Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of Alan Law, Deputy Chief Executive, Natural England, to the Built Environment Select Committee on 20 June that “there is a less onerous regulatory regime in place currently in relation to agricultural source pollution” than that imposed on the construction sector; and what are the reasons for this.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is taking a range of steps across the agriculture and water industry sectors to reduce water pollution at source to protect the environment.
We are committed to having a fair and proportionate regulatory regime for agriculture. This means applying the polluter pays principle in a way that ensures that farming and food production can be resilient and sustainable over the long term while also protecting the environment. We committed through the Environmental Improvement Plan and Plan for Water to review our farming regulations to ensure they are fit for purpose for our environmental and farming ambitions.
Farms are subject to robust regulations on agricultural activities which could cause environmental harm, including through the Farming Rules for Water and the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations. These set out clear standards and a baseline that farmers must comply with. Many requirements, including those for slurry storage and nutrient application, require significant investment from farmers to meet.
We have increased funding to the Environment Agency for 50 new farm inspectors to ensure that agricultural diffuse pollution regulations are followed. This enabled them to conduct over 4,000 farm inspections in the last fiscal year. We launched the Slurry Infrastructure grant in 2022 to support farmers to bring their capacity up to six months of covered slurry storage which allows farmers to manage their resources while protecting the environment. We have nearly trebled our first-round budget to £34 million, with round two due to launch this autumn.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to inform local authorities of their provisional public health grant budgets for 2023–24.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will announce 2023/24 Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the public health grant in (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25 will increase in line with inflation as announced in the Spending Review 2021.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will announce 2023/24 Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities in England shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the level of funding of the public health grant to local authorities.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the Spending Review 2021, we considered the need for local authority public health funding and confirmed that the public health grant to local authorities in England would increase over the settlement period. In 2022/23, the Grant increased by 2.81% to £3.417 billion. This is in addition to targeted investment through local Government in Start for Life support and drug and alcohol treatment services.
We will announce 2023/24 Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities shortly, and in doing so will consider the impact of changes to pay and inflation trends and forecasts since the Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of proposals in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill on the delivery of affordable housing.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill gives the Government powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy. This will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally.
The Government is committed to the delivery of on-site affordable housing through the Levy, and to delivering at least as much, if not more, affordable housing than at present.
Section 204G(2) of the Bill sets out that, when setting Infrastructure Levy rates, local planning authorities will need to have regard to the level of affordable housing that is already secured through developer contributions, recognising the desirability of maintaining the level at which affordable housing is delivered.
We will also introduce through regulations a new 'right to require', which will allow local authorities to require developers to deliver a set proportion of their Levy liability as onsite, in-kind affordable housing. Developers will not be able to negotiate their affordable housing obligations downwards, which offers significant protection of affordable housing delivery over the present system.
The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We intend to consult on this detail, prior to any publication of regulations.
The Levy will be implemented through a ‘test and learn’ approach to support local authorities through the transition period. This will see the Levy rolled out in some local authorities in the first instance, before wider national roll-out over several years. This approach will aid the monitoring and evaluation of the Levy where it is introduced initially, and support the creation of a system that works.
A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been published for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which includes specific impacts in relation to the Infrastructure Levy. Impact Assessments are required for all UK government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector and/or public services. The Impact Assessment has been reviewed and rated by the Regulatory and Policy Committee prior to publication, and the Department has received a 'Green' rating, meaning the Impact Assessment is fit for purpose. The Regulatory Impact Assessment can be found here.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that any reforms to the planning system protect the delivery of affordable housing.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill gives the Government powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy. This will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally.
The Government is committed to the delivery of on-site affordable housing through the Levy, and to delivering at least as much, if not more, affordable housing than at present.
Section 204G(2) of the Bill sets out that, when setting Infrastructure Levy rates, local planning authorities will need to have regard to the level of affordable housing that is already secured through developer contributions, recognising the desirability of maintaining the level at which affordable housing is delivered.
