Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of nutrient neutrality credit costs on the affordability of new housing developments in West Dorset.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In December 2023, the previous government awarded Dorset council £4.63m in Round 1 of the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund to support the delivery of local nutrient mitigation schemes that would provide mitigation and unblock stalled development.
The present government awarded Poole Harbour a further £100,000 in Nutrient Support Funding in Autumn 2024.
These funds are intended to be used and recycled locally in a way which helps to unlock housing while mitigating the effects of nutrient pollution.
The government has not made an assessment of the potential impact of the scheme on affordability.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to remove the one metre boundary rule for air source heat pumps in 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The relevant regulations were laid on 8 May 2025 and came into force on 29 May 2025. Further details on the changes can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when her Department plans to bring forward amended regulations on the permitted distance of air source heat pumps from property boundaries under the Warm Homes Plan.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The relevant regulations were laid on 8 May 2025 and came into force on 29 May 2025. Further details on the changes can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential impact of the classification of ancillary spaces as separate dwellings for council tax purposes on costs for owners of listed buildings.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is the organisation responsible for determining the council tax band of all domestic properties. In doing this they will make an assessment of whether a property consists of one dwelling or multiple dwellings. They will make this decision based on legislation and case law. The government does not have any plans to change this approach.
Where part of a property is liable as a separate dwelling, it will be liable for the standard rate of council tax for that band set by local authorities in the area. The council tax system does contain a number of discounts and exemptions to reflect different types of annexes. The government’s guidance on how annexes are treated for council tax purposes can be found here.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on the classification of (a) annexes and (b) sculleries in listed buildings for council tax purposes.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is the organisation responsible for determining the council tax band of all domestic properties. In doing this they will make an assessment of whether a property consists of one dwelling or multiple dwellings. They will make this decision based on legislation and case law. The government does not have any plans to change this approach.
Where part of a property is liable as a separate dwelling, it will be liable for the standard rate of council tax for that band set by local authorities in the area. The council tax system does contain a number of discounts and exemptions to reflect different types of annexes. The government’s guidance on how annexes are treated for council tax purposes can be found here.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of fire departments have inflatable crash mats.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG collects data through the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System (IRS) on equipment used by Fire & Rescue Services at the scene of an incident. It does not include data for the specific equipment category of inflatable crash mat.
This data is published in a variety of publications, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics and data tables here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables; though no statistics are published on the equipment used at incidents.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of crash mat availability in (a) Dorset and (b) other rural fire services.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the equipment and training they need to safely respond to incidents, and to do so in light of their individual areas’ risk profiles and Community Risk Management Plans. We work closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council to ensure that the fire and rescue sector has sufficient resource to keep the public safe.
The government does not hold any data or publish any statistics on equipment used at incidents.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding options are available to community land trusts for (a) site remediation and (b) preliminary infrastructure work following the abolition of the Derelict Land Grant.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the value of Community Land Trusts in developing homes for local communities.
Community Land Trusts can apply for funding through a range of existing programmes, including the Brownfield Land Release Fund and the Affordable Homes Programme.
The Department continues to engage with the sector and keeps funding options under review to support community-led housing delivery.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will consider extending existing site remediation funding to Community Land Trusts.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the value of Community Land Trusts in developing homes for local communities.
Community Land Trusts can apply for funding through a range of existing programmes, including the Brownfield Land Release Fund and the Affordable Homes Programme.
The Department continues to engage with the sector and keeps funding options under review to support community-led housing delivery.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that fire and rescue services have the expertise required to meet the regulatory requirements on that sector.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is the role of Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA) to hold Fire and Rescue Services to account. There are a number of different FRA governance models (for example mayoral authorities, Police Fire and Crime Commissioners and standalone FRAs). However, all areas are required to comply and pay due regard to relevant legislation and guidance.
All FRAs, are required to comply with including the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England and they are required annually to provide assurance to the government that they are meeting the requirements set out in the National Framework.