Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to end gazundering.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government’s future legislative agenda will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to provide additional funding to local authorities to cover the cost of increasing the national living wage for social care staff.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 made available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23. The government will look in the round at sector spending when finalising budgets at next year’s finance settlement, as we do every year. This will include considering the impact of inflation and other wider economic circumstances.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
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 publish the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As with previous years, the government will bring forward its proposals for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2024-25 in the usual way towards the end of the calendar year.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues on the criteria residents need to satisfy to qualify for the over-65 discount scheme for a reduction in council tax operated by local authorities.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
While local council tax support schemes are administered by local authorities, the Government sets out the circumstances in which pensioners are eligible for a reduction in council tax in The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 Regulations. These Regulations are updated annually.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what impact assessment his Department (a) undertook or (b) asked local councils to provide before waiving the cap on council tax increases for Slough, Thurrock and Croydon.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
All decisions were made in line with normal processes, and appropriate impact assessment in line with duties.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to provide training for (a) polling station and (b) returning officers on determining the veracity of official documents and photo IDs before the elections in May 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 165270 on 17th March 2023.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the progress made by local authorities on the implementation of voter ID requirements ahead of the May 2023 elections.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 165270 on 17th March 2023.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to bring forward legislative proposals to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
This is a complex issue and that is why a review is the right course of action and we are looking at all options.
Work is ongoing and the Government will update on its findings in due course.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to implement the recommendations made by the Law Commission in March 2017 on transparency of fees and charges in retirement properties.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government responded to the Law Commission in March 2019, thanking them for the report and agreeing to implement the majority of the recommendations. The Government is further considering two of the recommendations, on succession rights and a database of leasehold retirement properties with event fees.
Given the impact of Covid-19 on the legislative agenda, and the Government’s wider priorities to restart the economy, we will bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 19, I - Housing & Planning (ALB)(Net) of Capital DEL - Communities of his Department's Main Estimates 2019-20 Memorandum, if he will publish details of budgeted expenditure under S01- Building Affordable Homes.
Answered by Jake Berry
The information provided below gives details of spending areas under each Strategic Objective as a whole, rather than broken down across Estimate Row. In the Main Estimate Explanatory Memorandum, Strategic Objectives are split across the Department’s Estimate Rows meaning that some Strategic Objectives appear under more than one Estimate Row.
The Department uses Strategic Objectives to allocate out budgets, monitor spend and delivery and report publicly. Under each Strategic Objective are a number of programmes which are made up of a number of Work Areas.
The Department’s budgets for both Programmes and the Work Areas that sit underneath each Programme, are kept under regular review and are revised where necessary to reflect changes in the operating environment. As such, the Department has not provided a further details of budget expenditure for each Work Area as budgets and structure may change during the year.
The Department notes that the level of budgeted expenditure detail provided in the Main Estimate Explanatory Memorandum is in line with guidance issued by the Scrutiny Unit.
Updated budgets for each Programme will be provided at the Supplementary Estimate later in the year.
Expenditure under the Strategic Objectives (SO), Programme and Work Area for Resource DEL budgets are as follows;
UIN | Strategic Objective | Programme | Work Area |
284201 | SO1 | Infrastructure for Housing | Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, Housing Infrastructure Fund |
284199 | SO1 | Market Diversification | Community Housing Fund, Housing Supply: Legacy (Get Britain Building, Local Infrastructure Fund, Custom Build), Housing Supply: Build to Rent, Housing Supply: Estate Regeneration, Home Building Fund: Short Term Investment, Home Building Fund: Long Term Investment |
284311 | SO1 | Public Sector Land | Single Land Programme |
284314 | Other | Admin including depreciation | Homes England Admin, Leasehold Advisory Services Admin, Homes England Receipts, The Housing Ombudsman Admin, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation Admin, The Regulator of Social Housing Admin |
Expenditure under the Strategic Objectives (SO), Programme and Work Area for Capital DEL budgets are as follows;
UIN | Strategic Objective | Programme | Work Area |
284300 284316 284327 | SO1 | Building Affordable Homes | London Settlement, Affordable Homes Programme, Brent Cross, Capital Running Costs, Affordable Homes Guarantee, Right to Buy |
284303 284321 | SO1 | Infrastructure for Housing | Infrastructure to Support Housing, Housing Deals: Greater Manchester, Housing Deals: West Midlands, Oxford-Cambridge Corridor (Ox Cam Arc), Housing Infrastructure Fund, Bicester |
284293 | SO1 | Market Diversification | Planning Inspectorate, Community Housing Fund |
284306 | SO1 | More land in the right places | Land Assembly Fund, Small Sites Fund, Accelerated Construction, LA Land Release Fund, Barking |
284309 | SO1 | Public Sector Land | Public Sector Land |
284269 | SO2 | Social Housing Green Paper | Domestic Abuse |
284278 | SO2 | Leasehold Reform | Leasehold Reform |
284274 284287 | SO2 | Homelessness | Preventing Homelessness, Move On Fund, Flexible Homelessness Support Grant |
284284 | SO2 | Rough Sleeping | Rough Sleeping Strategy |
284271 | SO4 | Adult Social Care | Disabled Facilities Grant |
284272 | SO5 | Building Safety | Technical Policy, Energy Safe Materials, Cladding Remediation, Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety |
284298 | SO5 | Grenfell Recovery | Grenfell Autumn Budget 2017 Commitments, Grenfell Tower Site Management |