Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what information local authorities have provided to them on the number of prosecutions brought against private landlords for the letting of illegal housing provision in sheds and other buildings in private gardens.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The department does not require local authorities to report the number of prosecutions brought against private landlords.
Between 2011 and 2016 we provided over £12 million in grant funding for local authorities to tackle rogue landlords, including tackling illegal housing provision, which resulted in 70,000 inspections and 5,000 facing enforcement action or prosecution.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the issue of landlords acquiring bed and breakfast accommodation to circumvent the houses in multiple occupation licensing legislation has been drawn to the attention of ministers; and, if so, whether ministers will act to amend the applicable rules.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government is not aware of cases where a landlord has acquired bed and breakfast accommodation in order to circumvent legislation on the licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). If the Lord Campbell-Savours has specific evidence of this, we would be pleased to consider it.
Mandatory licensing applies to properties occupied by 5 or more people, forming two or more households and sharing facilities. It is recognised as having improved safety and property conditions in HMOs.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 5 September (HL Deb, col 1896), whether any cladding confirmed by the Building Research Establishment as being made of aluminium composite material, that was referred to under the heading "data sharing" in the letter dated 5 September from the Department of Communities and Local Government to local authorities, was already listed as having been used in the construction of buildings during the last 18 months in the Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Following the completion of the large-scale system tests, we have published consolidated advice (attached) to building owners which contains a summary of the numbers of initial screening tests which have been completed to date by the Building Research Establishment:
Where social housing buildings fail the tests, local authorities in England are informing tenants and the relevant constituency MP.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have issued guidelines to those local authorities that are able to impose local occupancy conditions on grants of planning permission, relating to the application of local occupancy conditions in cases where private residences which previously had planning permission to operate as guest houses now wish to reapply for planning permission to become guest houses again.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The National Planning Policy Framework and guidance on use of planning conditions sets out clearly the circumstances and way in which the Government considers planning conditions should be used.
Local authorities are best placed to decide whether to impose particular types of conditions, such as local occupancy conditions, taking into account local housing needs and other relevant considerations. Use of such conditions should be regularly reviewed in the light of changing circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish an inquiry (1) into which local authorities and other public authorities within England have sub-contracted service provision to contractors whose operations for the provision of those services are located in Scotland, and (2) into the cost of the contracted services provided.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government does not have any plans to establish an inquiry into the matter of which local authorities and other public authorities within England have sub-contracted service provision to contractors whose operations for the provision of those services are located in Scotland, or into the matter of the cost of the contracted services provided.
As locally-elected, independent bodies, such matters are for the local authorities themselves to manage. As a matter of course, all local authorities and other public authorities should ensure that they are providing the highest quality services, which local residents expect and deserve.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, where an office property that qualified for a residential planning designation is demolished, whether any restrictions are placed on the building of a new property on that land according to the former office property’s footprint.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We announced on 12 October that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential will be made permanent. We further announced that the rights will in future provide for an office to be demolished and replaced on a like-for-like basis as residential. The details of the rights including any requirements about the use, eligibility criteria and any matters for prior approval, including in relation to demolition and replacement, will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, before 13 November, the B1 planning class remained a requirement for offices that also qualified for a residential planning designation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We announced on 12 October that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential will be made permanent. We further announced that the rights will in future provide for an office to be demolished and replaced on a like-for-like basis as residential. The details of the rights including any requirements about the use, eligibility criteria and any matters for prior approval, including in relation to demolition and replacement, will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 October (HL2728), whether they will set out the broad circumstances in which a housing association or Community Land Trust could exercise discretion in deciding whether to sell a property to a tenant.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is currently engaging with the National Housing Federation and the housing association sector on implementing the Right to Buy Agreement. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether permitted development rights on the conversion of offices to residential premises, due to expire in May 2016, are to be extended beyond that date.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2015, HLWS487, where we made it clear that we would keep under review the case for extending the office to residential permitted development rights, which are helping provide much needed new homes on brownfield land. This remains the case.