Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to unlock private investment in coastal communities not covered by a freeport.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
My Government places great emphasis on ensuring Coastal Communities are at the forefront of the Levelling Up agenda. Our £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in every part of the UK, including coastal areas and I am keen to see bids come forward from coastal communities in the second round of the Fund. Regeneration and Infrastructure projects - which have the potential to boost private investment - will be a key focus of this work
Furthermore, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will provide £2.6 billion of investment across the whole of the United Kingdom by 2025, with building pride in place, including in coastal communities, a key theme of the Fund's work. Every coastal community in the UK will receive an allocation and places will be empowered to identify and build on their own strengths and needs at a local level
Levelling Up funding will unlock the potential of coastal communities by regenerating town centres and getting infrastructure match fit, making coastal communities a more attractive place to do business and boosting private investment.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with local authorities regarding the potential advantages of supporting maritime projects through the (1) Levelling Up, and (2) Shared Prosperity, funds.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Maritime projects are a crucial part of our heritage and modern economy. Officials from my department have recently met with Maritime UK for a briefing session on Levelling Up Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund and have consistently engaged with local authorities on the design and scope of both funds.
A key theme of the Levelling Up Fund is transportation, while the UKSPF will build pride in place – with both funds working to support and benefit maritime organisations. We would welcome future bids for maritime projects.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - 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 effects of their decision to grant planning permission to explore for gas in Dunsfold on their efforts to combat climate change.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Full reasons for the decision, made by the Minister of State for Housing on behalf of the Secretary of State, are set out in the decision letter that was published on 7 June 2022.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following recent local council elections, what assessment they have made of the (1) advantages, and (2) disadvantages, of changing to a proportional system.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government was elected on a manifesto which included a commitment to continue to support use of the First Past the Post voting system. The Government believes the First Past the Post system is a robust and secure way of electing mayors and local councillors in England and provides for direct local accountability. It ensures a clear link between elected representatives and their electors in a manner that other voting systems may not.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce legislation to make it illegal for non-UK citizens who were granted Tier 1 (Investor) visas to donate to political parties in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
UK electoral law sets out a stringent regime of donations controls to ensure that only those with a legitimate interest in UK elections can make political donations and that political donations are transparent.
Donations from individuals not on the electoral register are not permitted. There is only a very limited exception to this, whereby for political parties registered in Northern Ireland, permissible donors also include Irish citizens and organisations provided they meet prescribed conditions.
UK visas, whatever the tier, do not give someone the right to vote in the UK. Eligibility requirements at UK elections will vary across the UK depending on the election, and anyone holding a UK visa will be subject to usual tests around nationality and residency to determine whether they are eligible to register as an elector.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - 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 Royal National Institute of Blind People’s conclusion that the Elections Bill will make it more difficult for blind and partially sighted people to cast their votes independently and in secret.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The secrecy of the vote is protected for all voters, including those who are blind and partially sighted, by section 66 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. This is being extended in the Elections Bill to cover voters using postal votes - and so will add to the secrecy provisions for the many disabled electors who choose to vote by post.
Other changes in the Elections Bill are specifically aimed at improving the equipment and support available to disabled voters when casting their vote in the polling station. The RNIB’s proposed approach would require Returning Officers to provide a specific piece of equipment in every polling station - one that is strictly defined in legislation, so cannot be adjusted, modified or updated without further legislation. The Government’s view is that a one-size-fits-all approach is not right for all disabled voters, which is why the Bill broadens the provision so that Returning Officers are required to consider the needs of all disabled voters when providing equipment for polling stations. Rather than a blanket provision, we want disabled voters to get the support that is right for them.
The new requirement will be supported by Electoral Commission guidance produced in partnership with the Government’s expert Accessibility of Elections Working Group, of which the RNIB is a much valued member.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their homelessness statistics, updated on 27 January, which show that 222,360 households have become homeless since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, what steps they are taking to assist homeless people.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to tackling homelessness in all its forms. The Homelessness Reduction Act is helping more people get help sooner to prevent homelessness, and since it came into force nearly 450,000 households have had their homelessness successfully prevented or relieved through securing accommodation for more than 6 months. In 2021-22 Local Authorities received £375 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant - a £112 million increase on the previous year - which can be used to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions, or to provide temporary accommodation to ensure families have a roof over their head. This includes a one-off £65 million to help support vulnerable renters with Covid-19 related rent arrears to avoid eviction or find a new home in order to prevent homelessness. The Government will be spending over £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next 3 years, with multi-year funding enabling local partners to better plan services and maximise efficiencies - demonstrating our commitment to build on recent progress.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - 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 proposal for a sand extraction quarry in the conservation area of Compton Bassett; and what plans they have to give local residents more powers to oppose such planning applications.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
This proposal was considered by Wiltshire Council's strategic planning committee on 14 July. Government policy is that local planning authorities should, in general, be free to carry out their duties with regard to day-to-day planning control in their areas with the minimum of interference. Our proposed planning reforms will deliver a simpler, faster, more transparent process, giving communities certainty over what development is permitted through clear land allocations in local plans.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - 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 impact on the public of the 52 per cent decline in total net spend by local authorities in England on trading standards services between 2009 and 2019, as set out by Unchecked UK in their report The UK's Enforcement Gap, published in October 2020.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Councils have flexibility to use the funding they receive from the annual Local Government Finance Settlement for trading standards services. Funding provided through the Settlement is un-ringfenced to ensure local areas can prioritise based on their own understanding of the needs of their local communities. Resources made available through the 2020 Spending Review and annual Settlement allowed councils in England access to an overall increase in Core Spending Power from £49 billion in 2020-21 to up to £51.3 billion in 2021-22, a 4.6% increase in cash terms. This is in line with last year’s available increase. This recognises the resources councils need to meet their pressures and maintain current service levels.
Additionally, Government is supporting regulatory services teams, including trading standards teams, through the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group, which was established to help coordinate central government’s expectation of regulatory services teams in local government and to propose short and long-term options to support these essential services.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a Chief Environmental Health Officer role (1) to ensure links to local government environmental health teams, and (2) to contribute to the pandemic prevention agenda and other pandemic-related work.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Department convened the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group in December 2020 to help coordinate central government’s expectation of regulatory services teams in local government and propose short and long-term options to support the sector. The Group consists of senior officials from government departments and senior representatives from the Local Government Association and local authorities.
The Group is now focussed on developing a suite of recommendations to address the immediate and systemic issues faced by regulatory services teams, which includes environmental health teams. These recommendations will address areas including the cross-government coordination of departments and the establishment of ongoing links with local authority experts.