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 homes which were adapted for disabled users have been sold under the right to buy programme in the last 20 years; and what was the rate of replacement of these homes, either by (1) construction, or (2) adaptation.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government does not collect statistics on this particular area.
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 total reduction in funds available for social housing in England since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Funding for new build affordable and social housing is made available through the Affordable Homes Programme. Since 2010 there have been 4 main programmes:
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 consideration they have given to devolving the control of the social rent cap to local government.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government believes that there is considerable benefit in providing a consistent national framework for calculating maximum rents on Social Rent and Affordable Rent properties, regardless of whether the landlord happens to be local authority or a private registered provider. This framework, although set nationally, takes local factors into account and gives individual social landlords the discretion to set lower rents where they wish to do so.
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 which local authorities have submitted expressions of interest for Investment Zones; whether they will publish this information as a map; and which of these sites fall into (1) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, (2) National Parks, and (3) the Green Belt.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We are assessing the proposals received through the recent Expression Of Interest process. Policy announcements will be made in the usual way.
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 plans they have to amend (1) planning rules, and (2) other regulations, in national parks included within the boundaries of freeport zones.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
By delivering investment on specific priority sites, Freeports will create thousands of high-quality jobs in some of our most disadvantaged communities. These sites have been carefully selected for their suitability for development by the local Freeport coalition, which comprises key private partners and Local Authorities who, importantly, provide democratic accountability for the actions of the Freeport. The development sites sit within an 'outer boundary' which sets the limit for how far apart they can be and broadly indicates the area they expect to benefit most directly from the Freeport's economic impacts. This in no way means that the area has been earmarked for development nor does this confer any special planning status. Local Authorities retain all their statutory powers and responsibilities, including responsibility for providing planning permission. Freeport status in no way undercuts the local planning process and there is no change to the current planning and environment status of national parks.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the findings of the report by the National Association of Local Councils, What can local councils do on climate change?, published on 25 October 2021.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Town and parish councils have an important role in improving the well-being of their communities and helping them overcome challenges, including climate change. The Government welcomes the 2021 report by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), who we meet regularly with at a ministerial and official level.
The Levelling Up White Paper outlines the UK Government’s plans to set up a Neighbourhood Governance Review to examine the effectiveness of current arrangements and make it easier for local people and community groups to come together to set local priorities and shape the future of their neighbourhoods. As the membership body for parish councils, NALC will be a key stakeholder of this work.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that (1) disabled councillors, (2) those shielding from COVID-19 or other illnesses, and (3) those with caring responsibilities, are able (a) to legally participate in council proceedings remotely, and (b) to be recorded as present at the meeting.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government launched a call for evidence last year to gather views and inform a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely and enable councillors to attend meetings remotely, if necessary, on a permanent basis. The Department has considered the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to allowing job-sharing councillors to enable more people with (1) disabilities, and (2) caring responsibilities, (a) to stand for, and (b) to serve in, the positions.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government launched a call for evidence last year to gather views and inform a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely and enable councillors to attend meetings remotely, if necessary, on a permanent basis. The Department has considered the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of candidates in the May 2022 council elections have a disability; and what plans they have (1) to enable, and (2) to assist, disabled candidates (a) to participate in local elections, and (b) to serve as councillors.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
It is the Government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office.
DLUHC do not hold or collect data centrally on percentages of candidates standing for local election. However, DLUHC has developed a new scheme to support disabled people seeking to become local candidates and to support those who have been elected to local public office. This work is a part of the 2022/23 local government improvement programme, delivered largely by the LGA, launched in April this year.
The scheme includes:
The full 2022-2023 Sector Support Offer for local councils is available (attached) on the LGA website: https://local.gov.uk/publications/sector-support-offer-2022-23
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the United Nations Sand and Sustainability: 10 strategic recommendations to avert a crisis, published on 26 April, what plans they have (1) to promote global action, and (2) to promote protection of that resource; and what assessment they have made of UK (a) supplies, (b) use, and (c) conservation, of sand.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Aggregate mineral surveys have been regularly undertaken by the Government since 1973. These provide an in-depth assessment of national and sub-national sales, inter-regional flows, transportation, consumption and permitted reserves of primary aggregates. The survey provides comprehensive data for monitoring and facilitating aggregates provision at a local, regional and national level.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) recognises that it is essential that there is a sufficient supply of minerals to provide the infrastructure, buildings, energy and goods that the country needs. It is clear that as minerals are a finite natural resource, best use needs to be made of them to secure their long term conservation. This is why mineral planning authorities are required to safeguard mineral resources through their planning policies, by defining Mineral Safeguarding Areas and Mineral Consultation Areas. Furthermore, the NPPF is clear that local planning authorities should not normally permit other development proposals in Mineral Safeguarding Areas if it might constrain potential future use for mineral working.