Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities acting as billing authorities in Business Improvement Districts that wish to (a) suspend, (b) alter and (c) reduce that levy during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have a significant role to play in high street regeneration and will be even more important in the recovery from the current crisis.
That is why Government has introduced up to £6.1 million in funding. The funding is intended to cover the equivalent of three months’ of core operational costs and is based on a fair percentage of a BID's levy income from each BID’s operating year ending in 2019/20.
My department undertook a light-touch information gathering exercise to collect information needed from local authorities to prepare and process the section 31 grants. Following this information gathering exercise, the first batch of grant payments to 70 local authorities were paid out early in the week commencing 2 June. Other batches will follow shortly.
All local authorities who have submitted information to us by the initial deadline of 15 May should receive funding this month. We will provide funding to others as soon as possible.
We have encouraged local authorities to be pragmatic in the collection of BID levies while acknowledging that they have a statutory obligation to issue the BID levy invoices. The BIDs support funding will enable authorities to take a more flexible approach to the collection of BID levies at this difficult time for many businesses.
This funding is in addition to passing legislation which enables BIDs to extend the maximum duration of their BID arrangements until 31 March 2021. This allows businesses to focus on recovery from economic shock before deciding whether to participate in BID arrangements for the following 5-year period, and allows BIDs to coordinate their places’ recovery
We?will continue to?work closely with the sector to look at how further we can support BIDs, and the businesses that contribute to them, during this time.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Government Act 2003, if he will take steps to enable local authorities to (a) waive, (b) cancel and (c) discount levies in relation to Business Improvement Districts.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have a significant role to play in high street regeneration and will be even more important in the recovery from the current crisis.
That is why Government has introduced up to £6.1 million in funding. The funding is intended to cover the equivalent of three months’ of core operational costs and is based on a fair percentage of a BID's levy income from each BID’s operating year ending in 2019/20.
My department undertook a light-touch information gathering exercise to collect information needed from local authorities to prepare and process the section 31 grants. Following this information gathering exercise, the first batch of grant payments to 70 local authorities were paid out early in the week commencing 2 June. Other batches will follow shortly.
All local authorities who have submitted information to us by the initial deadline of 15 May should receive funding this month. We will provide funding to others as soon as possible.
We have encouraged local authorities to be pragmatic in the collection of BID levies while acknowledging that they have a statutory obligation to issue the BID levy invoices. The BIDs support funding will enable authorities to take a more flexible approach to the collection of BID levies at this difficult time for many businesses.
This funding is in addition to passing legislation which enables BIDs to extend the maximum duration of their BID arrangements until 31 March 2021. This allows businesses to focus on recovery from economic shock before deciding whether to participate in BID arrangements for the following 5-year period, and allows BIDs to coordinate their places’ recovery
We?will continue to?work closely with the sector to look at how further we can support BIDs, and the businesses that contribute to them, during this time.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he had made on the establishment of a new statutory regime to ensure that freeholders who pay maintenance charges have equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of those charges; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government intends to legislate to give freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of estate rentcharges as well as the right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager for the provision of services covered by estate rentcharges. We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals for a statutory minimum ballot turnout under the Local Government Act 2003 and the Business Improvements Districts (England) Regulations 2004 for a Business Improvement District to be established; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jake Berry
The government is committed to supporting Business Improvement Districts, as they have been a key tool in providing business-led improvements to local areas since 2004, and they remain an important part of our high streets and town centre agenda.
The government does not have any specific proposals for amending the Local Government Act 2003 and the Business Improvements Districts (England) Regulations 2004 with respect to Business Improvement Districts at the present time, including any plans to prevent local authorities from voting in Business Improvement Districts ballots or introduce a statutory minimum ballot turnout.
The government keeps the statutory framework for Business Improvement Districts under constant review.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban local authorities from voting in any ballot which takes place under the Local Government Act 2003 and the Business Improvements Districts (England) Regulations 2004 (SI2004/2443).
Answered by Jake Berry
The government is committed to supporting Business Improvement Districts, as they have been a key tool in providing business-led improvements to local areas since 2004, and they remain an important part of our high streets and town centre agenda.
