Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what advice his Department issues to local authorities on advising private rented sector tenants subject to court orders for possession on the steps they should take to find accommodation.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities includes advice and guidance to authorities on the actions they can take to prevent homelessness where a person is at risk of eviction from a property. This includes negotiation with landlords or with help to address rent arrears for example. It also explains how authorities should carry out their homelessness duties where eviction takes place.
We have also introduced protections for tenants against “retaliatory eviction”. Where a tenant makes a genuine complaint about the condition of their property that has not been addressed by their landlord, their complaint has been verified by a local authority inspection, and the local authority has served either an improvement notice or a notice of emergency remedial action, a landlord cannot evict that tenant for 6 months using the ‘no-fault’ eviction procedure (a section 21 eviction). A ‘no fault’ eviction is one where the tenant does not have to have done anything wrong, for example not paying the rent, to be asked to leave. The landlord is also required to ensure that the repairs are completed. These rules, set out in the Deregulation Act 2015, apply to all new assured shorthold tenancies that start on or after 1 October 2015. A guidance note is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/465275/Retaliatory_Eviction_Guidance_Note.pdf
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support private landlords in evicting tenants who are in breach of contract.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Assured shorthold tenancies give landlords the automatic right to possession at the end of the initial fixed term on giving the tenant two months' notice. Possession through the courts can also be sought before the end of the initial fixed period, where the tenant has broken certain terms of the tenancy, such as by not paying the rent.
We have made it easier for landlords to evict a tenant where it would be legitimate to do so, by introducing a prescribed form of notice which will reduce errors and remove the need for a landlord to specify the exact date a tenancy comes to an end, while retaining the requirement to give two months’ notice. The legislation came into effect on 1 October 2015 and we have published guidance and the required forms are at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/465275/Retaliatory_Eviction_Guidance_Note.pdf
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect (a) green belt and (b) open green spaces in (i) Dudley, (ii) the Black Country and (iii) the West Midlands.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
As pledged in the Collation Agreement, this Government has safeguarded national Green Belt protection and increased protection of important green spaces.
We have abolished the Labour Government’s top-down Regional Strategies which sought to delete the Green Belt in and around 30 towns and cities. I would note that the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy Phase Two Revision Report of the Panel published by the Government Office for the West Midlands in September 2009, was pushing for a number of adverse changes to Green Belt protection – that no doubt would have been implemented had the Labour Government not been ejected from office in 2010. I also observe that the hon. Member was a DCLG Minister and the ‘Regional Minister for the West Midlands’ at the time of that Government-issued report.
We have also:
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what number and proportion of planning applications to build on sites in (a) Dudley, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England involved building on designated green belt land in each of the last five years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
National Statistics for planning applications in England do not indicate the number of applications for building on Green Belt.
Disregarding land re-classified as National Park (which continues to be protected), the Green Belt is 34,000 hectares larger than in 1997.
The level of Green Belt development in 2011 (the latest year for which we have available data) was at its lowest rate since modern records began in 1989 (defined as total land changing to a developed use in the Green Belt), and the Coalition Government has maintained its strong commitment to Green Belt protection.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many appeals to the Planning Inspectorate have taken (a) up to 30 days, (b) up to 60 days, (c) up to 90 days and (d) more than 90 days to reach a decision in each of the last five years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government has been undertaking a series of technical steps to help speed up the handling of planning appeals. The table below gives figures for planning appeals decided between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2014.
Number of decisions | Up to 30 days | Over 30 days and | Over 60 days and | More than 90 Days |
2009-10 | 297 | 1,858 | 1,669 | 14,306 |
2010-11 | 375 | 4,285 | 1,278 | 10,657 |
2011-12 | 412 | 4,253 | 1,617 | 8,999 |
2012-13 | 347 | 3,603 | 938 | 9,239 |
2013-14 | 449 | 3,345 | 943 | 9,837 |
Note: Figures refer to planning appeal decisions. Timing is measured from the start date for the appeal to the date the decision letter is published.
To place this information in the context of the Planning Inspectorate’s performance targets, in 2013-14, 88 per cent of (qualifying) planning appeals were determined within the goal of 26 weeks. 84 per cent of householder appeals were determined within 8 weeks of the start date, compared to a target of 80 per cent.
The most common reasons for planning appeals taking longer than 26 weeks are (a) the appellants or local authorities are unavailable for the hearing or site visit forcing it to be postponed, and (b) a hearing is adjourned due to new evidence emerging that requires further examination.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people have been employed by the Planning Inspectorate to determine planning applications in each of the last five years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
This information is not centrally held in the form requested, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Councils are responsible for determining planning applications, not the Planning Inspectorate.
Planning inspectors work flexibly – across examinations of local plans, nationally significant infrastructure, rights of way, planning appeals, enforcement cases and cases under the Transport and Works Act. In that context, we do not hold staffing figures specifically in relation to work on planning application appeals.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent visits he and other Ministers in his Department have made to fire service bases in England.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
I have visited the following Fire and Rescue Authorities since joining the Department in July 2014 - Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London and West Midlands.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent visits he and other Ministers in his Department have made to fire service bases in England.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
I have visited the following Fire and Rescue Authorities since joining the Department in July 2014 - Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London and West Midlands.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he and other Ministers in his Department have had with firefighters and their representatives.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Ministers regularly meet with firefighters and their representatives on a range of fire related issues, undertake visits to fire stations across England and firefighters are regularly updated on key issues through open letters.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he and other Ministers in his Department have had with firefighters and their representatives.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Ministers regularly meet with firefighters and their representatives on a range of fire related issues, undertake visits to fire stations across England and firefighters are regularly updated on key issues through open letters.