Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to proceed with the policy of street votes authorised by Chapter 4 of Part 3 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is still reviewing its policy inheritance from the last government, including in relation to street votes, we have announced on the 8 and 30 July the first steps we are taking to fix the planning system and unlock new housing. The Government will set out its plans for further planning reform in due course.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Swinburne on 3 April (HL3354), what infrastructure categories apply to Housing Infrastructure Fund allocations.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) programme has not adopted a prescriptive definition of physical infrastructure. HIF projects cover a range of infrastructure such as transport and travel, utilities, schools, community and healthcare facilities, land assembly and site remediation, heritage infrastructure, digital communications, green infrastructure (such as parks) and blue infrastructure (such as flood defences and sustainable drainage systems).
HIF is a closed programme. Bids were assessed against criteria that can be found in the HIF prospectus.
Introduction to Housing Infrastructure (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria are applied when deciding on Housing Infrastructure Fund allocations.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) programme has not adopted a prescriptive definition of physical infrastructure. HIF projects cover a range of infrastructure such as transport and travel, utilities, schools, community and healthcare facilities, land assembly and site remediation, heritage infrastructure, digital communications, green infrastructure (such as parks) and blue infrastructure (such as flood defences and sustainable drainage systems).
HIF is a closed programme. Bids were assessed against criteria that can be found in the HIF prospectus.
Introduction to Housing Infrastructure (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the Housing Infrastructure Fund has been spent to date on (1) road infrastructure, (2) active travel infrastructure, including pavements and cycle paths, and (3) other types of infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne
The department does not break down Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) spending on types of infrastructure. £4 billion has been allocated for local authorities in England to support infrastructure projects, which will seek to unlock 324,000 homes. The Fund enables local authorities to deliver the infrastructure their communities need – including new roads, leisure and healthcare services, digital and power networks, and schools, to encourage more housebuilding without overstretching facilities.HIF schemes are often complex and deliver multiple items of infrastructure. Disaggregating these to determine exactly which infrastructure categories individual items were part of would require detailed analysis and therefore could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many responses they received to the consultation on street vote development orders, which ran from 22 December 2023 to 2 February 2024.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)
Over 250 responses were received, and they are currently being analysed.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they first knew that the Building Safety Act 2022 removed protection from remediation costs from qualifying leaseholders who extended their lease.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are giving to shared-ownership leaseholders in buildings requiring remediation.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)
Qualifying shared ownership leaseholders are protected from all cladding remediation costs. Additionally, where capped contributions for non-cladding and interim measure costs are required, they are reduced in proportion to their equity stake in the property. Where the landlord is associated with the developer, the landlord has an obligation to pay for all costs associated with the remediation of all defects and any associated interim measures.
All leaseholders can benefit from the funding available for cladding repairs for buildings over 18 metres through the Building Safety Fund and, potentially, the new scheme for 11-18 metre buildings (currently at pilot stage) where developers or building owners are not currently funding cladding remediation.
For those shared ownership leaseholders looking to increase or 'staircase' their ownership share, on 20 December 2022, the six largest mortgage lenders confirmed that lenders will consider mortgage applications on properties in buildings in England of 11 metres or 5 storeys and above in height with building safety issues, providing it is being self-remediated by developers, is covered by a recognised government scheme, or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.
For shared ownership leaseholders who need to move for work or family reasons, the Government has also made it easier for those living in buildings that require remediation to sublet their homes.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their proposals contained in their consultation Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: reforms to national planning policy, published on 22 December 2022, on their commitment to build 300,000 new homes a year.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)
I refer my noble friend to the impact assessment for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill here.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the review of the effectiveness of the Tenants’ Associations (Provisions Relating to Recognition and Provision of Information) (England) Regulations 2018 will be carried out.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government wants to make it easier for leaseholders to come together to take on responsibilities for their properties. We are currently considering the Law Commission's report and recommendations on improvements to the Right to Manage for leaseholders. We will also continue to monitor the operation of the Statutory Instrument.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they consider that the QEII Conference Centre is unsuitable accommodation for the House of Lords; and what evidence they have for this.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Levelling Up is central to the Government's mission and the Government would welcome the House of Lords playing a leading role in that effort.
Peers relocating out of London during the decant would not only be a powerful symbol but a very practical way to boost local economies and ensure that lawmakers could hear directly from those beyond the capital. For this reason, the Secretary of State cannot support the use of the QEII Conference Centre, a location in the heart of Westminster, as a decant location for the House of Lords.