Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (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 including housing support other than Housing Revenue Account as a service-specific formula when setting new funding baselines for councils as part of the Fair Funding Review.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Our fair funding review of local authorities’ relative needs and resources will deliver a thorough, evidence based review of funding allocations to English local authorities through close collaboration with the sector. In response to the views expressed by the sector, we are committed to implementing an approach with enhanced levels of simplicity and transparency, but recognise that this should not be at the expense of accuracy and fairness.
Our public consultation on the overall shape of the needs assessment recently closed, and sought views on service areas which may require a specific approach to allocations. We are currently considering the many representations made, including those who argued for a specific housing formula. Decisions on all this will form the basis for further consultation later this year.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the research commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education as part of the Fair Funding Review on children's services costs; and when they expect to publish the final conclusion of that research.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Our research project on children’s services, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education, is an important part of our fair funding review of relative needs and resources. The review will set new baseline funding allocations for local authorities in England with a target implementation date of 2020/21.
The research project has made good progress to better understand cost and demand pressures, in order to deliver a robust funding formula for what is a complex and critical service area. We will continue to work closely with the LGA and others in local government to provide updates and seek support where required. The project is aiming to be completed by Summer 2019 for implementation alongside the review.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that work to be progressed under the Social Care Green Paper, and parallel work on working age adults, feeds into the Fair Funding Review of councils’ relative needs and plans for 75 per cent business rates retention.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
In developing the Social Care Green Paper, the Government is taking the time needed to debate the many complex issues and listen to the perspectives of experts and care users, in order to build consensus around reforms which can succeed. The Green Paper will inevitably cover a range of issues that are common to all adults with care and support needs. We are also committed to making sure that any issues relating to social care that are only relevant for adults of working age are identified.
MHCLG Ministers and officials have close working relationships with DHSC Ministers and officials leading on the Green Paper, and both departments are jointly leading our work on working-age care. The emerging impacts of both areas of work will be considered when taking forward the review of local authorities’ relative needs and resources and increased business rates retention.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who undertook the British Standard 476 fire test for a 30 minute fire door on the Manse Masterdor fire doors installed in Grenfell Tower.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Any doors tested from Grenfell Tower have been commissioned by the Metropolitan Police as part of their investigation and it is not for the Department to comment on. Tests of doors from the same manufacturer commissioned by MHCLG have to date been undertaken by BRE Global Ltd and Exova Group plc.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (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 impact of Internal Drainage Board Levies setting new funding baselines as part of the Local Authority Fair Funding Review.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
We are continuing to make good progress with our fair funding review of relative needs and resources, in close collaboration with the Local Government Association. Our recent consultation was an important opportunity for local authorities to tell us about factors which drive expenditure and I know Internal Drainage Board Levies were raised by some. We received over 300 responses to the consultation and these will be carefully considered in the coming weeks. We are considering factors which affect council tax income as part of our assessment of the relative resources available to authorities to fund local services, including Internal Drainage Board Levies, and we will consult on this area in due course.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards removing barriers to the replacement of homes sold under Right to Buy.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government is keen to understand if more can be done to encourage faster delivery of Right to Buy replacements and has been engaging with local authorities to obtain their views, which will be fed into our assessment.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (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 extension of the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap in local authority areas of high affordability pressure.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
We have announced a rise in the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap by a total of up to £1 billion in areas of high affordability pressure for local authorities who are ready to start building new homes. This will help to deliver the new generation of council house building that the Prime Minister announced recently.
We need to ensure that the housing market works for all parts of the community. So we need action on all fronts to build the homes that this country needs. High demand areas with affordability pressures are especially in need of affordable homes, so it is right that we focus this support on them.
We shall shortly set out the details of what constitutes high affordability and the criteria used in determining how this support is allocated.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they are making to establish equivalent rights and responsibilities for local government to be consulted on legislative changes as are currently exercised through the EU Committee of the Regions; and whether they expect that the necessary consultation mechanisms will be put in place before the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government is currently having constructive discussions with local government about how the consultative rights and responsibilities they currently have at European level through the mechanism of the Committee of the Regions might be replicated domestically, in a non-statutory way, for when the UK has left the EU. These discussions involve the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA). Any new consultative arrangements arising from these discussions will need to complement the wide range of domestic processes and procedures the Government already has for consulting local government.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many viability assessments in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, and (3) 2017, have led to affordable housing requirements attached to planning conditions being reduced on appeal.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Planning Inspectorate do not record information on the frequency of viability assessments used as evidence in planning appeals.
The Government's 'Planning for the right homes in the right places' consultation closed on 9 November, this included proposals to improve certainty and transparency in the assessment of viability, including the impact upon delivery of affordable housing. The government is considering the views expressed in the consultation to inform revisions to planning policy and guidance.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 27 October (HL1859), what plans they have to work with local government to address business rates avoidance.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
I welcome the opportunity to develop proposals to tackle business rates avoidance together with the Local Government Association and local government.