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Written Question
Local Plans
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the new National Planning Policy Framework; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any delay in its publication on the production of local plans.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

Government is clear that it expects plan making to continue as we move towards the new system, following royal assent of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. As part of that we are closely monitoring those areas that have failed to keep plans up to date.

We intend to publish updates to the National Planning Policy Framework later in 2023 and are carefully considering how the changes should be implemented to encourage and support different authorities to progress their plans to adoption.


Written Question
Planning Permission
Thursday 20th July 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of (a) the use of retrospective planning applications following deliberate breaches of planning rules, and (b) the level of resources available to local authorities to resist such breaches, and (2) what plans they have to prohibit inappropriate developments using retrospective planning applications and to prevent resubmissions of failed applications with only marginal changes to the proposal.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government does not collect data on retrospective planning applications. We have introduced measures in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill to tighten up the retrospective planning application process, which is being considered by both Houses of Parliament. We have recently consulted on doubling the fees for retrospective planning applications and sought views on potential ways to improve developer accountability and, in particular, take account of past irresponsible behaviour in decision making. We also intend to consult on updating national planning policy to give increased weight against intentional unauthorised development so it can be dealt with more robustly in decisions.


Written Question
Owner Occupation: Rents
Thursday 29th June 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to assist part-owners of homes who may be unable to sell as a result of conditions of rent charges allowing repossession; and what estimate they have made of the numbers of homeowners affected.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

We want to make estate management companies more accountable to their freeholders for how their money is spent.

When Parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to legislate to ensure that freehold homeowners who pay estate rent charges have the right to challenge their reasonableness and to go to the tribunal to appoint a manager to manage the provision of services.

In addition, we will remove the statutory right for owners of rent charges to take possession or grant a lease of the property in the event of non-payment by the homeowner.


Written Question
Construction: Stone
Tuesday 2nd May 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of stone as a relatively low-carbon building material; and what steps they are taking to promote research and development of its use.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Depending on how stone is quarried and how far it is transported, it is likely to be a relatively low-carbon material. We are carrying out research into the impact of measuring embodied carbon and methods of reducing it across building types - including the contributions that could be made by different material choices. We will set out further announcements in due course.


Written Question
Elections: Proof of Identity
Monday 27th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of eligible voters who may be unable to vote at polling stations due to the new Voter ID legislation, either because of (1) a lack of acceptable ID, or (2) a lack of awareness of the new requirements; and what training is being provided for (a) polling station officers, and (b) returning officers, to ensure that they prepared to judge the (i) veracity of official documents, and (ii) the authenticity of photo IDs.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the Noble Lady to the Commons UQ response here, to the Cabinet Office published survey on levels of ownership of photographic identification, and to the New Burdens funding methodology for the Elections Act 2022 available here.

Information regarding applications for Voter Authority Certificates is published online. The rejection of an application is a matter for the relevant Electoral Registration Officer.

The Association of Electoral Administrators is providing relevant training for Returning Officers.

The Office for Students encourages higher education providers to promote electoral registration. Students can register at their home address or their term-time address or both.


Written Question
Local Government: Elections
Monday 27th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how successfully local authorities will be able to implement the new Voter ID legislation at the local elections in May.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the Noble Lady to the Commons UQ response here, to the Cabinet Office published survey on levels of ownership of photographic identification, and to the New Burdens funding methodology for the Elections Act 2022 available here.

Information regarding applications for Voter Authority Certificates is published online. The rejection of an application is a matter for the relevant Electoral Registration Officer.

The Association of Electoral Administrators is providing relevant training for Returning Officers.

The Office for Students encourages higher education providers to promote electoral registration. Students can register at their home address or their term-time address or both.


Written Question
Elections: Proof of Identity
Friday 24th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in England had applied for the Voter Authority Certificate by 1 March; how many applications had been rejected; how many Voter Authority Certificates had been issued; what estimate they have made of the number of voters that will need a Voter Authority Certificate; and what estimate they have made of the number of people who will apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the noble Lady to the answer given to Question UIN 165271 (attached) on 20 March 2023.


Written Question
Homelessness
Monday 9th January 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of households at risk of being made homeless over the coming year by landlords who cannot meet their costs at current levels of rent given the increase in interest rates; and what steps they intend to take to protect such households.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

No such assessment has been made. The causes of homelessness are complex, and it is driven by a range of factors, both personal and structural.

Government is committed to preventing homelessness where possible. We have announced the allocation of £654 million in funding through the Homelessness Prevention Grant that will be made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and 2024/25. This is in addition to the £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant for 2022/23 announced earlier in December.

This is on top of the action Government has taken to support households with the cost of living. At Autumn statement, the Chancellor announced further support for 2023/24. This included a 10.1% increase in benefits from April 2023, and extra support provided to all households with the Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.


Written Question
Energy: Storage
Thursday 8th December 2022

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the planning barriers to the installation of significantly scaled battery storage units in England; and what plans they have to boost their rollout.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

It is for local authorities to determine planning applications for battery storage installations where development comes forward, taking into account the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as a material consideration which is clear that the planning system should support our transition to a low carbon future. As set out in the Net Zero Strategy, and as part of our programme of changes to the planning system, we will review the NPPF to ensure it contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation as fully as possible.

The Government's British Energy Security Strategy reflects the importance of flexibility for our energy security.


Written Question
Medical Equipment: Power Failures
Wednesday 30th November 2022

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to support local councils in the protection of individuals who are dependent on life-critical support machines during power blackouts.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer to Question UIN 77488 (attached) on 11 November 2022.