Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the (a) ban on evictions for renters and (b) mortgage holidays for landlords during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make it the Government's policy that landlords and tenants work together to establish an affordable repayment plan for rent arrears.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Any decision to alter the duration of the emergency measures brought in to support landlords and tenants during this time will be informed by Public Health England guidance. The Government will take further action, including extending the measures, if necessary
The Government is constantly monitoring the measures it has announced in response to COVID-19, including mortgage holidays. If, following the three-month mortgage holiday, a landlord is unable to begin paying their mortgage, they should reach out to their lender to discuss their options.
The Government has delivered unprecedented financial support to assist tenants with living costs, including rental payments. We have?also?been clear?in guidance?that there is a need for landlords to offer support and understanding to tenants – and any guarantor – who may see their income fluctuate.?This could include reaching a temporary agreement not to seek possession action for a period of time and instead, pause payments or accept a lower level of rent, or agree a plan to pay off arrears at a later date.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
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 to ensure the allocation of the additional £1.6 billion support for local authorities is adequate for borough councils in two-tier systems.
Answered by Simon Clarke
MHCLG continues to work with local agencies, including local authorities, on their preparedness to manage a Covid-19 outbreak.
Allocations of the additional £1.6 billion support for councils to respond to coronavirus were announced on Tuesday 28 April. This is a significant package of support which responds to the range of pressures councils have told us they are facing and takes the total amount provided to local councils to over £3.2 billion. Across both waves of funding, almost 70 per cent of district councils will receive £1 million or more in support, whilst 90 per cent of the funding will go to social care authorities. These allocations provide more funding to lower tier authorities than the first wave of funding.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What steps his Department is taking to help renters affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
This Government has put in place an unprecedented package to support renters during this time. Legislation to increase eviction notice periods, coupled with the Court Service’s suspension of proceedings, mean no renter currently faces the threat of eviction.
We have strengthened the welfare safety-net to help households experiencing financial hardship.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local planning authorities accelerate the delivery of housing set out in their local plans.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In 2018 we introduced a Housing Delivery Test and published the 2019 measurement on 13 February 2020.
On 12 March the Secretary of State set out this Government's plans for housing and planning following the announcements at Budget. This includes continuing to raise the Housing Delivery test threshold to 75 per cent in November 2020, setting a deadline for all local authorities to have an up-to-date local plan by December 2023, and consulting on reforming the New Homes Bonus to reward delivery.
In addition, in the Spring we will be publishing bold and ambitious Planning White Paper which will propose measures to accelerate planning.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to extend the community housing fund for five years.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Community Housing Fund provides the principal source of Government support for the community-led housebuilding sector. The Fund is delivered outside London by Homes England and within London by the Greater London Authority. Capital and revenue grants are available to community-based groups wishing to take forward schemes to build locally affordable housing.
The Community Housing Fund is currently scheduled to close in March 2020. Ministers are considering all budgets in the round and allocations for 2020/21 will be confirmed through a business planning exercise. Allocations for future years will be considered at the next fiscal event.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will allocate additional funds for the replacement of (a) aluminium composite material and (b) high pressure laminate cladding.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government has committed £600 million for the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on high-rise residential buildings. Government intervention is wholly exceptional, and is based on the unparalleled fire risk ACM poses. We are aware of concerns leaseholders have about meeting the cost of remediation of fire safety issues other than ACM cladding remediation on high-rise buildings. Building safety is the responsibility of the building owner, and they should consider all routes to meet costs, protecting leaseholders where they can – for example through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to (a) abolish the Greater Cambridge City Deal and (b) transfer the functions and funding allocated to that deal to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Government has no plans to abolish the Greater Cambridge City Deal. The Greater Cambridge City Deal Investment Funds are subject to a 5-yearly Gateway Review process. We are currently undertaking this review with the Greater Cambridge Partnership and expect to conclude it by the end of the financial year.
If the local area wants to propose changes to governance arrangements, they should bring forward proposals, agreed by all the signatories, and my officials could consult with the relevant departments to consider Government’s response.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to create an East Anglian Mayor and combined authority to cover Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government wants to see more devolution across the country, and we welcome locally backed proposals. The English Devolution White Paper will provide further information on our plans for full devolution across England, increasing the number of mayors and doing more devolution deals.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating funding from the Stronger Towns Fund to Ipswich based on the work of the Ipswich Vision Board.
Answered by Jake Berry
We are pleased to confirm that Ipswich has been selected as one of the first 100 places to benefit from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund. We have been in touch with colleagues in Ipswich and will be working with them to develop their Town Deal. I hope you will continue to play an active role in shaping their plans.