The government does not have any specific proposals for amending the Local Government Act 2003 and the Business Improvements Districts (England) Regulations 2004 with respect to Business Improvement Districts at the present time, including any plans to prevent local authorities from voting in Business Improvement Districts ballots or introduce a statutory minimum ballot turnout.
The government keeps the statutory framework for Business Improvement Districts under constant review.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and public acceptability of the application of the Local Government Act 2003 and the Business Improvements Districts (England) Regulations 2004 (SI2004/2443); and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jake Berry
The government is committed to supporting Business Improvement Districts, as they have been a key tool in providing business-led improvements to local areas since 2004, and they remain an important part of our high streets and town centre agenda.
The government does not have any specific proposals for amending the Local Government Act 2003 and the Business Improvements Districts (England) Regulations 2004 with respect to Business Improvement Districts at the present time, including any plans to prevent local authorities from voting in Business Improvement Districts ballots or introduce a statutory minimum ballot turnout.
The government keeps the statutory framework for Business Improvement Districts under constant review.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what monitoring takes place to ensure that local authorities are fulfilling their duties in ensuring that new buildings are compliant with building regulations.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department carries out a regular Building Control Performance Standards survey to monitor work by local authorities to ensure that new buildings are compliant with the building regulations. Local authorities are asked to report against those standards, which are designed to encourage consistent, high-quality building control services. The Government is assessing options for strengthening the performance of building control bodies, as part of its response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building regulations and fire safety.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will issue advice to local authorities on increasing the minimum size of car parking spaces in their car parks to take account of the increasing average size of new cars; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the Government’s policies for promoting sustainable transport, including on parking provision. The Framework explains that local authorities should seek to improve the quality of parking in town centres so that it is convenient, safe and secure. We believe that local authorities are best placed to determine the parking needs of their local communities, having regard to national planning policy.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to provide (a) refuges and (b) other support to family members in rural areas experiencing domestic abuse and other relationship problems; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Domestic Abuse is a devastating crime and we are determined to ensure that no one is turned away from the support they need irrespective of where they live. Government has committed £80 million of extra funding up to 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls. In the strategy to end violence against women and girls published on 8 March, we set out our ambition to improve services for women suffering from domestic abuse committing to a new Statement of Expectations to set out for the first time what we expect from local areas. To support this, we are launching a new two year fund, which will be open to local authorities across the country including those from rural areas, to bid for funding for refuges and other forms of accommodation based support and to help local areas take the steps they need to meet the National Statement.
This builds on the £3.5 million funding in 2015/16 and is on top of the £10 million funding to strengthen the provision of safe accommodation in the last spending review period. The Government does recognise the distinct challenges faced by victims of domestic abuse in rural areas and has supported bids for funding from rural areas for example Suffolk, Shropshire and Somerset.
Our Troubled Families Programme is about transforming the way local services support families with multiple problems. It incentivises services to come together, working with and understanding the needs of the whole family instead of constantly reacting to their individual problems. 29% of families in entry to the programme between 2012 and 2015 were experiencing domestic violence or abuse.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what (a) advice and (b) assistance he has recently provided to local authorities to help them promote trade in town centres; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Government has provided a range of advice and assistance to help town centre partners, including local authorities, to promote trade and create vibrant town centres. These include guidance on discretionary rate relief, Business Improvement Districts, digital high streets and guides that showcase successful local initiatives. We also developed the ‘Kick Start Your High Street’ action pack which contains a range of practical guides and support for councils and local people.
In addition, since 2010, the Government has provided over £1.4 billion in business rates support, helped create over 360 town teams and given over £18 million to towns – boosting struggling town centres with the High Streets Innovation Fund and launching successful initiatives such as “Love your Local Market” and the “Great British High Street” Portal and Awards.
The Great British High Street Awards, now in its second year, is in full swing and is currently open for entries. Winners across the seven categories (London; City; Town centre; Market town; Coastal community; Local centre; Village) share a cash prize, but more importantly, receive mentoring and support such as free training to develop digital skills for local businesses.