, I am discussing the potential for cross-Government working, combining community rights and volunteering.
Sheryll Murray
A play park in East Looe in my constituency has been identified for possible housing development. It is the only green space in the area where children can play and where wildlife can live. What steps can the residents take under community rights to protect their long established and important local amenity?
Stephen Williams
My hon. Friend and other coalition colleagues across Cornwall will be pleased to know that Cornwall is a hotspot for use of the 2011 Act. In my first couple of days in office, officials showed me a map revealing that the 2011 Act had been incredibly popular, with more than 50 assets so far having been registered as being of community use. Through local plans across Cornwall itself, or through neighbourhood plans, local communities should be able to identify areas for special protection and use a local neighbourhood plan to attract sufficient homes, jobs and other essential services. My advice to my hon. Friend is that she should perhaps use a neighbourhood plan.
Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)
When the Secretary of State visited ex-Ministry of Defence sites in Lincolnshire, he saw first hand the poor state they can be left in when the transfer of community assets is done badly by the MOD. What discussions has the Department for Communities and Local Government had with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that in future there is better transfer of assets, such as those in the Kirton-in-Lindsey area in my constituency, and that we do not have continuing sores in our communities, as has been the case in parts of Lincolnshire as a result of heritage?
Stephen Williams
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue; he will understand that I have not been aware of it in my first couple of weeks in office. I understand that the Secretary of State is aware of it and has already corresponded with the Ministry of Defence about it. I am sure that we will be in touch as soon as we hear an answer from ministerial colleagues.
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)
Will the Minister join me in congratulating my parish council in Chalfont St Peter on taking advantage of the Localism Act and producing a fantastic neighbourhood plan, which has been published this month and will be consulted on until 29 November? Does he agree that an important part of localism is getting local people to respond to such plans? Will he give some encouraging words from the Dispatch Box to residents in Chalfont St Peter, to ensure that we get maximum feedback on that excellent local plan?
Stephen Williams
One of the areas I was really pleased to find that I had responsibility for when I took up this post was neighbourhood planning, because my own constituency has made good use of it. The residents of Chalfont St Peter should be congratulated on embarking on this process. I am sure that any assistance that the Department can give and any guidance that is available will lend a hand.
Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
6. What steps his Department is taking to bring empty and redundant buildings back into use.
Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)
13. What estimate he has made of the average cost of adapting properties for disabled people who move home because of the under-occupancy penalty.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
We have provided local authorities with £25 million of discretionary housing payments this year to assist under-occupying disabled people who live in significantly adapted accommodation and who are affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy to remain in their homes.
Cathy Jamieson
Does the Minister agree that it makes absolutely no sense to move people who have had their homes adapted to other homes where they are in danger of having to incur further costs on the public purse? I have heard from people who received a discretionary housing payment in the first round, and they are now being told that they will not get one. Will the Minister assure my constituents, and those across the country, that they will not be forced out of their homes when they have a disability?
Stephen Williams
The fund is discretionary so it is up to local authorities—including those in Scotland—to decide how to spend the money. We would obviously expect them to take into account the public money spent on that property previously, and consider what is in the best interests of the tenant.
Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
I welcome the Minister to his new responsibilities.
More than half of those hit by the bedroom tax are disabled, and nine out of 10 disabled people who are not receiving discretionary housing benefit are cutting back on food or bills and having to choose between heating or eating. Does the Minister advise them to put on another jumper, skip a meal, or move to a non-adapted property that then has to be adapted at huge cost to the taxpayer?
Stephen Williams
I, too, welcome the hon. Lady to her post.
I would not presume to advise an individual at all; each individual must make up their own mind about how they will adapt to a change in circumstances. I advise local authorities, housing associations and local advice bureaux to work holistically with each tenant affected by the policy, and to consider what advice and support can be given so that they can transition to the new arrangements.
Pamela Nash (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)
14. What assessment he has made of the availability of smaller properties for people affected by the under-occupancy penalty.
Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
18. What assessment he has made of the availability of smaller properties for people affected by the under-occupancy penalty.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
The Department and the Homes and Communities Agency publish information annually on the number of social rented properties by size, and during the year the number of properties available for letting will vary.
Pamela Nash
I welcome the Minister to his new position, but I must say that that answer was rather vague. It has been reported that there are enough one and two-bedroom social housing properties for only 4% of those affected by the bedroom tax. Does the Minister expect the other 96% of those affected to go into private lets? If so, will that not send housing benefit payments shooting upwards, rather than cutting them?
Stephen Williams
Clearly, the implementation of this policy will take a while, and each tenant must weigh up their own circumstances and consider how they adapt. As I said previously, I expect local authorities to work with all housing providers in an area, including the private sector—in my constituency more people rent in the private sector than in the public sector—and consider the best use of stock and what assistance is most appropriate for the individual.
Meg Hillier
In Hackney, 3,581 households are affected by the bedroom tax, and since April only 70 have been helped into smaller accommodation. The scale of the problem is such that to meet demand we need just under 2,000 one-bedroom properties, and just over 1,200 two- bedroom properties. The Minister may say that we should look at other solutions, but what solutions does he suggest for a borough such as Hackney?
Stephen Williams
I do not have information for the hon. Lady’s constituency, but across London 78% of people on housing benefit are unaffected by these changes, and many of the balance will be affected only by one bedroom. As I said, I expect local authorities, including Hackney, to look across all housing providers in the area and consider best use of the stock. The hon. Lady’s constituency and mine are not utterly dissimilar, and there may be people living in overcrowded accommodation in the private sector who could move into houses that are freed up in the social sector. Then everyone would be better off.
Lyn Brown (West Ham) (Lab)
Will the Minister confirm that the Government will save money with their bedroom tax only if families who are hit are unable to move? Will he be clear: will the bedroom tax be a success if people move, or if they cannot?
Stephen Williams
Each circumstance is different. As I said to the hon. Lady’s London colleague, the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier)—I am sure this is also true in West Ham—there may be people living in overcrowded conditions in the private sector who desperately want bigger accommodation that is available only in the public sector. That is the housing casework that has come to me over the past eight and a half years of representing an inner-city constituency. We are spending huge amounts supporting people in overcrowded conditions, and across the private and public sectors we are not making best use of the housing stock available.
Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)
19. If he will make it his policy that planning authorities ensure that section 106 agreements produce adequate funds to finance the building of schools forming part of the planning approval when granting consents for major residential developments.
Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)
22. What steps he is taking to promote the take-up of the community rights introduced by the Localism Act 2011.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to our colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall (Sheryll Murray), in Question 5.
Graham Evans
Will the Minister explain how his Department is providing information, guidance and funding to help community groups in my constituency to exercise their rights?
Stephen Williams
Yes. The Department has so far made £60 million available to communities to support them in taking up their community rights. I advise the hon. Gentleman to advise his constituents to look at the booklet we have published, “You’ve got the power”, and—more likely—at the website, mycommunityrights. org.uk.
Mr David Crausby (Bolton North East) (Lab)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)
Tenants in Nottingham who have been forced to downsize from a two-bed social home to a one-bed private sector home can expect to pay an extra £24.83 a week in rent. The Secretary of State’s bedroom tax is a costly mess; why does he not scrap it?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
We do not scrap it because we need to save money right across government. One of the major problems of implementing this policy is the lack of house building—[Interruption.] I know that the hon. Lady is from the 2010 intake and that Labour Members of that intake like to think that 2010 is year zero, but during the 13 years when some of her colleagues were in power, not enough affordable housing was built. That is the problem.
Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)
More green belt and green space is under threat in my constituency than ever before, and local people marched in protest yet again at the weekend. Will Ministers tell them why local councillors are being told to pay absolute attention to econometric models and unelected inspectors and not to local people?