Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on reducing the requirements for nitrate mitigation measures for overnight accommodation in the Solent region.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
I will be meeting the Minister for the Environment to discuss the effect that nutrient pollution is having on development. Officials from across government and its agencies are working closely together to identify practical ways forward across the country. In the Solent, we have committed £3.9 million of funding to pilot a nutrient trading process to secure nature-based solutions to nitrate pollution across the Solent area, and a loan offer of up to £5.7 million to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to deliver mitigation to unlock stalled planning applications.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made in tackling nitrate neutrality in the Solent.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government has been working to understand the nitrogen pollution problems in the Solent, the impacts on housing delivery and the options for enabling growth whilst avoiding harm to important protected sites. In September, we announced £3.9 million of funding to pilot a nutrient trading process to secure nature-based solutions to nitrate pollution across the Solent area. We have also made a loan offer of up to £5.7 million to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to deliver mitigation to unlock stalled planning applications.
We are aware of the challenges faced through nutrient pollution and are seeking to address the most common sources of polluting nutrients to water. Agriculture is now the most significant source of pollution in our rivers, lakes and seas. This Government is using a package of measures to combat this, including Catchment Sensitive Farming, regulation and incentives. We will use the flexibility achieved by leaving the EU to replace Common Agricultural Policy subsidies (CAP) with an Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme through the Agriculture Act 2020 which will pay farmers for taking action to reduce pollution and restore habitats which go beyond regulatory requirements.
This Government remains committed to bringing at least three quarters of our waters to as close as possible to their natural state as soon as is practicable. In support of this, a further legally binding target is being brought forward as part of the target setting processes set out in DEFRA’s Environment Bill. The Environment Bill will place a statutory requirement on water companies to produce drainage and sewerage management plans, and we will continue to press water companies to protect both people and the environment.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of family homes that have not been built as a result of problems with nitrate neutrality in the Solent.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We have not made a direct assessment of the number of homes that have not been built due to the problems with nitrate pollution in the Solent. Information provided by the affected local authorities has indicated at least 4,500 units are backlogged principally due to this issue. This is an estimate of delayed planning applications, and not an estimate of homes not built, as not all planning permissions would have been built within this time. These are indicative numbers and some of these planning applications may also be delayed due to other issues and planning considerations as well.
Some of the affected local authorities have now launched or are in the process of agreeing mitigation schemes, ranging from offsetting through changes to council owned agricultural landholdings, offsetting through improvements to the water efficiency of council owned housing stock, and offsetting using green infrastructure secured through local plans, which will enable planning applications to be determined.
The Government is also making a loan offer of up to £5.7 million to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to deliver mitigation to unlock the stalled applications across the affected area.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting an exemption from nitrate mitigation measures for any type of overnight accommodation proposed within the Solent region.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
It is not possible to grant an exemption for a specific class of development from the requirements of the Habitat Regulations. Any development which might have an effect on a protected habitats site must demonstrate that mitigation is in place to avoid that damage. Under the Habitats Regulations, local authorities as 'competent authority' need to undertake an appropriate assessment to determine whether development is likely to result in significant effects on protected habitats sites, and whether adequate mitigation can be secured to enable development to proceed. Where a protected habitat site has fallen into an unfavourable condition, nutrient neutrality may be the mitigation necessary to ensure further damage is not caused by additional development.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of house purchasers seeking to use the Help to Buy Scheme who have had their completion dates delayed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak and as a result have lost deposits on purchases.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
On 31 July a two-month extension was announced to the building completion deadline from 31 December 2020 to 28 February 2021, allowing an additional two months’ build time. The legal completion deadline for the purchase remains 31 March 2021.
The Government also announced an extra measure to protect existing customers who have experienced severe delays as a result of coronavirus. Homes England, who administer Help to Buy, will work with those who had a reservation in place before 30 June to assess their situation and look to provide an extension where necessary. In which case, they will have until 31 May 2021 to legally complete. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/help-to-buy-scheme-extended.
Should there be any cases where a reservation has been secured after 30 June 2020 and the build is severely delayed despite the additional build time, and so the homebuyer is unable to reach legal completion by 31 March 2021, they must be unconditionally released from the contract. The homebuyer is advised to contact their conveyancer should they need further advice.
Meanwhile the Government’s new Help to Buy scheme, which will replace the current scheme and is for first time buyers only, will commence on 1 April 2021 and run until March 2023. There are no plans for further extensions. https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/equity-loan/help-to-buy-equity-loan-2021-2023/.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to extend the Help to Buy scheme so that property completions delayed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak can be accepted as part of that scheme.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government recognises that there have been delays caused by Covid-19, resulting in some homes reserved under the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme not being built within the current scheme deadlines. Therefore, on 31 July a two-month extension was announced to the building completion deadline moving it from 31 December 2020 to 28 February 2021. The legal completion deadline for the purchase remains 31 March 2021.
The Government also announced an extra measure to protect existing customers who have experienced severe delays as a result of coronavirus. Homes England, who administer Help to Buy, will work with those who had a reservation in place before 30 June to assess their situation and look to provide an extension where necessary, in which case they will have until 31 May 2021 to legally complete. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/help-to-buy-scheme-extended.
Meanwhile the Government’s new Help to Buy scheme, which will replace the current scheme and is for first time buyers only, will commence on 1 April 2021 and run until March 2023. There are no plans for further extensions. https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/equity-loan/help-to-buy-equity-loan-2021-2023/.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities may extend the three month discount on council tax for empty properties.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The power to offer a council tax discount on empty properties is at the discretion of local authorities who can determine both the level of the discount and the length of time that it should be applied
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman were upheld in 2019.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman publishes on their website an annual review of local government complaints. The latest report available is for financial year 2018 to 2019. It reveals that 4,232 detailed investigations were carried out in 2018 to 2019 and 58 per cent of those complaints were upheld.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman were upheld in 2019.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman publishes on their website an annual review of local government complaints. The latest report available is for financial year 2018 to 2019. It reveals that 4,232 detailed investigations were carried out in 2018 to 2019 and 58 per cent of those complaints were upheld.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of affordable housing units built in England in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Answered by Esther McVey
In 2018/19 57,485 additional affordable homes were completed.
Details are published in live table 1000: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply