Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what account they have taken of UNESCO’s best practices for assessing risks to a World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value in assessing the planning application for a new Chinese embassy on the Royal Mint site and its potential impact on the Tower of London World Heritage Site.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A public inquiry held by an independent Inspector has heard a range of evidence and representations. The Inspector will now prepare a report and recommendation, which will be sent to the Department. As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be appropriate to comment further. Decisions on planning applications are based on material planning considerations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that sensitive cabling runs under the site of the proposed redevelopment of the Old Royal Mint; and whether such security considerations will be taken into account when deciding whether to permit the construction of a new embassy for China on the site.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
An independent Planning Inspector will hold a public inquiry at which interested parties will be able to put forward evidence and representations, after which a decision will be made by MHCLG ministers. Decisions on planning applications are based on material planning considerations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the adequacy of the Planning Inspectorate's capacity to consider human rights impacts in the sourcing of materials during the examination of applications for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects relating to energy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As public authorities, HMG and the Planning Inspectorate have a duty to act in a way that is compatible with Human Rights in the exercise of their functions under the Planning Act 2008.
It is a matter for government law and policy, such as trade rules and international agreements that determine how the sourcing of materials is regulated, and the Planning Inspectorate will examine applications in a way which is compatible with such requirements. It is implicit that the holder of a Development Consent Order (DCO) will comply with the law on sourcing materials, including human rights impacts such as slavery.
On the 8th July the Chancellor committed to updating relevant National Policy Statements (NPSs) within the year. This review will target NPSs covering the types of national infrastructure which are most critical to achieving the Government’s growth and clean energy missions. This will include any NPSs that consider the human rights impacts in the sourcing of materials. Government will launch a consultation on proposed changes to these NPSs in the new year.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to review the National Policy Statements under the Planning Act 2008, which require the consideration of human rights impacts in the sourcing of materials in the examination of applications for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects related to energy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As public authorities, HMG and the Planning Inspectorate have a duty to act in a way that is compatible with Human Rights in the exercise of their functions under the Planning Act 2008.
It is a matter for government law and policy, such as trade rules and international agreements that determine how the sourcing of materials is regulated, and the Planning Inspectorate will examine applications in a way which is compatible with such requirements. It is implicit that the holder of a Development Consent Order (DCO) will comply with the law on sourcing materials, including human rights impacts such as slavery.
On the 8th July the Chancellor committed to updating relevant National Policy Statements (NPSs) within the year. This review will target NPSs covering the types of national infrastructure which are most critical to achieving the Government’s growth and clean energy missions. This will include any NPSs that consider the human rights impacts in the sourcing of materials. Government will launch a consultation on proposed changes to these NPSs in the new year.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the residents of Tower Hamlets who may be affected by the planned new Chinese Embassy have sufficient opportunity to voice their concerns to the Government about the proposed development.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This proposal has now been called in for decision by Planning Ministers. A public local inquiry will be held at which residents and other interested parties will be able to make representations, and these will be taken into account when a final decision is made.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the involvement of the Chinese Consul in Manchester in violence against a protestor, what plans they have, if any, to call-in the planning application PA/21/01327/A1 for the construction of a new Chinese embassy at Royal Mint Court.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Planning application PA/21/01327/A1 for the construction of a new Chinese embassy at Royal Mint Court is currently being considered by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has received a request that the application be called in. This request is under consideration. Government's policy on calling in applications is set out in a Written Ministerial Statement of 2012 (Hansard 26 October 2012, Columns 71WS and 72WS). This sets out that the Secretary of State's policy.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk that people smugglers and traffickers will take advantage of the Homes for Ukraine scheme; and what plans they have to introduce measures to deter such activity.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Homes for Ukraine scheme has been designed with a clear safeguarding policy. The Home Office will conduct standard security checks on sponsors as well as on all adults aged 18 and over who will be living in the same household as the guests. This includes checks against government records and those of other third parties such as the Police National Computer, or its equivalent in Northern Ireland. Councils will be required to undertake appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for all adults in the sponsor household. I refer the noble Lord to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make it a criminal offence for foreign governments to channel funds in excess of a limit of £5,000 into the (1) personal, or (2) business, accounts of individual parliamentarians.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
There are rules in place to ensure that only those with a legitimate interest can make political donations. All MPs and members of political parties are regulated donees and can only accept donations of more than £500 made to them in connection with their political activities if it is from a permissible donor. Donations from individuals not on the UK electoral register, such as foreign donors, are not allowed.
In addition, Members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords must provide information on any financial or non-financial benefit which might reasonably be thought by others to influence their actions or words as Members of Parliament.
However, we know that in very rare instances, malign actors disguise their links to foreign Governments. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect the UK against foreign interference. The Government has structures in place to identify foreign interference or any potential threats to democracy and, where necessary, take proportionate action to mitigate them.
As set out in the Queen’s Speech, the Government is bringing forward new Counter State Threats legislation to give the intelligence agencies and law enforcement the tools they need to tackle the diversifying and evolving threats we face.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the analysis by the Local Government Association, published on 20 February 2020, which found that more than a million homes granted planning permission in the past decade have not yet been built; and what plans they have empower local authorities to incentivise developers to expedite the building of housing already granted planning permission.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
As the Local Government Association have themselves stated, in some cases there are legitimate reasons as to why development stalls. Perhaps, for example, the landowner cannot get the price for the site they want, or the development approved is not viable, or supply chain constraints hinder starting. Sir Oliver Letwin highlighted in his 2018 review on the topic, building on the work of Dame Kate Barker and many others before them, that, as such, the often-repeated idea of housebuilders ‘sitting on’ land is overstated.
Nevertheless, this Government is clear that new homes should be built out as soon as possible. Where build-out is delayed, it is for councils and developers to work closely together to overcome any barriers. To ensure this happens, we are exploring further options to support faster build-out as part of our proposed planning reforms.