Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislation to approve the Law Commission's draft code on event fees under section 87 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We have committed to making event fees in leasehold retirement properties fairer and more transparent. We intend to bring forward legislation, as soon as Parliamentary time allows, to introduce a Code of Practice for event fees.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 high street businesses in Ashford constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Government is fully committed to supporting our high-street businesses and communities. The department has announced over £15 million in targeted funding in Ashford constituency since 2021, including:
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 has taken with local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour in (a) Ashford constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Jacob Young
In March 2023, the Government launched the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan to crack down on ASB, restoring people’s confidence that these crimes will be quickly and visibly punished. The Action Plan applies to all local authorities across England and Wales, including Ashford.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 received representations on the up to 40-day time period being used by the Planning Inspectorate to respond to correspondence.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence, including by its executive agencies. Where performance is below our standards, we have taken steps to improve the speed and quality of responses to Members and their constituents. While we have not received specific correspondence regarding the Planning Inspectorate, I will certainly ask for it to be raised with the Planning Inspectorate.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to update the National Planning Policy Framework to (a) reflect the affordability of almshouses and (b) include them in the definition of affordable housing.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Where almshouse organisations are registered with the Regulator of Social Housing and are letting homes at Social or Affordable Rent, or providing low-cost home ownership through shared ownership schemes, those homes are likely to fall within the definition of affordable housing in the National Planning Policy Framework.
As part of the National Planning Policy Framework consultation between 22 December 2022 and 2 March 2023, we sought views on how we can help bring forward more community-led housing, including almshouses. We will be publishing a response to that consultation in due course.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 assessment of the potential merits of advertising in local news media to increase awareness of the new voter ID requirements ahead of local elections in May 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The national communications campaign for voter identification is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission. The Commission launched its wide-reaching public awareness campaign on 9th January to ensure voters understand the change and to support continued participation in the electoral process. The Government has supported this, including through amplification of the message through government channels, through messaging on GOV.UK.
In addition to the Commission's campaign, the Government has allocated £4.75 million of additional funding to all local authorities with polls in May 2023 to support local communications.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 potential merits of implementing the recommendations of the Mobile homes: The impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission report, published on 16 June 2022.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The government commissioned a report looking at the issue and we are grateful to the authors. Ministers are actively considering this complex issue. We will publish a response in due course. We are committed to reforming the sector to deliver better value and security for residents.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 increase the supply of older people’s housing.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
My department works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to provide capital funding to incentivise supply. This includes my department's £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme which includes delivery within the programme for new supported housing for older, disabled and other vulnerable people.
DHSC's Adult Social Care Reform White Paper reiterated the Government's commitment to the important role of supported housing. This included the continuation of the Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) Fund.
In February 2022, the Levelling Up White Paper announced a taskforce on older people's housing to explore how we can improve the choice of and access to housing options for older people. We continue to work in partnership with DHSC colleagues and with housing, health and social care stakeholders to look at how we can further support the growth of a thriving older people's housing sector.
We note the recommendations in Professor Mayhew's recent review alongside contributions from other stakeholders.
I would be happy to meet with my Rt. Hon. Friend to discuss this important issue.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 potential merits of implementing the recommendations of the Mayhew Review on future-proofing retirement living.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
My department works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to provide capital funding to incentivise supply. This includes my department's £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme which includes delivery within the programme for new supported housing for older, disabled and other vulnerable people.
DHSC's Adult Social Care Reform White Paper reiterated the Government's commitment to the important role of supported housing. This included the continuation of the Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) Fund.
In February 2022, the Levelling Up White Paper announced a taskforce on older people's housing to explore how we can improve the choice of and access to housing options for older people. We continue to work in partnership with DHSC colleagues and with housing, health and social care stakeholders to look at how we can further support the growth of a thriving older people's housing sector.
We note the recommendations in Professor Mayhew's recent review alongside contributions from other stakeholders.
I would be happy to meet with my Rt. Hon. Friend to discuss this important issue.