Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the procedure is for provision of funding for current ESF supported projects in Northern Ireland where they are identified as the most appropriate delivery route and in line with the Shared Prosperity Fund’s objectives.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will support the UK Government’s wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK by delivering on each of the Levelling Up objectives. In Northern Ireland the Fund will be delivered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), working closely with Northern Ireland partners through a Partnership Group to design a Northern Ireland Investment Plan.
DLUHC will pursue a varied approach to market in Northern Ireland. This could involve delivery at NI-scale, sub-regionally or locally, as well as commissioning or project competitions. The approach will be guided by the UKSPF Investment Plan for Northern Ireland. Further information on commissioning and project competitions will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the size of the private rented housing sector; and whether their policy is to decrease that size.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The proportion of households living in the private rented sector (PRS) has remained relatively stable over the past decade. The English Housing Survey shows that in 2012-13, the PRS accounted for 18% of households in England. In 2015-16, this increased slightly to 20%, decreasing slightly to 19% in 2019-20, and remaining stable at 19% households in 2020-21.
Most people want to buy their own home one day and the government is firmly committed to helping Generation Rent to become Generation Buy. However, we also appreciate that this is not everyone's aspiration and that there are many people for whom renting a home is either a more practical or more affordable option. The PRS remains an important part of the housing market for the 4.4 million households who live there.
The recent White Paper, 'A Fairer Private Rented Sector', sets out how the government will deliver a fairer, more secure, and higher quality PRS. The reforms are designed to provide good landlords with the support they need, and to make sure they have the confidence to continue operating in the market. We will continue to talk to landlords, local councils and other interested groups while monitoring the impact of our reforms on the sector.
The government also strongly supports the expansion of the Build to Rent (BtR) market. BtR boosts housing supply, diversifies the private rental sector and increases quality and choice for renters in cities and towns across England. To support this, we have revised the National Planning Policy Framework and issued a new chapter of planning guidance to support the delivery of more BtR homes, including affordable rental homes.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2022 to Question 6749 on Affordable Housing and Social Rented Housing, for what reason his Department has not set a target for the numbers of affordable homes; and what the key performance indicators for the Affordable Homes Programme for 2021-2026 are.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
As the Levelling Up White paper set out, getting people onto the housing ladder means making housing more affordable now and in the future. The Government has committed to deliver 1 million new homes by the end of this Parliament and continue working towards its ambition of delivering 300,000 new homes per year to create a more sustainable and affordable housing market.
The Government does not set a national target for affordable housing delivery. Whilst the Government’s standard method is used to identify the total number of homes needed in a local area, the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that it is for local authorities to identify the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and reflect this in planning policies.
Our £11.5 billion 2021 – 26 Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country.
Around half the homes will be for affordable and social rent and we will deliver more than double the amount of social rent compared to the current programme, with around 32,000 social rent homes due to be delivered.
Approximately half of the homes delivered will be for affordable home ownership, supporting aspiring homeowners to take their first step on to the housing ladder.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will commit to ensuring that all forms of affordable housing, including homes at Discount Market Sale, are granted exemption from the infrastructure levy proposed in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Infrastructure Levy will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally, to largely replace the complex and discretionary section 106 regime and CIL charge.
The Government is committed to the delivery of on-site affordable housing through the Levy, and to delivering at least as much, if not more, affordable housing than at present. We will introduce through regulations a new 'right to require'. Local authorities will be able to require that a proportion of the Levy liability to be paid as in-kind, onsite affordable housing.
We do not intend to charge the Levy on affordable housing, and will consult on the details of our proposed approach. Exemptions and reductions with regards to the Levy will be set out through regulations.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will intervene to prevent (a) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council selling its portfolio of beach huts without inviting open market bids and (b) a company owned and controlled by that Council from acquiring the beach huts with debt finance; and if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of that transaction on that Council's compliance with his Department's guidance on the flexible use of capital receipts.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
We want to support local authorities to invest in projects that increase efficiency and deliver future savings.
On 4 April, the government announced details under which it would extend the general direction that permits receipts from asset disposals to be used to fund the revenue costs of projects that reduce costs and improve service delivery. The direction issued will allow authorities to continue to use this freedom until 2024/25.
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they comply with the direction and guidance, and will need to demonstrate - including to their auditors - that they have used the flexibility appropriately.
Further, the government expects authorities to act within the intent and spirit in which these freedoms are provided. If there are indications that authorities are not using the direction as intended, we will carefully consider what further action is needed.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will take steps to ensure that there are more available affordable rental properties in response to the recently published survey by Propertymark which found that the number of available rentals had halved.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Private Rented Sector remains an important part of the housing market, with 4.4 million households currently in the Private Rented Sector.
We are investing £11.5 billion in the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, which will build up to 180,000 affordable homes, should economic conditions allow. Around half of these will be for sub-market rent, and half for affordable home ownership. We also strongly support expansion of the Build to Rent (BtR) market. BtR boosts housing supply, diversifies the private rental sector and increases quality and choice for renters in cities and towns across England. We have revised the National Planning Policy Framework and issued a new chapter of planning guidance to support the delivery of more BtR homes, including affordable rental homes.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the Local Government Association entitled Work local: unlocking talent to level up, published on 10 May 2022, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of proposals for an integrated and devolved employment and skills service; and if she will make it her policy to implement the Work Local model in full.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is supportive of better integration of employment and skills services. The Levelling Up White Paper (LUWP), published on 2 February 2022, established three Employment and Skills Pathfinders: in Blackpool, Walsall and Barking and Dagenham. The UK Government will bring greater alignment to the delivery of employment and skills interventions in these areas. This is a joint project between DWP and the Department for Education (DfE), the Department responsible for further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills and funding in England. The Pathfinders are bringing together local delivery partners to share understanding of local employers’ skills needs, support people into work, and identify progression opportunities for people in part-time work.
The LUWP also established an ‘English Devolution Framework.’ It takes a tiered approach to devolution and enables DWP to offer local government, a single institution or County Council with a directly elected Mayor, a role in the design and delivery of future contracted employment programmes. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is leading devolution deal negotiations with those areas identified in the LUWP.
DWP works closely with local government to understand local labour market issues and reflect these in our employment support and is committed to working with the LGA to strengthening our engagement, alongside other local government organisations.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 is taking to increase the supply of (a) scaffolding and (b) scaffolders required to remediate buildings with dangerous cladding in London.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department is supporting industry in responding to the challenge of making sure buildings with unsafe cladding are remediated at pace including consideration of ways to address capacity issues across the sector. We are continually engaging with delivery partners and contractors to monitor constraint issues in the construction market, including scaffolding, and work to mitigate against the impact of market capacity issues on the remediation programmes.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Green Alliance Closing the UK's green skills gap, published on 11 January; and what plans they have to develop a national framework for green jobs which (1) is regularly updated, and (2) outlines the skills required for the transition.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We welcome the Green Alliance’s report on closing the UK’s skills gap. The government is committed to supporting green skills across the country and a number of measures are in place to ensure we are supporting the labour market transition to net zero.
At the recent Spending Review, we set out investment of £3.8 billion in further education and skills over the course of the parliament as a whole, to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that leads to good jobs, addresses skills gaps, boosts productivity and supports levelling up. This includes funding for programmes to support green skills crucial to the net zero transition.
In November 2020, we launched the Green Jobs Taskforce, working in partnership with business, local areas, skills providers, and unions, to ensure we have the skilled workforce to deliver net zero and our Ten Point Plan. Following that, and building on the Skills for Jobs White Paper, the Net Zero Strategy was published in October 2021 and set out how the government’s skills reforms will support teachers understanding of sustainability, strengthen links between employers and providers, support workers in high carbon sectors with the transition, and help to build a pipeline of future talent.
Through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, we are supporting workers to gain the skills they need to transition to the green economy, including through targeted support for retraining. As part of this and through the National Skills Fund investment, we are delivering Skills Bootcamps, which are short, flexible courses covering digital, technical and green skills. Green Skills Bootcamps are available in areas such as housing retrofit, solar, nuclear energy and vehicle electrification.
The Free Courses for Jobs offer has, since April 2021, been supporting adults who do not have a qualification at Level 3 or higher to access over 400 Level 3 courses for free. The offer currently includes qualifications linked to green sectors such as Agriculture, Building and Construction, Engineering, Environmental Conservation, Horticulture and Forestry and Science. This offer replaces loan funding with grant funding for any adult over the age of 23 looking to achieve their first level 3 qualification. In addition, we have recently announced that, from April this year, any adult in England who is earning under the National Living Wage annually (£18,525) or unemployed will also be able to access these qualifications for free, regardless of their prior qualification level.
At post-16 level, we will continue to build on our apprenticeship reforms, to align the majority of post-16 technical education and training with employer-led standards by 2030. A strengthened system of employer-led standards, underpinning apprenticeships, T Levels and new higher technical qualifications will ensure employers, including in low carbon sectors, have a central role in designing and developing qualifications and training.
We are also introducing Local Skills Improvement Plans, which will be developed by employer representative bodies working closely with employers, post-16 education and training providers and key local stakeholders. These Plans will articulate unmet and future skills needs and key changes needed to ensure technical skills provision is responsive to local labour market skills needs. Through the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, we are legislating to put the employer leadership of these plans on a statutory footing and ensure they consider skills needed to help deliver on our net zero target, adaptation to climate change, and other environmental goals.
Going forward, a new Green Jobs Delivery Group will be the central forum through which government, industry and other key stakeholders work together to ensure that the UK has the workforce needed to deliver a green industrial revolution.
The Group will include ministerial representation from the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Education, the Department for Work and Pensions, and other departments as required. It will also importantly be co-chaired by an industry representative to ensure an inclusive view of the action on green jobs needed for net zero and wider environmental goals.
The Group will be active for the duration of this parliament and will aim to drive forward industry and government action across a range of topics, which might include: ensuring we have the skilled workforce to deliver net zero and wider environmental goals in line with the UK’s levelling up agenda; ensuring workers and communities in high carbon sectors are supported with the transition in the wider context of the UK’s levelling up agenda; better understanding and addressing barriers to recruitment, retention and progression in green jobs (including quality of work, pay, conditions, image, etc); ensuring green jobs are open to all; building on the work of the Green Jobs Taskforce to develop a clearer understanding of the green economy and how to define and measure it.
Taken together, and alongside the wider suite of reforms to the skills system being implemented by government in partnership with industry, these measures will help to ensure more people can get the skills they need to enter and progress within green jobs.
Asked by: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Associated Retirement Community Operators on expanding housing-with-care.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The white paper commits to incentivise the supply of supported housing, including housing-with-care and integrated retirement communities through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund, with £213 million available over the next three years. This is alongside a new £300 million investment to connect housing with health and care, increase the supply of supported housing and local expenditure on services for those in supported housing.
We will work with local authorities, housing providers and others to design and establish this new investment. Further detail on how this will be targeted and the impact we expect to deliver will be made available as it develops. We are engaging with stakeholders from the private and social sectors, including the Associated Retirement Community Operators, to inform future cross-Government action to stimulate a specialist housing market. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models, including proposals for a cross-Government taskforce.