Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that money saved by local authorities is spent on improving (1) the standard, and (2) the availability, of public lavatories should the Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Bill be passed by Parliament.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government recognises the importance of public lavatories. The Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Bill would provide a 100% business rates relief to properties that consist wholly or mainly of public lavatories. This would reduce running costs and help keep these valuable public amenities open. The Government recognises that local authorities are best placed to make decisions on spending based on local needs and priorities and has a long-standing policy of not ring-fencing funding.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on Crawley and the surrounding area of the redundancies announced by Gatwick Airport; and what plans they have to provide additional support to the local authorities concerned.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Government is working with the Crawley Economic Recovery Task Force to support Crawley and the surrounding area.
We have provided local authorities with an unprecedented package of support, allocating £4.3 billion of support for?spending?pressures, including £3.7 billion of un-ringfenced grants and the £600 million Infection Control Fund. Crawley Borough Council have received £1.39 million in emergency grant funding.
We are also supporting local authorities to help local businesses. Government has put forward a package of support for businesses to help with ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This includes the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF), the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF) and the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund (LADGF). As of 30 August, Crawley Borough Council have paid out over £12.5 million to 886 business premises under the SBGF and RHLGF. They are also working hard to deliver grants to local businesses under the LADGF.
Government has recently awarded the Coast to Capital LEP £19.2 million from the new Getting Building Fund for a wide range of projects that will deliver a much-needed boost to the local economy. Over £8 million has been awarded to a proposal to create a new innovation centre in Crawley, bringing together major innovation-led businesses.
We have recently received Crawley's Town Investment Plan as part of the government's Towns Fund. This sets out Crawley's vision to drive the sustainable economic regeneration of Crawley, accounting for Covid-19 impacts, to deliver long term economic and productivity growth. Government is currently reviewing Crawley's Town Investment Plan and will respond shortly.
We will continue to work closely with all local authorities as they support their communities through the pandemic.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last updated the guidance to local authorities and other providers of public toilets on additional hygiene precautions required during the COVID-19 pandemic; what organisations they consulted before drafting that guidance; and where that guidance is publicly available.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Government has made clear through COVID-19 guidance that public toilets, portable toilets and toilets inside premises should be kept open and carefully managed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. To support this, Government, with input from Public Health England, has produced guidance principles on the additional hygiene precautions that should be considered to effectively manage public toilet provision and help everyone maintain good hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic. Suggested measures include using signs to promote good hand hygiene, providing suitable handwashing and hand drying facilities, and increasing the frequency of cleaning of facilities.
These principles were included in The Safer Public Places - Urban Centres and Green Spaces guidance on 26 June for the owners and operators of public spaces as well as other COVID-19 Secure guidance such as Working Safely during Coronavirus. These are published on gov.uk. In addition, on 28 June, I wrote jointly with the Environment Minister to local authorities setting out the Government’s position that public toilets should be open wherever possible. This letter included advice on COVID-19 secure measures.
As the situation is constantly evolving, we will keep guidance under review to ensure it provides the information needed.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 28 January (HL12849), when they expect the revised planning practice guidance, which follows from the National Planning Policy Framework 2018, to be introduced.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government is committed to updating the planning practice guidance in line with the recently published National Planning Policy Framework. My Written Answer sets out what progress the Government has made towards developing new national planning practice guidance, which covers the development of new road schemes that offer shared space between pedestrians, motorists and other road users.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is continuing to work closely with the Department for Transport (DfT), on guidance relating to sustainable transport and accessibility which will address shared space schemes and inclusive spaces. DfT are also working with Transport Scotland undertaking research on the issue of inclusive street design. To align the planning practice guidance with the work that DfT are doing, MHCLG anticipates being able to publish the sustainable transport and accessibility guidance in Autumn, depending on the timescales of the work feeding into this.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards developing the new national planning practice guidance; what research they undertook or commissioned to inform that guidance; and whether that plan includes measures to permit the development of new road schemes that offer shared space between pedestrians, motorists and other road users.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Following the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework in July 2018, the Government has committed to revising planning practice guidance in line with this. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is working closely with the Department for Transport, on guidance relating to sustainable transport and accessibility which will address shared space schemes and inclusive spaces. The publication of the Inclusive Transport Strategy in July 2018, led to a pause on the shared space schemes at design stage. The Department for Transport are currently working with the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland to undertake research on the issue of inclusive street design. The conclusions and recommendations of the research will then feed into further work to produce updated guidance on street design.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the devolved administrations will be (1) given control of how the proposed Shared Prosperity Fund will be spent, and (2) able to make decisions on which projects will benefit from the funding in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
In July the government published (attached) an update on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
We have also committed our intention to consult publicly on the design and priorities of the UKSPF in 2018.
The government has been clear that we will engage the devolved administrations in advance of the public consultation, to ensure the UKSPF works for places across the UK. Officials in the UK government and all devolved administrations have begun discussions, and stakeholder events across the UK are planned throughout the rest of this year.
We are continuing to work on the design of the UKSPF and final decisions on the operation and allocation of the Fund will be made as part of the 2019 Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that, when planning permissions are granted for new residential developments that do not provide on-site parking spaces, those developments provide adequate power supplies and public charging points to enable residents to use electric cars.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government supports the use of ultra-low emission or plug-in vehicles and would encourage local authorities, wherever possible, to make provision for them. The provision of power supplies and public charging points in connection with the granting of planning permission is a matter for local planning authorities to consider.