Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to plan for development of housing and commercial developments along the route of East West Rail.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
As announced at Spring Budget 2023, the Government is providing up to £15 million to local authorities to enable them to begin planning for growth and development enabled by East-West Rail.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the (a) quality of and (b) availability of the water supply on the viability of the Cambridge 2040 plan.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
At the Spring Budget 2024, the Government published a policy paper setting out its ambition to address water challenges in Greater Cambridge and measures to achieve this. Further information can be found here.
The Government also published a joint statement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency, and Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, signalling the intention to work together to support successful delivery of these measures.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking through the planning system to increase the availability of laboratory space.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We have committed to strengthening national planning policy so that it better supports the needs of Research and Development, and will consult on these changes in due course.
We are also working to make investment in this sector more attractive. This includes working with local planning authorities to encourage the use of proactive planning tools, such as Local Development Orders, to make it easier to bring forward development.
To support this, the Autumn Statement announced £5 million of funding to help local planning authorities prepare Local Development Orders for commercial development.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of laboratory space in the UK since 15 March 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
It is for local planning authorities to determine the type of employment land that is needed in their area, and local plans should make sufficient provision for employment and other commercial development. Local policies are expected to be supported by a robust evidence base to understand existing business needs, reflecting local circumstances and market conditions.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 5.59, page 74 of the Spring Budget 2024, what his Department's (a) selection criteria and (b) rationale were for identifying Canary Wharf as the recipient hub of investment over other life sciences hubs.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England is tasked with accelerating house building and regeneration in all areas of the country. The brownfield regeneration scheme being supported at Canary Wharf includes over 500 homes in an area of high demand, responding to significant local need.
The Home Building Fund – Infrastructure Loans (HBF-IL) programme which supports this scheme provides infrastructure loans for mixed-use developments throughout England. Details of selection criteria can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/home-building-fund-infrastructure-loans.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the number of council properties to enable local authorities to provide homes for those being made homeless in (a) England, (b) the North East of England and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As set out previously, the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country, including social rent.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had meetings with the Office for Life Sciences since 1 January 2023.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to review the (a) incentives available to and (b) constraints on the affordability of homes for first-time buyers.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We have introduced a number of interventions that aim to increase the opportunities available to those wishing and able to get on the property ladder for the first time. These include First Homes, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, Shared Ownership and Right to Buy. We have also reduced stamp duty and raised the thresholds for First-Time Buyers’ Relief. We also run the Lifetime ISA scheme to help young first-time buyers save for their first home.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential impact of the change to the move-on period on levels of homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce deprivation in the North East.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We have provided over £881 million to support local regeneration projects across the towns and cities of the North East.
This figure includes over £270 million provided through the three rounds of the Levelling Up Fund, over £276 million supporting high streets and Town Deals in eleven places across the North East, and £120 million for six towns included in the recently-announced Long Term Plan for Towns.
We are also giving people in the North East the tools needed to shape a better future. In May, the North East will become the first region in England fully covered by mayoral combined authorities. These mayors will take on leadership and responsibility for long-term investment funds totalling £1.85 billion, making a direct impact on economic growth and tackling deprivation.