Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to extend the time frame in which local authorities can spend the capital receipts from the sale of council and social housing during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
To support local authority house building during this unprecedented time, we extended the deadline for local authorities to spend receipts arising from sales of their homes by an additional six months. This has enabled many of them to catch up with their spending plans and deliver replacement social housing.
We are currently looking into requests for further extensions and will inform authorities of the outcome as soon as possible.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what role (a) archaeology and (b) heritage will play in his Department's proposals on changes to the planning process.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is committed to the protection of the historic environment and we have put in place a strong legislative and policy framework to achieve this. In bringing forward any reforms to the planning system, we will ensure that heritage considerations, including the need for archaeological surveys, are taken into account.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that appropriate community consultation may take place in respect of the proposed EDF development of the Sizewell C nuclear power station during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The planning system has a vital role to play in supporting the United Kingdom’s economic recovery and it should continue to operate effectively during the Covid-19 emergency while adhering to the Government’s guidance on social distancing. A written ministerial statement (Virtual working and planning – Responding to Covid–19 Restrictions, 13 May 2020 (HCWS235)) by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government made clear that moving to digital events and processes will be critical and that these can be put in place in the vast majority of cases to allow for the participation of all parties.
The Government fully supports the Planning Inspectorate’s programme for moving to digital events and it expects such events to be taking place virtually by mid-June, other than in exceptional circumstances. The method by which hearings and events are conducted is a matter for the Inspectorate, operating in accordance with their legal obligations.
The application for development of the Sizewell C nuclear power station was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 27 May 2020. After receipt of the application, the Planning Inspectorate has 28 days to review the application and decide whether or not to accept it. If the application is accepted, it will be examined in public. The public will be able to register with the Planning Inspectorate to become an Interested Party. Any interested party can make representations to the examining authority on any aspect of the project.
The Government expects everyone involved in the planning process to engage proactively and the Inspectorate published guidance on 28 May 2020 on how interested parties and members of the public can participate in the examination process, including accessing documents online and attending virtual hearings. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-planning-inspectorate-guidance.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the ability for due diligence to take place in respect of (a) the proposed development by EDF of the Sizewell C nuclear power station and (b) other significant planning applications.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The planning system has a vital role to play in supporting the United Kingdom’s economic recovery and it should continue to operate effectively during the Covid-19 emergency while adhering to the Government’s guidance on social distancing. A written ministerial statement (Virtual working and planning – Responding to Covid–19 Restrictions, 13 May 2020 (HCWS235)) by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government made clear that moving to digital events and processes will be critical and that these can be put in place in the vast majority of cases to allow for the participation of all parties.
The Government fully supports the Planning Inspectorate’s programme for moving to digital events and it expects such events to be taking place virtually by mid-June, other than in exceptional circumstances. The method by which hearings and events are conducted is a matter for the Inspectorate, operating in accordance with their legal obligations.
The application for development of the Sizewell C nuclear power station was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 27 May 2020. After receipt of the application, the Planning Inspectorate has 28 days to review the application and decide whether or not to accept it. If the application is accepted, it will be examined in public. The public will be able to register with the Planning Inspectorate to become an Interested Party. Any interested party can make representations to the examining authority on any aspect of the project.
The Government expects everyone involved in the planning process to engage proactively and the Inspectorate published guidance on 28 May 2020 on how interested parties and members of the public can participate in the examination process, including accessing documents online and attending virtual hearings. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-planning-inspectorate-guidance.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to dispense with the need for community referendums to ratify neighbourhood plans during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Department has no plans to remove the requirement for neighbourhood planning referendums during the COVID-19 pandemic as it is important that communities have the final say on whether plans should be brought in to force. Regulations that postpone referendums until May 2021 will continue to be kept under review. We have made it clear in planning guidance that neighbourhood plans awaiting referendum can be given significant weight in planning decisions.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to provide additional longer term financial support to local authorities during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
This Government has made available £3.2 billion in un-ringfenced funding to local authorities, and introduced measures to ease immediate cashflow pressures, to make sure they have the resources they need to continue fighting the coronavirus pandemic
The package recognises the additional costs and pressures on finances which councils are facing as a result of the current crisis. It demonstrates the Government’s commitment to make sure councils, including upper and lower tier authorities, have the resources they need to support their communities through this challenging time
Government is also providing additional resources to councils to support with specific issues, including an additional £600 million to support providers through a new Adult Social Care Infection Control and Workforce Resilience Fund
The Spending Review, later this year, will be the appropriate time to look at funding for local government in the round, and we will communicate our plans as early as we can through the provisional settlement. We will continue to engage councils on the best approach to the next financial year and work together to ensure they are managing as the pandemic progresses.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to support the merger of Babergh and Mid-Suffolk district councils.
Answered by Simon Clarke
In 2010 Babergh and Mid-Suffolk Councils engaged with my Department and with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) regarding a merger of the two districts, but in 2011 the Councils decided not to go ahead following a local referendum. There was further engagement with the Councils in 2018 about a possible merger, which again was not progressed, and currently there is no proposal for merger with the Department
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to compensate local authorities for loss of revenue from car parking receipts during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government is aware of the impact on local authorities’ financial position as a result of Covid-19. We are collecting monitoring data on a monthly basis on income and expenditure. We will share a summary of the returns in due course. I would like to encourage local authorities to keep engaging with us through the second round of returns, which will provide valuable data about what is happening on the front-line.
On 28 April the Local Government Secretary announced allocations to individual local authorities of the additional £1.6 billion of funding to support councils in delivering essential front line services, that was announced on 18 April. The grant has been paid as an un-ringfenced amount, recognising local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the additional Covid-19 service pressures in their area. This funding is in addition to the £1.6 billion announced on 19 March.
The Government has made a commitment to support all authorities with the additional cost pressures from the extra work and the specific tasks we have asked them to carry out as a result of the pandemic, including in relation to social care – both adult and children’s, public health services, shielding the most vulnerable, homelessness and rough sleeping, supporting the NHS and managing excess deaths.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to compensate local authorities for loss of revenue from rents during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government is aware of the impact on local authorities’ financial position as a result of Covid-19. We are collecting monitoring data on a monthly basis on income and expenditure. We will share a summary of the returns in due course. I would like to encourage local authorities to keep engaging with us through the second round of returns, which will provide valuable data about what is happening on the front-line.
On 28 April the Local Government Secretary announced allocations to individual local authorities of the additional £1.6 billion of funding to support councils in delivering essential front line services, that was announced on 18 April. The grant has been paid as an un-ringfenced amount, recognising local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the additional Covid-19 service pressures in their area. This funding is in addition to the £1.6 billion announced on 19 March.
The Government has made a commitment to support all authorities with the additional cost pressures from the extra work and the specific tasks we have asked them to carry out as a result of the pandemic, including in relation to social care – both adult and children’s, public health services, shielding the most vulnerable, homelessness and rough sleeping, supporting the NHS and managing excess deaths.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to extend the time limit for local authorities to retain the proceeds of right to buy housing receipts.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We are keeping the situation under review and will inform local authorities as soon as a decision has been made.