Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the head of the Valuation Office Agency on the service that it provides for people who wish to appeal their council tax band.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the head of the Valuation Office Agency on the services that it provides. The Valuation Office Agency is an executive agency of HM Revenue and Customs.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps is he taking to reform Council Tax bandings to make them more fair and equitable.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government currently has no plans to reform the council tax banding of properties in England. The council tax system incorporates a wide range of discounts and exemptions, and each local authority provides council tax support to reduce bills for people facing financial difficulty.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Government’s Levelling Up agenda is implemented across all parts of the North of England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
Levelling Up is at the heart of the Government’s agenda to build back better after the pandemic and was at the centre of the manifesto on which the Government promised to deliver for the people of the UK.
Levelling Up was the golden thread running through the whole of Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 which funded an ambitious domestic agenda, including an unprecedented investment package of £5.7 billion for eight English city regions to transform local transport networks through London-style integrated settlements, benefitting West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, South Yorkshire and Tees Valley.
We have also announced the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, which will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, supporting town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets.
At the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, £519 million from the Levelling Up Fund was confirmed for 27 projects in the North of England from the first tranche of allocations.
Almost half of the towns that will benefit from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund are in the North of England. All Town Deals have now been announced, with those in the North totalling over £1 billion.
The Government will shortly be publishing a Levelling Up White Paper, building on existing action we are already taking across Government and setting out a new policy regime that will drive change for years to come.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Government’s Levelling Up agenda is meeting its targets.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
In July, the Prime Minister set out that we will have made progress in levelling up when we have begun to raise living standards, spread opportunity, improved our public services and restored people’s sense of pride in their community. The forthcoming White Paper will set out how we will continue to deliver against these levelling up outcomes.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to incorporate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into the Levelling Up agenda.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
Levelling up is at the heart of the government’s agenda and 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 in places across the UK.
The UK remains committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and all government departments have responsibility for aspects of the SDGs that relate to their policy remits.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to use the Sustainable Development Goals to help communities become more sustainable.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
In July 2021, we published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to explicitly refer to the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development as a widely-recognised statement of sustainable development objectives, to which the UK has subscribed. At the heart of the NPPF is the presumption in favour of sustainable development. This means that all plans should promote sustainable patterns of growth to meet the local need, align growth and infrastructure; improve the environment; mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.
The National Model Design Code sets out a process for engaging local communities to create homes, buildings and public places which are safe, inclusive and accessible. It includes design parameters around mitigating and adapting to climate change, including the use of green infrastructure, sustainable drainage systems and encouraging active transport through design.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in providing a framework for towns, cities, and communities to become more sustainable.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
In July 2021, we published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to explicitly refer to the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development as a widely-recognised statement of sustainable development objectives, to which the UK has subscribed. At the heart of the NPPF is the presumption in favour of sustainable development. This means that all plans should promote sustainable patterns of growth to meet the local need, align growth and infrastructure; improve the environment; mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.
The National Model Design Code sets out a process for engaging local communities to create homes, buildings and public places which are safe, inclusive and accessible. It includes design parameters around mitigating and adapting to climate change, including the use of green infrastructure, sustainable drainage systems and encouraging active transport through design.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to support new sustainability initiatives in towns, cities, and local communities across the UK.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
In July 2021, we published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to explicitly refer to the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development as a widely-recognised statement of sustainable development objectives, to which the UK has subscribed. At the heart of the NPPF is the presumption in favour of sustainable development. This means that all plans should promote sustainable patterns of growth to meet the local need, align growth and infrastructure; improve the environment; mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.
The National Model Design Code sets out a process for engaging local communities to create homes, buildings and public places which are safe, inclusive and accessible. It includes design parameters around mitigating and adapting to climate change, including the use of green infrastructure, sustainable drainage systems and encouraging active transport through design.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support sustainability initiatives in towns, cities, and local communities across the UK.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
In July 2021, we published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to explicitly refer to the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development as a widely-recognised statement of sustainable development objectives, to which the UK has subscribed. At the heart of the NPPF is the presumption in favour of sustainable development. This means that all plans should promote sustainable patterns of growth to meet the local need, align growth and infrastructure; improve the environment; mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.
The National Model Design Code sets out a process for engaging local communities to create homes, buildings and public places which are safe, inclusive and accessible. It includes design parameters around mitigating and adapting to climate change, including the use of green infrastructure, sustainable drainage systems and encouraging active transport through design.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the potential number of foreign nationals (a) with assets of £1 million or more who would be eligible to donate money to UK political parties under the provisions of the Elections Bill and (b) who are permanently based in countries on which the Government may have placed financial sanctions.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Foreign nationals who are based overseas are not eligible to donate to political parties in the United Kingdom. The Elections Bill retains this ban, and further closes loopholes on backdoor foreign spending.