Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with local government to tackle abuse faced by women working in local government.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is clear there is no place in local government for bullying, intimidation or harassment, including abuse faced by women. Such behaviour causes great personal distress to those affected, particularly as the current local government standards and conduct framework lacks effective sanctions to hold perpetrators to account.
In December we launched a consultation seeking views on proposals that will apply to all types and tiers of local authorities in England to strengthen the standards and conduct framework, including proposals to introduce the sanction of suspension. We are now in the process of analysing the responses to the consultation, and the Government Response will be issued in due course.
We also continue to fund the Local Government Association’s sector support offer, including its Civility in Public Life programme, which offers training for councillors related to personal safety, handling abuse, and intimidation online.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that open spaces and the green belt are protected during house building.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the government’s policies for safeguarding the Green Belt from inappropriate development.
The Framework also allows local areas to identify local green space which is protected in a similar manner to the Green Belt.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take to increase regulations on property developers to help ensure high standards of development.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Regulations are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare; they set minimum acceptable standards for new building work including when a building is being designed, constructed, or subject to major re-design and which are enforced through the Building Control process.
Since the Grenfell tragedy, the Building Control process has been strengthened, bringing greater oversight of Building Regulations compliance before, during and on completion of Higher Risk Building work. This will make sure that safety and performance of buildings is considered at the start of the design process and is fit for the building’s lifecycle.
At Planning Gateway 1, fire safety is considered as part of the development planning process; a local planning authority is required to consult the Health and Safety Executive on planning applications for Higher Risk Buildings.
The Building Safety Act 2022 established the Building Safety Regulator, which became the Building Control Authority for all Higher Risk Buildings in England in October 2023 and convenes multi-disciplinary specialist teams to assess building control applications at Gateway 2. Building work on new Higher Risk Buildings can only start after the developer has received Building Control approval from the Regulator.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help local authorities scruitnise the work of property developers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Building control assure compliance with the building regulations and have powers to intervene where it is found that buildings are in breach of the Building Regulations. It is an important function for local authorities, protecting the health and safety of residents and enabling economic activity.
We have invested £16.5 million to support capacity building in local authority building control teams and continue to encourage authorities to invest in this service.
The Building Safety Regulator is implementing Operational Standards Rules, which define minimum performance standards that building control bodies must meet and will improve outcomes across the sector.
The Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report recommended the appointment of a panel to consider delivery models and commercial interest in building control. We are considering the recommendations and will respond shortly.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to improve the capacity of local authorities to rebuild public buildings affected by arson.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government understands the impact that deliberate fire setting has on people and the communities in which they live and work.
The Local Government Finance Settlement available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
Councils can also finance capital expenditure from their revenue budgets, reserves or capital receipts to meet rebuilding and repair costs.