Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will list each shared prosperity fund stakeholder event that has taken in place with the (a) venue, (b) date and (c) list of attendees for each such event.
Answered by Jake Berry
Since June 2018 we have held external stakeholder engagement events with representatives from a breadth of sectors. We have spoken to businesses, public bodies, higher education institutions, the voluntary and charity sector and rural partnership groups. These were official level meetings that included organisations who benefit from structural funds. These events invited views on the design and priorities of the fund to aid policy development. We will consult widely on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which will give all interested parties the chance to contribute their views to Government.
To date we have held 25 engagement events in the UK which are listed below:
England:
West Midlands – Coventry – 20 June 2018
South and East Midlands – Loughborough – 2 July 2018
North East England – Gateshead – 25 July 2018
South East England – London – 5 September 2018
North West England – Preston – 11 September 2018
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly – Truro – 12 September 2018
South West England – Bristol – 25 September 2018
East of England – Norwich – 4 October 2018
Yorkshire and Humber – Huddersfield – 22 October 2018
Northern Ireland:
Belfast – 15 November 2018 (2 Events)
Derry Londonderry – 16 November 2018
Belfast – 11 January 2019 (2 Events)
Scotland:
Edinburgh – 10 October 2018
Glasgow – 1 November 2018
Dundee – 1 November 2018
Edinburgh – 2 November 2018
Edinburgh – 7 February 2019
Inverness – 8 February 2019
Wales:
Cardiff- 8 November 2018 (2 Events)
Cardiff- 9 November 2018 (2 Events)
Saint Asaph – 30 January 2019
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the outcomes were of the shared prosperity fund consultation stakeholder events held in January 2019.
Answered by Jake Berry
Since June 2018 we have held external stakeholder engagement events with representatives from a breadth of sectors. We have spoken to businesses, public bodies, higher education institutions, the voluntary and charity sector and rural partnership groups. These were official level meetings that included organisations who benefit from structural funds. These events invited views on the design and priorities of the fund to aid policy development. We will consult widely on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which will give all interested parties the chance to contribute their views to Government.
To date we have held 25 engagement events in the UK which are listed below:
England:
West Midlands – Coventry – 20 June 2018
South and East Midlands – Loughborough – 2 July 2018
North East England – Gateshead – 25 July 2018
South East England – London – 5 September 2018
North West England – Preston – 11 September 2018
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly – Truro – 12 September 2018
South West England – Bristol – 25 September 2018
East of England – Norwich – 4 October 2018
Yorkshire and Humber – Huddersfield – 22 October 2018
Northern Ireland:
Belfast – 15 November 2018 (2 Events)
Derry Londonderry – 16 November 2018
Belfast – 11 January 2019 (2 Events)
Scotland:
Edinburgh – 10 October 2018
Glasgow – 1 November 2018
Dundee – 1 November 2018
Edinburgh – 2 November 2018
Edinburgh – 7 February 2019
Inverness – 8 February 2019
Wales:
Cardiff- 8 November 2018 (2 Events)
Cardiff- 9 November 2018 (2 Events)
Saint Asaph – 30 January 2019
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 211668, for what reasons no political representatives were present at Shared Prosperity Fund engagement events in Wales.
Answered by Jake Berry
Since June 2018 we have held external stakeholder engagement events with representatives from a breadth of sectors. We have spoken to businesses, public bodies, higher education institutions, the voluntary and charity sector and rural partnership groups. These were official level meetings that included organisations who benefit from structural funds. These events invited views on the design and priorities of the fund to aid policy development. We will consult widely on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which will give all interested parties the chance to contribute their views to Government.
To date we have held 25 engagement events in the UK which are listed below:
England:
West Midlands – Coventry – 20 June 2018
South and East Midlands – Loughborough – 2 July 2018
North East England – Gateshead – 25 July 2018
South East England – London – 5 September 2018
North West England – Preston – 11 September 2018
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly – Truro – 12 September 2018
South West England – Bristol – 25 September 2018
East of England – Norwich – 4 October 2018
Yorkshire and Humber – Huddersfield – 22 October 2018
Northern Ireland:
Belfast – 15 November 2018 (2 Events)
Derry Londonderry – 16 November 2018
Belfast – 11 January 2019 (2 Events)
Scotland:
Edinburgh – 10 October 2018
Glasgow – 1 November 2018
Dundee – 1 November 2018
Edinburgh – 2 November 2018
Edinburgh – 7 February 2019
Inverness – 8 February 2019
Wales:
Cardiff- 8 November 2018 (2 Events)
Cardiff- 9 November 2018 (2 Events)
Saint Asaph – 30 January 2019
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
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 new homes were built by (a) local authorities, and (b) social landlords and housing associations in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Comprehensive estimates of all affordable housing delivered as a proportion of the total number of new net additions to the housing stock in England, since 2006-07 to 2017-18 are published in the Department’s Affordable Housing Supply Statistical Release in Chart 2 at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/affordable-housing-supply-in-england-2017-to-2018.
The figures for the total number of new homes built are published in live table 120. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing.
A breakdown of the affordable housing delivered, identifying the local authority and housing association new build in each of the last three years, is available in live table 1000C NB.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of changes to permitted development rights on the long-term viability of high streets and town centres.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Through our consultation Planning Reform: Supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes which closed on 14 January 2019, we have consulted a range of proposals and considered the responses received.
As announced in the written ministerial statement made on 13 March 2019, HCWS1408, it is now our intention to bring forward a range of reforms. To support the high street we intend to introduce additional flexibilities for businesses. These include new permitted development rights to allow change between high street uses.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of empowering local authorities to penalise landlords of commercial properties that are left vacant for lengthy periods of time.
Answered by Jake Berry
Vacant properties are not in the interest of tenants, landlords or communities. That is why at Autumn Budget 2018, as part of Our Plan for the High Street, we committed to piloting a register of empty commercial properties and supporting communities to make use of empty properties as part of broad plans for the regeneration of our high streets and town centres. The Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee’s inquiry into High Streets and Town Centres in 2030, made a recommendation to review existing policy on vacant commercial properties. The Government is considering the recommendation and will publish our response to the Select Committee in due course.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of Government intervention in the retail and hospitality sectors to minimise the number of businesses that pay above-market rents.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government considers the rents paid by tenants of commercial property to be an individual commercial decision between the landlord and tenant. We do not currently have any plans to intervene in such decisions so as not to restrict growth, distort the market or cause other unintended impacts. The Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee’s inquiry into High Streets and Town Centres in 2030, made a recommendation to review upwards only rent reviews. The Government is considering this recommendation and will publish our response to the Select Committee in due course.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the public consultation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund has been delayed.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government continues to agree the terms of our departure from the EU and continues to plan for all scenarios. It remains committed to consulting on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This will give all interested parties the chance to inform final decisions on the Fund, which are due to be taken at the spending review.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a comprehensive review of the town centre first policy.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The town centre first policy approach has been in place for two decades and has helped to give confidence to many town centre regeneration projects across the country.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, which was published last year, reaffirms our commitment to the town centre first approach by stating that main town centre uses should, where possible, be located in town centres.