Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the bidding process for levelling up funding on local authority resources in Wales.
Answered by Jacob Young
Transparency information on meetings with the devolved administrations, which cover a range of issues, is published as part of the Intergovernmental relations quarterly reports. These are available here.
Whilst DLUHC ministers are formally accountable to UK Parliament, we have engaged with the Senedd's scrutiny of the Government's vision for Levelling Up in Wales, including by responding formally to recommendations made by the Finance Committee in October 2022.
My department is considering the most recent recommendations made by the Senedd's Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs committee and will respond in due course.
To support local authorities in developing proposals for the Levelling Up Fund, my department provided every local authority in Wales with a £125,000 capacity funding payment.
The vast majority of Levelling Up funding in Wales has been distributed via an allocative model, including the £585 million of investment to Wales via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
In the Secretary of State's speech to the Local Government Association conference in July 2023, where he announced the Government's funding simplification plan, he explained that we will change how government provides local growth funding to local authorities. From next year, all departments will need to consider whether they can use existing funds to deliver new money, or can use an allocation methodology to distribute it rather than launching another new competition.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on the distribution of (a) the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and (b) levelling-up funds to promote regional development in Wales.
Answered by Jacob Young
Transparency information on meetings with the devolved administrations, which cover a range of issues, is published as part of the Intergovernmental relations quarterly reports. These are available here.
Whilst DLUHC ministers are formally accountable to UK Parliament, we have engaged with the Senedd's scrutiny of the Government's vision for Levelling Up in Wales, including by responding formally to recommendations made by the Finance Committee in October 2022.
My department is considering the most recent recommendations made by the Senedd's Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs committee and will respond in due course.
To support local authorities in developing proposals for the Levelling Up Fund, my department provided every local authority in Wales with a £125,000 capacity funding payment.
The vast majority of Levelling Up funding in Wales has been distributed via an allocative model, including the £585 million of investment to Wales via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
In the Secretary of State's speech to the Local Government Association conference in July 2023, where he announced the Government's funding simplification plan, he explained that we will change how government provides local growth funding to local authorities. From next year, all departments will need to consider whether they can use existing funds to deliver new money, or can use an allocation methodology to distribute it rather than launching another new competition.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2023 to Question 155257 on Parking: Fines, what his Department's planned timescales are for the completion of the impact assessment and consultation.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Announcements will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) adopting a transitional approach to implementing its Future Homes Standard and (b) allowing developments that receive planning permission by 2025 to build under earlier standards.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 180076 on 24 April 2023.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
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 his Department has made of the impact of the Future Homes Standard; and what his planned timeline is for implementing that Standard on new house build completions from 2025.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 180076 on 24 April 2023.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department expects to publish the (a) technical consultation and (b) draft impact assessment for the Future Homes Standard.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 180076 on 24 April 2023.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of the provisions in the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill on (a) the Welsh Government, (b) Welsh Government funded public bodies and (c) Welsh local authorities and their freedom to not procure goods originating from Israeli settlements deemed to be illegal under international law.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The bill is designed to implement the Government’s manifesto commitment to "ban public bodies from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries”. As such, and to ensure a consistent foreign policy approach across the UK, the Bill applies to public bodies across the whole of the UK and therefore the Welsh Government, Welsh public bodies, and Welsh local authorities will be subject to the ban. Accordingly, we are seeking a legislative consent motion to apply the ban to Ministers of the Welsh Government.
The Government’s position on the settlements in the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ and indeed the Middle East Peace Process more generally is unchanged.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding has been allocated to the Welsh Government for the Financial Year 2023-24 from the £150 million UK-wide funding to help support Ukrainian guests move into their own homes and reduce the risk of homelessness among those people.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Local authority funding is a devolved matter in Wales and primarily funded via the Barnett formula.
However, the £150 million of funding will be allocated between the different parts of the UK in relation to their proportion of Ukrainian guests. This money is to help support Ukrainian guests move into their own homes and reduce the risk of homelessness. The Secretary of State will be writing to local authorities to set out further details of this once the allocation method has been finalised.
As referenced in the Written Ministerial Statement by my Rt. Hon Friend, the Secretary of State, on 14 December 2022, the Local Authority Housing Fund has been identified from within existing England-only Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities budgets and as such there is no additional Barnett formula funding for devolved governments.
The UK Government continues to work closely with the Devolved Governments, including the Welsh Government, as well as local authorities in Wales on support for Ukrainian and Afghan arrivals
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason local authorities in Wales are unable to access the £500 million Local Authority Housing Fund.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Local authority funding is a devolved matter in Wales and primarily funded via the Barnett formula.
However, the £150 million of funding will be allocated between the different parts of the UK in relation to their proportion of Ukrainian guests. This money is to help support Ukrainian guests move into their own homes and reduce the risk of homelessness. The Secretary of State will be writing to local authorities to set out further details of this once the allocation method has been finalised.
As referenced in the Written Ministerial Statement by my Rt. Hon Friend, the Secretary of State, on 14 December 2022, the Local Authority Housing Fund has been identified from within existing England-only Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities budgets and as such there is no additional Barnett formula funding for devolved governments.
The UK Government continues to work closely with the Devolved Governments, including the Welsh Government, as well as local authorities in Wales on support for Ukrainian and Afghan arrivals
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the cost to local authorities for (a) staff time and (b) resources to submit bids to the first and second round of the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Details of the assessment and decision-making process for round 2 of the Levelling Up Fund are available in the published explanatory note. A detailed breakdown of funding requested and awarded in round 2 can be found in the published geographic and thematic analysis. The department does not request nor record the costs incurred by applicants to the Fund. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 19 January, I am pleased to say there will be a third round of the Fund and we will outline more information on this in due course.
Unsuccessful applicants to this second round will be provided written feedback to support future applications into levelling up funds.