Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 take steps to ensure the provision of adequate funding to support (a) up-to-date local plans and (b) high-quality design codes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Within weeks of taking office, the government consulted on increasing planning fees to put planning services on a firmer footing and to reflect the real costs of the services they provide.
Subject to the outcome of our consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, the government will provide funding to enable eligible local authorities to progress their plans to examination quickly. Further details on the funding will be provided in due course.
More generally, the government is committed to supporting local planning authorities. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system to support capacity and capability in local planning authorities. This includes funding for the recruitment and training of 300 graduate and apprentice planners, along with funding to Public Practice for the recruitment of planners, architects, and urban designers. Together, this framework provides a clear basis for the delivery of more high-quality, well-designed homes.
We are also developing a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need, both now and in the future to modernise local plans and speed up decision making, including through innovative use of digital planning data and software.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to utilise architects to allow development of complex brownfield sites in proposed National Planning Policy Framework reforms.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy sets out the circumstances in which the development of brownfield land is considered appropriate, and the standards that are expected, including a high quality of design. It does not specify the professions which should be involved, which is a matter for the client, but is important that a range of disciplines is brought to bear as appropriate to the nature of the site, and architects will often play a key role. We have set out proposals for how brownfield development could be better supported in our consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and our discussion paper on ‘brownfield passports’.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 infrastructure (a) requirements and (b) costs of her proposed housing reforms.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. This will remain the case irrespective of whether any proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework or wider national planning policy are taken forward.
When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
The Government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 ensure that brownfield land is prioritised for development through full financing on brownfield reclamation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government invests billions of pounds to reclaim brownfield land and make it available for new housing and the creation of employment floor space. Funding is provided through a range of programmes including the £1.5 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund, the £610 million Brownfield Housing Fund and the £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund. These programmes unlock sites across the country that the private sector alone will not deliver, often because they are too contaminated, too large, or need a significant amount of upfront public investment to cover the additional costs associated with the reclamation of brownfield land and bringing it back into productive use.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to implement her proposed changes to planning policy on the green belt within the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government set out details of proposed reforms relating to brownfield, grey belt, and the Green Belt in the consultation on our approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system that began on Tuesday 30 July and closes on Tuesday 24 September.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to amend the Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government set out details of proposed reforms relating to brownfield, grey belt, and the Green Belt in the consultation on our approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system that began on Tuesday 30 July and closes on Tuesday 24 September.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the ban on new leasehold houses to flats.
Answered by Lee Rowley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help improve the take-up of commonhold as an alternative to leasehold ownership.
Answered by Lee Rowley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department will respond to its consultation entitled Modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases, published on 6 December 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what data his Department holds on the number of leasehold homes that have been repossessed under forfeiture in each region since 2010.
Answered by Lee Rowley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.