We will also introduce through regulations a new 'right to require', which will allow local authorities to require developers to deliver a set proportion of their Levy liability as onsite, in-kind affordable housing. Developers will not be able to negotiate their affordable housing obligations downwards, which offers significant protection of affordable housing delivery over the present system.
The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We intend to consult on this detail, prior to any publication of regulations.
The Levy will be implemented through a ‘test and learn’ approach to support local authorities through the transition period. This will see the Levy rolled out in some local authorities in the first instance, before wider national roll-out over several years. This approach will aid the monitoring and evaluation of the Levy where it is introduced initially, and support the creation of a system that works.
A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been published for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which includes specific impacts in relation to the Infrastructure Levy. Impact Assessments are required for all UK government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector and/or public services. The Impact Assessment has been reviewed and rated by the Regulatory and Policy Committee prior to publication, and the Department has received a 'Green' rating, meaning the Impact Assessment is fit for purpose. The Regulatory Impact Assessment can be found here.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish an assessment of the implications of the proposed infrastructure levy.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill gives the Government powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy. This will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally.
The Government is committed to the delivery of on-site affordable housing through the Levy, and to delivering at least as much, if not more, affordable housing than at present.
Section 204G(2) of the Bill sets out that, when setting Infrastructure Levy rates, local planning authorities will need to have regard to the level of affordable housing that is already secured through developer contributions, recognising the desirability of maintaining the level at which affordable housing is delivered.
We will also introduce through regulations a new 'right to require', which will allow local authorities to require developers to deliver a set proportion of their Levy liability as onsite, in-kind affordable housing. Developers will not be able to negotiate their affordable housing obligations downwards, which offers significant protection of affordable housing delivery over the present system.
The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We intend to consult on this detail, prior to any publication of regulations.
The Levy will be implemented through a ‘test and learn’ approach to support local authorities through the transition period. This will see the Levy rolled out in some local authorities in the first instance, before wider national roll-out over several years. This approach will aid the monitoring and evaluation of the Levy where it is introduced initially, and support the creation of a system that works.
A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been published for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which includes specific impacts in relation to the Infrastructure Levy. Impact Assessments are required for all UK government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector and/or public services. The Impact Assessment has been reviewed and rated by the Regulatory and Policy Committee prior to publication, and the Department has received a 'Green' rating, meaning the Impact Assessment is fit for purpose. The Regulatory Impact Assessment can be found here.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish details of the average gap between the Local Housing Allowance and rents, broken down by (1) local authority, and (2) parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The department currently has no plans to publish details of the average gap between the Local Housing Allowance and rents for any geographical breakdowns.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the re-development of the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s plans for improvements at (1) Watford, (2) Hemel Hempstead, and (3) St Albans, have been paused; and so, what are the (a) reasons, and (b) rationale, for this pause.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The overall delivery of the new hospital scheme has not been paused. We continue to work with West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and all hospitals in the programme.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of the housing targets allocated to each council area; whether there is an expectation, as evidenced by the Housing Delivery Test, that they will be (1) met or (2) exceeded; and on what grounds targets could be negotiated downwards.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
A crucial first step in making sure the country has the right amount of homes, is to plan for them. The National Planning Policy Framework expects local authorities to calculate local housing need using the standard method. However, our standard method is only the starting point in the process of planning for new homes. It is not a target. Local authorities will still need to consider the constraints they face locally to assess how many homes can be delivered in their area in setting their own housing targets when preparing their local plans.
The Housing Delivery Test exists to offer greater transparency on housing delivery in an area and encourages local authorities to be realistic about likely rates of delivery from sites in plans. Where delivery falls, policy consequences are applied to ensure more land is brought forward. The latest results show that the majority of those delivering 75% or less of the housing they need had a plan over 5 years old at the time of publication – this underlines the importance of having an up to date plan and proactively supporting development in a plan-led way.