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

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of reports that some English councils will sell assets to fund services, what specific safeguards or criteria they plan to put in place to ensure that such sales do not compromise the protection of community cultural assets.

The department already has mechanisms in place to help with the safeguarding of local assets. A public or privately owned asset can be nominated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) if its principal use furthers the community’s social well-being. When a listed asset comes to be sold, a moratorium on the sale (of up to six months) may be invoked, providing local community groups with a better chance to raise finance, develop a business and bid to buy the asset on the open market.

The decision of whether an ACV nomination meets the statutory test set out in the Localism Act 2011 is a decision for the local authority and they must publish a list of their decisions. The Government does not hold a central list of this information or become involved in local decisions, as it is appropriate these issues are dealt with at a local level and local authorities are accountable to local people for the decisions they take.

Local groups can also apply to the £150 million Community Ownership Fund to protect treasured local assets which make the biggest difference to their community. We have already invested £103.2 million to support 333 projects across the UK.