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 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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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.
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 Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 31 December 2021 (HL4983), whether they considered reactivating section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 for England in light of the Omicron variant; and if so, what were their reasons for not doing so.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We launched a call for evidence on 25 March to gather views and inform a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely on a permanent basis. The call for evidence closed on 17 June.
The Department has considered the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond in due course.
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 spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, whether local government bodies can hold meetings remotely if they choose.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
A High Court judgement handed down on 27 April 2021 confirmed that the Local Government Act 1972 specifies that council meetings must take place in person at a single, specified, geographical location and being “present” at such a meeting involves physical presence at that location.
This judgement confirmed that the regulations which allowed local authorities to meet remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic did not apply to meetings after 6 May 2021.
Any permanent change would require primary legislation, and would depend upon Parliamentary time being available.
Non-statutory or other informal meetings where local authorities deem that in-person attendance is not required can be held virtually.
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 steps they are taking to ensure that recycled rainwater is used in (1) new dwellings, (2) refurbished dwellings, and (3) commercial buildings.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Building Regulations 2010 Parts G & H include requirements relating to water efficiency and grey water harvesting. For new homes, statutory guidance for Part G of the Building Regulations includes a minimum standard for estimated water consumption set at 125 litres per person per day, and an optional standard of 110 litres per person per day, which may be adopted in water stressed areas at the discretion of the local planning authority.
In July 2021, Government responded to its consultation on Measures to Reduce Personal Water Consumption (attached) https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/water-conservation-measures-to-reduce-personal-water-use . Within this consultation response we committed to developing a roadmap, in 2022, towards greater water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including the exploration of revised building regulations and how the development of new technologies can contribute to meeting these standards. We will ensure that the underlying legislation can, where appropriate, accommodate any potential future expansion of rainwater harvesting, water re-use and storage options.
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 steps they are taking to ensure that all new (1) residential, and (2) commercial, developments have Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in their designs.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
There is a clear expectation in the National Planning Policy Framework for the provision of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in all new major developments, unless demonstrated to be inappropriate. The Framework also expects SuDS to be given priority in developments in flood risk areas.
Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) sets out further detail on SuDS options that favour non-sewer solutions and recognises the multiple benefits SuDS can provide including mitigating flood risk.
Furthermore, the Government has committed to undertake a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 concerning SuDS. This review will look at methods for ensuring that SuDS are incorporated in future developments. The review commenced in October 2021 and is expected to be published in August 2022.
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 Economics Statistics Centre of Excellence Estimating the UK population during the pandemic, published on 14 January, what plans they have to adjust their plans for housing provision as a result of population changes following (1) the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Following consultation in August 2020 on proposed changes to the standard method for assessing local housing need, it was apparent that certainty and stability are important for our local communities, local authorities, and developers, especially in light of the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In December, we therefore changed the method to focus greater need into authorities containing the largest proportion of the 20 most populated cities and urban centres in England, while other authorities saw no change compared to the previous method.
It is not yet clear what impact COVID-19 or our departure from the European Union will have on population estimates, if any. However, while we expect local authorities to plan, for a minimum period of 15 years, they can review their plans for housing during this period and must do so at least once every five years. This enables them to take into account changes in circumstances and to ensure policies remain effective.
As with all policies we will monitor the impact of the new standard method, including as any longer-term impact from changes to the way we live and work become clear. Our December announcement enables local areas to get on and plan based on a method and level of ambition that they are familiar with. This ensures that the planning system keeps moving, so it can play its full part in the economic recovery to come.
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 (1) how much money has been allocated in total to the COVID-19 Secure Marshal programme, (2) how many marshals have been employed, (3) for how long such marshals have been contracted to work, (4) in which local authorities those marshals are located, and (5) what assessment they have made of the impact of such marshals on the level of adherence to social distancing rules.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In October last year, the Government announced £30 million of ringfenced grant funding to unitary and lower tier authorities to support COVID-19 compliance and enforcement activity. The funding can be used for a range of activity to encourage business, individual and community adherence to COVID-19 rules. It is ringfenced for any activity which will support compliance and enforcement of COVID-19 regulations guidance, including funding for COVID-19 Marshals or their equivalents such as stewards or ambassadors, thereby helping to control the spread of COVID-19 across individuals, businesses and in the community.
Local authorities are best placed to determine how best to use their grant allocations to encourage adherence to COVID-19 rules. To date, authorities have reported grant allocations have been used to recruit COVID-19 Marshals or their equivalents and for overtime costs of existing staff, staff training to work on COVID-19 compliance and communications activity to promote understanding of COVID-19 regulatory and guidance requirements. The Department has issued a request for all local authorities in receipt of the grant to report the activity funded and its impact.