Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on the Ending Rough Sleeping for Good strategy, published September 2022.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Since publishing the rough sleeping strategy last September, Government is making good progress on core commitments: for instance, we have extended our flagship Rough Sleeping Initiative to 2025, with over £530 million funding so that local areas can provide the tailored support needed to tackle rough sleeping in their areas. On the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, we have now delivered over 5,000 units of accommodation out of a programme target of 6,000 and have launched the new £200 million Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme which will provide much needed homes for young people and rough sleepers with complex needs.
Rough sleeping levels are 35% lower in 2022 compared to the peak in 2017 and 28% lower than they were in 2019 before the pandemic. We will continue to work with local authorities and partners, the voluntary and community sector and private sector.
As the Hon. Member will be aware, rough sleeping and homelessness policy is devolved.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many UK citizens have taken part in the Homes for Ukraine guest since its establishment.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the location of a freeport in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government has agreed and announced freeports with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and had previously engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive on this issue. However, given the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive since February 2022, it is not possible to take this any further forward. The Government looks forward to pursuing further discussions with a restored Executive on extending the benefits of the freeports programme across the UK.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2021 to Question 171526, on Freeports, if he will publish the locations of proposed Freeports by each (a) region and (b) nation of the UK as of 7 March 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Details about Freeport locations can be found on gov.uk. Maps showing English Freeport outer boundaries, tax, and customs sites are also publicly available. Maps for those Green Freeports in Scotland (and any future Freeport in Wales) will be published once tax, and customs sites have been approved and designated.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's correspondence to the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 27 September 2021, reference 9099/G/21, when he plans to announce the freeport location in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This Government is committed to extending the benefits of our Freeports programme across the UK and continues to work with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland on how best to do so.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of Levelling Up Fund Round 2 funding was allocated to (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 129836 on 26 January 2023.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he will announce the outcome of his decision on the location of freeports in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Freeports will level up and regenerate communities across the UK by attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country.
The UK Government remains committed to extending the Freeports programme to Northern Ireland as soon as possible
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 21 February 2022 to Question 121697, on Levelling Up Fund: Devolution, in the context of Northern Ireland being the only devolved region of the UK to which the first round allocation was below the anticipated allocation, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the second round of funding redresses any imbalance.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
In August 2021, we provided £1,375,000 to 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland, to support the development of high-quality bids for future rounds of the Levelling Up Fund. Officials have already begun to work with a range of stakeholders to prepare them for future funding opportunities.
In addition, following the launch of round two of the Fund in spring 2022, we will implement a support offer to further help applicants to develop high quality bids that will have lasting impacts for communities across GB and NI.
Future rounds of the Levelling Up Fund will continue to prioritise a fair deal for all nations of the UK, meeting the commitment we set out to at least £800 million for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the lifetime of the Fund.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of first round allocations of the UK Levelling Up Fund went to (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland; and how did those allocations compare to the minimum allocations that had been set out.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The first round of the Levelling Up Fund will invest £1.7 billion in 105 local infrastructure projects across the UK
The first round allocations for each nation are as follows: Scotland - 10.1%; Wales - 7.2%; Northern Ireland - 2.9%.
The Levelling Up Fund prospectus stated that at least 9% of total UK allocations were to be set aside for Scotland; 5% for Wales; and 3% for Northern Ireland.
There was significant interest in the first round of the Fund. Whilst some bids have not been successful, there will be further funding opportunities through a second round of the Levelling Up Fund which will open in spring 2022. More information on this will be available in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the location of freeports across the UK; and whether the decision on those locations is linked to the Government's levelling up agenda.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Freeports will level up and regenerate communities across the UK by attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country. At the Autumn Budget the first Freeport tax sites were announced in Tees, Thames and Humber. The UK Government remains committed to establishing its Freeport programme across the whole of the UK including in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as soon as possible and are confident our model embraces the highest employment and environmental standards. Any future process for allocating a Freeport in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will follow a fair, open and transparent assessment process.