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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funds his Department has provided for the North Essex Garden Communities scheme; and what limits his Department has placed on the expenditure of those funds.

Across England we are already supporting twenty-four locally-led garden cities, towns and villages to be exemplars of quality, design and best practice. All told, they have the potential to deliver up to 220,000 homes across England. This includes the North Essex Garden Communities.

To date, we have provided capacity funding totalling £2.023 million to North Essex Garden Communities via our Garden Towns and Villages programme. This will enable dedicated staff to be employed and sustainable housing growth and infrastructure to be planned for, raising the bar on quality and design and leaving a legacy for future generations to be proud of.

It is for the local authorities to ensure that funding received is spent in line with any grant conditions. Homes England continue to provide delivery expertise to local areas, ensuring that capacity funding is best able to unlock delivery of homes.