Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what advice he received from his officials before making the decision on the recently approved coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The reasons for the Secretary of State's decision are set out in full in his published Decision Letter , it would be improper to offer further comment at this time.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking help local authorities respond to the effects of increases in inflation.
Answered by Lee Rowley
At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a substantial package of taxpayer support for local government, including new funding for adult social care. This follows a significant increase in funding for recent years, including an additional £3.7 billion in taxpayer subsidy via the 2022-23 local government finance settlement.
We are aware of the challenges of inflation within the local government sector and, along with the continued welcome transformation and efficient work that Councils are undertaking, we will continue to work closely with them on this issue.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what additional support he will offer to local authorities on reducing (a) levels of homelessness and (b) the number of people in temporary accomodation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government is committed to reducing the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness before it occurs. Local authorities have received funding through the Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2022-23, giving them the support to prevent homelessness and help more people sooner and deliver their statutory duties to prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation where required. Local authorities can use this flexibly to meet their homelessness and rough sleeping strategies - for example, to offer financial support for people to find a new home and to work with landlords to prevent evictions, among other preventative measures.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new homes with an energy efficiency rating of D to G have been built in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.
Answered by Paul Scully
The data on new build Energy Performance Certificates for (a) 2019, (b) 2021 and (d) 2022 (Quarters 1 and Q2 only), are published in DLUHCs EPC statistics live tables . However, the way the data are collected means that new build property EPC ratings cannot be distinguished from new properties stemming from change of use or conversions, where the EPC rating maybe lower, particularly if the structure of the previous building was less energy efficient.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, by what date his Department plans to make a decision on whether to grant planning permission to the proposed coking coal mine in Whitehaven.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The case remains under consideration. The target has been varied to 17 August, and a decision will be issued on or before that date.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the (a) recommendations on land use in the National Food Strategy and (b) allocation of land within the planning system for food growing and farming.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
My officials are working closely with Defra on land use, including for food production. The national food strategy for England is expected to be published after the pre-election period for the local elections given ongoing wider circumstances.
In many parts of England, using land for food growing and agriculture will not specifically require planning permission. However, our National Planning Policy Framework is clear that where planning permission is required, the importance of food production and farming should be recognised to ensure that sustainable development is achieved.
Specifically, the Framework requires local planning authorities to take into account all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, the planning authority should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality. The Framework is also clear that local authorities should encourage efficient use of land and acknowledges the importance of undeveloped land for food production.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Government (a) is taking steps and (b) plans to take steps to support proposals to regenerate Bristol’s Temple Quarter.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This Government is committed to level up all parts of the United Kingdom to address social justice challenges and strengthen economic prosperity. We will continue to work with partners across the West of England to explore opportunities to realise these missions.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with Homes England on working with local councils to help them meet their environmental objectives.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
One of Homes England’s four statutory objectives as set out in the Homes and Communities Act 2008 is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and good design in England. This continues to be an important part of my on-going conversations with the agency
Homes England works with local authorities as a matter of course and supporting their Environmental Objectives is an important part of this. For example, the Homes England Local Government Capacity Centre is offering learning sessions including Environmental Considerations in Brownfield Housing Schemes and a further one on Biodiversity Net Gain.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with the President of COP26 on his Department's role in helping city regions to achieve the Government's net zero emissions target ahead of COP26.
Answered by Lord Gove
My Department is working closely with the COP Unit, and will continue to ensure there is seamless coordination between local and national governments at both the Summit and beyond. Global leadership must be matched by action on the ground. To that end, the BEIS Local Energy programme has established five unique Local Net Zero Hubs, each covering a region of England.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
What steps he is taking to implement the policies set out in his Department's recent response to its consultation on supporting housing delivery and public service infrastructure.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
To support our town centres, we laid legislation on 31 March for a new permitted development right to allow conversions from the Commercial, Business and Service uses to residential.
The same legislation gives additional flexibility for development at ports and allows for extensions of hospitals, schools, colleges and prisons.
Separately, we are aiming to implement a faster planning application process from 1 August for new schools, prisons and hospitals.