Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether objections by local objectors are given greater importance than objections by non-local objectors in planning decisions taken by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
All material planning considerations are taken into account in planning decisions. These are set out in the published decision letter and accompanying Inspector's report for each case, along with full reasons for the Secretary of State's decision.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government refused planning permission for the proposed changes to the Anglia Square shopping centre in Norwich.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The reasons for the Secretary of State's decision are set out in full in his decision letter of 12 November, which is available to view online at (attached) the following address:
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they monitor progress in implementing the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983 Modernising the Mental Health Act: increasing choice, reducing compulsion, published on 6 December 2018; and what plans they have to report to Parliament on progress made.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We remain committed to publishing a White Paper which will set out the Government’s response to Sir Simon Wessely’s Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983 and pave the way for reform of the Act. We aim to publish before the end of the year.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many completion notices have been confirmed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the last ten years for which figures are available; and what plans they have, if any, (1) to review, (2) to revoke, or (3) to revise, this power.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Since September 2010, 18 completion notices have been confirmed by Secretaries of State at the Department. The Housing White Paper in 2017 proposed reform of completion notices to support the faster build out of development, including removing the requirement for Secretary of State consent which required primary legislation. We are now considering whether to take forward this commitment as part of the implementation of the Planning for the Future White Paper which reconfirmed the importance of planning permissions being built out quickly.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to encourage local authorities to use the powers available to them under the Licensing Act 2003 to take action based on public health grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government believes that the best approach is to take action against all businesses that fail to operate in a COVID-secure way, not just those that are licensed.
A licensing authority must carry out its functions under the Licensing Act 2003 with a view to promoting four licensing objectives, which are the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance, public safety and the protection of children. Public health is not one of the four objectives and the Government cannot encourage licensing authorities to take action on those grounds.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to amend the Licensing Act 2003 to allow local authorities to take action against premises that are not complying with COVID-19 guidelines.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government believes that the best approach is to take action against all businesses that fail to operate in a COVID-secure way, not just those that are licensed.
A licensing authority must carry out its functions under the Licensing Act 2003 with a view to promoting four licensing objectives, which are the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance, public safety and the protection of children. Public health is not one of the four objectives and the Government cannot encourage licensing authorities to take action on those grounds.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (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 of their proposed First Homes policy on the provision of social and affordable rented homes.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government recognises the important role of affordable housing and supplying new homes of all affordable tenures. Affordable homes will help support people into home ownership; reduce the impact of high rents in the private rented sector where people struggle to afford it; and mitigate the risk of homelessness.
The Government is mindful of the trade-off between the level of ambition for First Homes, funded through developer contributions, and the supply of other affordable housing tenures. There are many factors that will affect this trade off beyond the level of First Homes delivery through section 106, especially any price/income caps or additional discounts in high value areas to increase affordability. We therefore do not consider it appropriate to make predictions until these factors are better understood through our response to the consultation, which we hope to publish soon.
The proportions of section 106 described in the consultation are illustrative examples and should not be taken as Government intentions at this stage. The lowest proportion at 40% was chosen as it is roughly equal to the current proportion of section 106 which delivers home ownership products (37% in 2018-2019).
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homes resulting from permitted development rights meet their nationally described space standard.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Permitted development rights for change of use to residential are making an important contribution to housing delivery, largely providing windfall housing that may otherwise not have been delivered through the planning system. The rights make effective use of existing buildings and help boost housing density, as part of our broader housing ambitions, without the need to build on greenfield sites.
In response to concerns raised in respect of the quality of some of the homes delivered through permitted development rights we now require adequate natural light to be provided in habitable rooms. The independent research informing our review has been published and is available at the following (attached) link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quality-standard-of-homes-delivered-through-change-of-use-permitted-development-rights
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (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 compatibility of the expansion in permitted development rights with the integrity of the locally led planning system.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Permitted development rights for change of use to residential are making an important contribution to housing delivery, largely providing windfall housing that may otherwise not have been delivered through the planning system. The rights make effective use of existing buildings and help boost housing density, as part of our broader housing ambitions, without the need to build on greenfield sites.
In response to concerns raised in respect of the quality of some of the homes delivered through permitted development rights we now require adequate natural light to be provided in habitable rooms. The independent research informing our review has been published and is available at the following (attached) link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quality-standard-of-homes-delivered-through-change-of-use-permitted-development-rights
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (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 implications of their First Homes policy for the locally led planning system in respect of addressing local housing needs.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to making the dream of home ownership a reality for everyone. Affordability is the biggest barrier to home ownership, and while this is partly due to a shortage of housing supply, low interest rates and high rents have limited the ability for young people to save the deposit they need to buy a home. We believe that First Homes are a key means of helping local people, especially young first-time buyers, into home ownership and maintaining strong communities.
It is for local authorities to determine how and where to best deliver their housing needs, and as we set out in our consultation on First Homes, which ran between February and May this year, we are supportive of empowering local decision-makers and conscious of reducing discretion to respond to local circumstances. Our response to this consultation, which will be published in due course, will provide further detail on this.