Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how are the (1) Isles of Scilly, and (2) Lundy Island, accommodated in the Levelling Up agenda.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
As highlighted in the Levelling Up White Paper, the Government’s central mission is to spread opportunity more equally across the country and bring left behind communities up to the level of more prosperous areas.
The South West is already benefiting from investments to boost living standards, spread opportunity, restore local pride, and empower local leaders, which includes:
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how they define the term “levelling up” when used in policy statements, (2) when they will publish their objectives for levelling up, and (3) whether they plan to set measurable targets for each objective.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Levelling up is at the heart of the Government’s agenda to build back better after the pandemic and deliver for the people of the UK
It is about empowering local leaders and communities to seize their own destiny; boosting living standards, particularly where they are lower; spreading opportunity and improving public services, particularly where they are weak; and restoring local pride across the UK.
The Government will publish a White Paper that will set out our plans in more detail.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - 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 contribution of the night lighting specified in newbuild housing on (1) greenfield, and (2) brownfield, developments to preserve dark skies.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The National Planning Policy Framework makes it clear that planning policies and decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark landscapes and nature conservation, including where there may be impacts on wildlife and ecosystems. This should be considered by local authorities when they are assessing proposals for new housing on both greenfield and brownfield sites.
The Framework is supported by guidance that emphasises the importance of getting the right light in the right place at the right time and helps local planners and developers to design in ways of avoiding glare and intrusion. The guidance also encourages local planning authorities to engage with all relevant bodies and interested parties who may feel affected by a particular development proposal.
Additionally, the Government’s 25-Year Environment Plan includes a commitment to cut all forms of pollution and ease the pressure on the environment, including ensuring that light pollution is managed effectively.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many planning applications for the construction of new homes in England have been granted over the last 10 years; and how many of these applications have yet to commence building.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In the 10 years to December 2020, 434,600 planning applications for dwellings have been granted (excluding those granted under permitted development rights), of which 55,400 were major applications and 379,200 were minor applications (source: Live tables on planning application statistics: District planning application statistics (PS2)).
We do not hold information on the number of applications that have been granted and are yet to commence building.
For more information on planning application statistics, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/planning-applications-statistics.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - 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 prevalence of xenophobic acts against Polish citizens resident in England.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We are clear that all forms of hatred, including that based on race, are unacceptable and will be tackled. We have a strong legal framework in place to deal with the perpetrators of hate crime, and we have asked the Law Commission to undertake a full review of the coverage and approach of current hate crime legislative provisions, which will further strengthen this.
The Government is now considering a range of options to tackle hate crime beyond the current hate crime action plan. We will work with other departments and civil society partners to explore possible approaches, and to ensure a range of views from communities, including Polish, are taken into consideration.
The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was also launched to conduct a detailed, data-led examination of inequality across the entire population, and to set out a positive agenda for change. The Government will now consider the recommendations in detail and will respond before the summer.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the announcement by South Somerset District Council that it intends to develop a battery farm in Fareham, Hampshire with its joint venture partner Opium Power, whether there is any precedent of an English local authority investing in another local authority.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Local authorities borrow and invest under the Prudential Framework. It is a permissive system that gives local authorities wide freedoms to borrow and invest, and determine their own capital strategies, provided they stay within the legal bounds of the Framework and have regard to the statutory guidance. Local authorities remain accountable to their electorate for their investment decisions.
Government and CIPFA are clear that borrowing to invest for yield is not complaint with the objectives of the Framework. This is consistent with reforms HMT have put in place over the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB), which prevent councils planning to invest primarily for income from borrowing from the PWLB. There is no specific restriction on where local authorities can invest, but councils investing outside their area will need to ensure they are compliant with the Framework.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what algorithmic modelling they have used to identify and plan for (1) the location, and (2) the number, of new homes to be built in England; and whether they will publish the outputs of this modelling.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The consultation on changes to the current planning system sought views on changes to the standard method for assessing local housing need (“the standard method”). Alongside a worked example of the proposed formula, it sets out the elements we want to balance when determining local housing need, including meeting our target of building 300,000 homes, tackling affordability challenges in the places people most want to live and renewing and levelling up our towns and cities.
Having consulted on each element of the indicative formula, the Government is now reflecting on the feedback. The Government response to the consultation will follow in due course.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether resources have been made available to pursue the recommendations of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission in its report Living with beauty, published on 30 January; and if so, (1) what is the extent of those resources, (2) where they have been allocated, and (3) whether the ongoing work on the recommendations includes full engagement with the mass housebuilding industry.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government welcomes the report of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, and is carefully considering its recommendations. A Government response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there has been (1) an increase, or (2) a decrease, in the cutting of roadside verges and hedges by English local authorities since January.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The department does not collect data on the cutting of roadside hedges and verges by local authorities. Individual local authorities should be contacted to ascertain any change in activity.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - 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 effectiveness of local authorities in England that (1) have elected mayors, and (2) do not have elected mayors.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
As the Prime Minister has made clear, the Government wants to see more mayors with more powers, and has successfully concluded negotiations with West Yorkshire for a devolution deal involving electing a new mayor in May 2021. The Government intends to set out its future plans for devolution, including future governance arrangements, in a White Paper later this year and intends to work with areas at pace to deliver these plans.
It is for local areas to decide what governance arrangements would be of most benefit and value to their local communities. As set out in answer to a question (HL17399, answered on 23 July 2019) from the Noble Lord, Lord Grocott, as the effectiveness of local government is dependent on many factors, not simply the governance arrangements, the only assessment undertaken by Government of governance models has been to focus on what different models can deliver; it has concluded that only the mayoral model provides that single point of accountability necessary if significant powers and budgets are to be devolved to an area.