Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on what date his Department plans to publish the timeframe for allocations of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
We recognise that places need to understand the amount of UKSPF that will be available to local areas, in order to inform the development of their investment plans.
We will include information on allocations in the Prospectus, which will be published shortly, including information on the methodology that will be used to allocate the fund and what this means for local places.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to section 3.31 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the feasibility of extending the commitment on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for Cornwall to all regions of the UK.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will focus on restoring a sense of community, local pride and belonging across the country. The UKSPF will act as a primary lever in levelling up people and places in all parts of the UK to empower places to identify, and build on, their own strengths and needs at a local level.
UK-wide funding for the UKSPF will ramp up to at least match receipts from EU structural funds, which on average reached around £1.5 billion per year. Spending Review 2021 fulfils this commitment, with the announcement of over £2.6 billion for the UKSPF over the next three years, with funding reaching £1.5 billion in 2024-25.
The Government will publish further details on the fund in due course.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Barnsley Central of 2 December 2021 on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
A response to the Hon Member's letter was issued on 27 January 2022.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral Answer of the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 2 November 2021, Official Report, column 744, when the second round of Levelling Up Fund bids will open.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Round 2 of The Levelling Up Fund will open in spring 2022. Where bids have been unsuccessful, we would encourage bidders to reapply in round two.
Further information on how future rounds of the Fund will operate from 2022-23 onwards will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the level of funding provided to housing providers for homeless veterans.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Our veterans play a vital role in keeping our country safe and we are committed to ensuring that they are provided with all the support they need to successfully adjust back into civilian life.
The Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) is the government’s £433 million programme to provide 6,000 move-on homes, available as long-term assets, and accompanying support services to those who are rough sleeping or who have a history of sleeping rough.
On 29 October 2020, the government allocated more than £150 million for move-on accommodation for rough sleepers through the first year of the programme, as well as investing in high-quality support over the next three years. On 18 March 2021, we made available the remaining portion of the £433 million funding announced last year.
This funding is available over the remainder of the programme to deliver over 2,700 additional move-on homes and support services for rough sleepers, including veterans, as part of the government’s ambitious target of delivering 6,000 homes by the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the viability of introducing a UK-wide shared ownership rescue scheme to allow homeowners to part-buy and part-rent a home; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of such a scheme on the number of (a) homeowners in negative equity and (b) home repossessions.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government continually monitors the housing market, consults with the lending industry, and examines policy options for assisting homeowners. Arrears and repossessions remain near to historically low levels. The Government has no current plans to introduce a United Kingdom wide rescue scheme which will allow owner occupiers to part-buy and part-rent their existing home.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason his Department does not plan to publish a White Paper on devolution and local recovery.
Answered by Luke Hall
Levelling up all areas of the country remains at the centre of Government’s agenda, empowering our regions by devolving money, resources and control away from Westminster. Our plans for strengthening local accountable leadership will now be included in the Levelling Up White Paper which will be published in the Autumn.