Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the business rates relief for properties announced in Budget 2018 will apply to premises in planning use class D2.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
At the Budget the Government announced a one third discount off business rate bills for high streets and town centres worth almost £900 million. The discount will be available, subject to state aid, to retail properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 such as shops, restaurants, cafes and drinking establishments. We will publish guidance shortly to help local authorities determine eligibility and implement the discount.
Since 2016 the Government has announced a raft of measures to support business, including permanently doubling Small Business Rate Relief from 50 per cent to 100 per cent for eligible businesses, and raising the threshold for 100 per cent relief from £6,000 to £12,000. As a result, over 655,000 small businesses – occupiers of a third of all properties – pay no business rates at all. In addition, the Government brought forward to April 2018 the switch in the annual indexation of business rates from RPI to the main measure of inflation, currently CPI, which will be a saving for all ratepayers.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether legislative changes (a) are necessary and (b) have been made to ensure compliance in Northern Ireland with obligations under the (i) Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and (ii) Espoo Convention on Transboundary Impact.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (“the EIA Directive”) was amended by Directive 2014/52/EU (“the amended EIA Directive”). The amended EIA Directive has been transposed into UK domestic law through a number of legislative measures made by Parliament and the devolved legislatures, including by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (“the Espoo Convention”) was adopted in 1991 and entered into force on 10 September 1997. It was ratified by the UK on 10 October 1997. The changes it makes to transboundary requirements are reflected in amendments made to the EIA Directive and Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (“the SEA Directive”) and UK Regulations transposing both Directives.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when it is planned that ratification of the 2004 second amendment to the Espoo Convention on Transboundary Impact will take place in relation to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Ratification of international agreements is not a devolved policy area and is made at UK level by the UK Government. The second amendment to the Espoo Convention was adopted in 2004 and entered into force on 23 October 2017. The Government takes its international commitments very seriously and will only commit to formal ratification when it is satisfied it is in a position to do so. Officials will assess what needs to be done under domestic legislation, and practical arrangements to ratify the second amendment, in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the National Planning Policy Framework will require local plans to include biodiversity protection.
Answered by Dominic Raab
This Government is committed to protecting our natural environment. We consulted on the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which included that plans should, amongst other things, identify and map components of local wildlife-rich habitats, including the hierarchy of designated sites of importance for biodiversity as well as to identify and pursue opportunities for securing measurable net gains for biodiversity. The consultation closed on 10 May 2018 and we are currently considering responses. The revised NPPF and the Government’s response will be published this summer and will ensure that the homes the country needs are built and the environment protected.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 require Swift bricks to be incorporated into (a) new build properties and (b) restoration and renewal building projects.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Government welcomes any action by individual developers who wish to provide nesting facilities for birds, such as Swift bricks, but has no plans to legislate on this matter.