Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to introduce legislation to change the park homes pitch fee review inflationary index to the Consumer Prices Index during this session.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government remains committed to improving protections for park home residents and this includes changing the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Prices Index (RPI) to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). We will introduce the required legislation when the parliamentary timetable allows.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department has provided to local authorities to enable them to enforce the fit and proper person test for park home site owners and managers.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
To assist local authorities enforcing the fit and proper persons test the department published non-statutory guidance on the implementation and the setting of fees in June 2021 and gave additional advice to authorities as required. We also provided local authorities with new burdens funding to support them in enforcing the test and continue to engage with and support local authorities to ensure the test is applied fairly and consistently.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what records the Government holds on park homes site owners and managers not deemed fit and proper for the financial year 2018-19.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The fit and proper person test was implemented in two stages. The first part came into effect on 1 July 2021 to allow local authorities to set up and prepare to receive applications. By 1 October 2021, all site owners were required to have submitted their applications. There is therefore no data from financial years 2018-2021. The department is aware of site owners and managers who have been deemed not fit and proper since the regulations came into effect, however, as these are the subject of appeals it would not be appropriate to share this information at this time.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what records the Government holds on park homes site owners and managers not deemed fit and proper for the financial year 2019-20.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The fit and proper person test was implemented in two stages. The first part came into effect on 1 July 2021 to allow local authorities to set up and prepare to receive applications. By 1 October 2021, all site owners were required to have submitted their applications. There is therefore no data from financial years 2018-2021. The department is aware of site owners and managers who have been deemed not fit and proper since the regulations came into effect, however, as these are the subject of appeals it would not be appropriate to share this information at this time.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what records the Government holds on park homes site owners and managers not deemed fit and proper for the financial year 2020-21.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The fit and proper person test was implemented in two stages. The first part came into effect on 1 July 2021 to allow local authorities to set up and prepare to receive applications. By 1 October 2021, all site owners were required to have submitted their applications. There is therefore no data from financial years 2018-2021. The department is aware of site owners and managers who have been deemed not fit and proper since the regulations came into effect, however, as these are the subject of appeals it would not be appropriate to share this information at this time.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what records the Government holds on park homes site owners and managers not deemed fit and proper for the financial year 2021-22.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The fit and proper person test was implemented in two stages. The first part came into effect on 1 July 2021 to allow local authorities to set up and prepare to receive applications. By 1 October 2021, all site owners were required to have submitted their applications. There is therefore no data from financial years 2018-2021. The department is aware of site owners and managers who have been deemed not fit and proper since the regulations came into effect, however, as these are the subject of appeals it would not be appropriate to share this information at this time.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's policy is on whether a surplus contribution to meeting employment need made by a council through its local plan affects expectations for that council's contributions to housing need through the Duty to Cooperate.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The standard method for assessing local housing need is used by councils to inform the preparation of their local plans. Councils decide their housing requirement once they have considered their ability to meet the needs in their area. This includes taking local circumstances and constraints into account.
The duty to co-operate is a statutory requirement on councils (local planning authorities and county councils) and other public bodies. They must work together constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis in relation to planning for strategic cross boundary matters during plan preparation. This can include the redistribution of housing need and employment need between authorities where one authority cannot meet its own need.
There is no direct relationship or expectation that a contribution to meeting employment need, or other development needs, affects an authority's contribution to housing need or vice versa.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
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 issue guidance to local authorities to use their discretionary powers to fast-track Disabled Facilities Grant applications for people living with motor neurone disease and other terminal conditions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
New Government guidance on the effective delivery of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) for local authorities in England was published on 28 March 2022 on Gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-facilities-grant-dfg-delivery-guidance-for-local-authorities-in-england.
The guidance includes information on discretionary powers available to local authorities under a published Housing Assistance Policy, which can include fast-tracking the DFG process for eligible people living with motor neurone disease and other terminal conditions, as well as means test exemptions for adaptations costing less than £5000 if agreed locally. Any decision to include these priorities in a Housing Assistance Policy is a local one determined by local authorities.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
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 issue guidance to local authorities to use their discretionary powers to exempt Disabled Facilities Grant applicants from means testing for housing adaptations costing less than £5,000.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
New Government guidance on the effective delivery of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) for local authorities in England was published on 28 March 2022 on Gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-facilities-grant-dfg-delivery-guidance-for-local-authorities-in-england.
The guidance includes information on discretionary powers available to local authorities under a published Housing Assistance Policy, which can include fast-tracking the DFG process for eligible people living with motor neurone disease and other terminal conditions, as well as means test exemptions for adaptations costing less than £5000 if agreed locally. Any decision to include these priorities in a Housing Assistance Policy is a local one determined by local authorities.