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Written Question
Local Government Pension Scheme: Climate Change
Friday 22nd September 2023

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's expected timeline is to publish its response to the consultation entitled Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales): Governance and reporting of climate change risks.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Government wrote to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Advisory Board on 15 June confirming the proposed requirements will not be implemented relating to the governance or disclosure of climate-related financial risks for the financial year 2023/24. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

As set out in The Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2016, the term “proper advice” means the advice of a person whom the authority reasonably considers to be qualified by their ability in and practical experience of financial matters.


Written Question
Local Government Pension Scheme: Climate Change
Friday 22nd September 2023

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what is meant by proper advice in the Local Government Pension Scheme’s proposed responsibilities on climate risk.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Government wrote to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Advisory Board on 15 June confirming the proposed requirements will not be implemented relating to the governance or disclosure of climate-related financial risks for the financial year 2023/24. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

As set out in The Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2016, the term “proper advice” means the advice of a person whom the authority reasonably considers to be qualified by their ability in and practical experience of financial matters.


Written Question
Housing: Construction
Wednesday 5th July 2023

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

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 publish the technical consultation for the Future Homes Standard.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 190088 on 22 June 2023


Written Question
Local Government Finance
Monday 12th June 2023

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department takes to assess the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) other resources for local authorities.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 184131 on 15 May 2023.


Written Question
Elections: Proportional Representation
Thursday 11th May 2023

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of introducing a system of proportional representation for Parliamentary elections.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

The Government strongly believes that it would be a profound mistake to abandon the British system of voting and move to a system more favoured on the European continent of so-called ‘proportional representation’. The Government was elected on a manifesto which included a commitment to continue to support the use of the First Past the Post voting system which “allows voters to kick out politicians who don’t deliver, both locally and nationally”.

The Government believes the First Past the Post system is a robust and secure way of electing MPs and provides for direct local accountability. It ensures a clear link between elected representatives and their electors in a manner that other voting systems do not


There was a significant vote in favour of retaining First Past the Post for Parliamentary elections at 2011 Referendum while the proposal to introduce an Alternative Vote was rejected by a significant majority (67.9%) of voters. This Government strongly believes in respecting the results of referendums.

Experience of countries across the world with so-called proportional representation (PR) voting systems show that those with that voting system risk fragmented political parties, not grounded in local accountability. PR systems can create Governments which are less stable and more fragile, where inter-party ‘back room’ deals determine policy, and where minority and arguably fringe political parties can hold the balance of power. PR can also mean that political parties’ central establishments are strengthened versus local political parties.

First Past the Post is part of the voting system of the world’s oldest, biggest and greatest democracies including in the United Kingdom, India, and the United States.


Written Question
Land: Sales
Tuesday 25th April 2023

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of proscribing uplift clauses in new land sale agreements.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

We are introducing new transparency measures through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill so that we can better understand interests in land.


Written Question
Affordable Housing: Construction
Monday 27th March 2023

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of affordable housing.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

This Government is determined to increase levels of affordable housing, and as my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has outlined already, we are investing £11.5 billion through our Affordable Homes Programme which will deliver tens of thousands of much needed affordable homes right across the country.

Additionally, we remain committed to delivering at least as much on-site affordable housing through our proposed new Infrastructure Levy.


Written Question
Council Tax: Energy Bills Rebate
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many households have received the council tax rebate as of 14 July 2022.

Answered by Paul Scully

All councils are paying the £150 council tax rebate. The Government intends to publish monitoring data outlining the progress of the scheme’s delivery shortly.


Written Question
Insulation: Housing
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made a comparative regional assessment of the impact of higher temperatures on homes across England during heat waves in the context of a potential variance in the standards of building insulation.

Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)

The English Housing Survey collects a range of information about England's housing stock, including the insulation and construction of dwellings and whether occupants have reported that parts of their home get overheated. According to the 2020-21 survey, occupants in dwellings built with timber, concrete or steel frames or with insulated cavity walls were more likely to report overheating (between 9% and 18%) than those living in masonry or uninsulated solid walled dwellings (between 5% and 8%).

The findings also show that dwelling construction types vary by region. London had the lowest proportion of masonry dwellings and the highest proportion of concrete dwellings compared with other regions.


Written Question
Disabled Facilities Grants
Wednesday 13th July 2022

Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding the Government has allocated to Disabled Facilities Grants in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Government funding allocated to the Disabled Facilities Grant in (a)2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 can be found at the table below.

Disabled Facilities Grant Funding

Financial year

2020-2021

2021-2022

2022-23

Funding (millions)

£573*

£573

£573

*£505 million annual grant plus an additional £68 million paid to local authorities in December 2020