Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with Harrogate Borough Council about the arrangements for a by-election to fill the vacancy in the Marston Moor ward, following the cancellation of the scheduled election by Article 14(1)(a) of the North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order 2022.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
As I explained in my answer to the Noble Lord, Lord Stunell [HL7179], as a consequence of the North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order, there remains a vacancy in the Marston Moor ward. My officials have had discussions with Harrogate council's officers and we understand that the council, as a consequence of this vacancy, have made arrangements for the residents of Marston Moor ward to be represented on the district council by a member for a neighbouring ward.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to withdraw P&O contracts for freeports following its decision to terminate the employment of 800 staff members.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Business Secretary wrote to the Insolvency Service on 23 March asking them to urgently undertake a thorough enquiry into the actions of P&O Ferries. Following this review the Insolvency Service confirmed on 1st April they have initiated both formal criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancies made by P&O Ferries.
On 28 March 2022 DP World resigned from the Solent Freeport Board and are no longer a partner in the Freeport consortium.
The Government is continuing to work to understand whether DP World or P&O Ferrymasters are in breach of any of the requirements on them as investors in the Thames Freeport.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the plan for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc was not included in their Levelling Up white paper; what is the status of growth plans for the Arc; and whether the Arc plan is being replaced by plans in other areas.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Levelling Up White Paper is the first step in changing the way that Government works with places to deliver for people across the UK. It sets out an ambitious future for devolution across the United Kingdom, including a flexible approach to empowering local areas to deliver on their local ambitions. Our next steps include engaging with local authorities to explore their interest in this approach, including those within the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. We continue to recognise the importance of the Arc as a globally renowned area of innovation for life sciences, space and green technologies. In October 2021, we completed a 12 week public consultation gathering views to shape a vision for an Arc Spatial Framework. We are currently considering the consultation responses and will provide more information in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for establishing ventilation standards for privately owned indoor areas such as shops and entertainment venues.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In England, buildings should be provided with an adequate means of ventilation as a requirement of Part F of the Building Regulations. The Building Regulations apply when a new building is constructed, or work is done to an existing building. We have recently published our response to the Future Buildings Standard Consultation which sets out new guidance on Part F, to come into force in June 2022. The new guidance of relevance to shops and entertainment venues is included in Approved Document F2.
The health and safety legislation which applies to ventilation is Regulation 6 of the Workplace, Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992, which states, ‘Effective and suitable provision shall be made to ensure that every enclosed workplace is ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air.’ The Health and Safety Executive do not establish specific ventilation standards.