Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 61 of the National Planning Policy Framework, published on 19 December 2023, whether the definition of exceptional circumstance has been influenced by case law.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out an expectation that the standard method will be used by local authorities to assess local housing needs, while recognising there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the use of an alternative approach.
The Framework does not set out an exhaustive list of what may or may not constitute an exceptional circumstance, but it does explain that this can include issues relating to the particular demographic characteristics of an area. It is for the local authority to determine if there are exceptional circumstances, and to then justify the use of an alternative method when bringing its plan forward for examination.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
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 oral contribution of 13 December 2022 of the Minister of State, Department or Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on Consideration of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, Official Report column 957, how the revised National Planning Policy Framework takes into account areas that have over-delivered and taken significant housing when calculating future housing figures.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out an expectation that the standard method will be used by local authorities to assess local housing needs, while recognising there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the use of an alternative approach.
The Framework does not set out an exhaustive list of what may or may not constitute an exceptional circumstance, but it does explain that this can include issues relating to the particular demographic characteristics of an area. It is for the local authority to determine if there are exceptional circumstances, and to then justify the use of an alternative method when bringing its plan forward for examination.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 61 of the National Planning Policy Framework, published on 19 December 2023, whether high historic housebuilding numbers might be considered to be an exceptional circumstance.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out an expectation that the standard method will be used by local authorities to assess local housing needs, while recognising there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the use of an alternative approach.
The Framework does not set out an exhaustive list of what may or may not constitute an exceptional circumstance, but it does explain that this can include issues relating to the particular demographic characteristics of an area. It is for the local authority to determine if there are exceptional circumstances, and to then justify the use of an alternative method when bringing its plan forward for examination.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 61 of the National Planning Policy Framework, published on 19 December 2023, how his Department defines exceptional circumstance in relation to housebuilding numbers.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out an expectation that the standard method will be used by local authorities to assess local housing needs, while recognising there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the use of an alternative approach.
The Framework does not set out an exhaustive list of what may or may not constitute an exceptional circumstance, but it does explain that this can include issues relating to the particular demographic characteristics of an area. It is for the local authority to determine if there are exceptional circumstances, and to then justify the use of an alternative method when bringing its plan forward for examination.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department takes to ensure that calculated local housing need reflects the housing need of the local population.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
In 2018, we introduced a standard method for assessing local housing need. The standard method uses a formula to identify the minimum number of homes expected to be planned for, in a way which addresses projected household growth, affordability and historic under-supply.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which local authority areas have built homes for more than 100,000 people in the last 30 years.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply, with estimates of new homes delivered in each local authority, in each financial year since 2001-02, shown in Live Table 122 at the following link.
For earlier years, the department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build completions, by local authority, in each financial year since 1980-81, shown in Live Table 253 at the following link.
Estimates of the number of houses completed by are not centrally collected by the department. However, approximately half of the data used to produce the house building statistics are supplied by the National House-Building Council. These data contain additional detail on the size and type of new homes being completed and can be used to provide annual estimates of the proportion of new build dwellings that are houses as opposed to flats. Annual estimates of the proportion of building control reported new build dwelling completions, in England that are purpose built houses, are shown in Live Table 254, at the following link.
Estimates of the number of local authority areas that have built homes for more than 100,000 people in the last 30 years are not centrally collected by the department.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new houses were built in each local authority in each of the last 30 years.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply, with estimates of new homes delivered in each local authority, in each financial year since 2001-02, shown in Live Table 122 at the following link.
For earlier years, the department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build completions, by local authority, in each financial year since 1980-81, shown in Live Table 253 at the following link.
Estimates of the number of houses completed by are not centrally collected by the department. However, approximately half of the data used to produce the house building statistics are supplied by the National House-Building Council. These data contain additional detail on the size and type of new homes being completed and can be used to provide annual estimates of the proportion of new build dwellings that are houses as opposed to flats. Annual estimates of the proportion of building control reported new build dwelling completions, in England that are purpose built houses, are shown in Live Table 254, at the following link.
Estimates of the number of local authority areas that have built homes for more than 100,000 people in the last 30 years are not centrally collected by the department.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to communicate to new home buyers their right, introduced on 1 April 2017, to request the building inspection records for the property.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department published revised Building Control Performance Standards that included the right to ask for inspection records on its website and issued guidance to building control bodies in April 2017 on responding to such requests.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the take-up of the right of new home buyers to request the building inspection records for the property, which was introduced on 1 April 2017.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
As part of the annual survey of performance against the Building Control Performance Standards, all building control bodies have been asked how many requests for inspection records have been made between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018. We expect to publish the results of the survey in the Building Control Performance Indicators 2017/18 report early 2019. The report will also be available on the Department's website.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on planning for the location of new decentralised power generation plants.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local planning authorities should set out the strategic priorities for the area in the Local Plan. This should include strategic policies to deliver the provision of infrastructure for energy. The Framework asks local planning authorities to identify opportunities where development can draw its energy supply from decentralised, renewable or low carbon energy supply systems and for co-locating potential heat customers and suppliers. The Framework is supported by planning guidance on renewable and low carbon energy, which sets out how decentralised energy opportunities can be identified. The National Planning Policy Framework and guidance can be found here - http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/.