Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he expects the second part of the Government’s leasehold reform legislation to be brought forward.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government remains committed to creating a fair and just housing system that works for everyone. We will be taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market.
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 will come into force on 30 June. The Act will make homeownership fairer and more transparent for thousands of future leaseholders, by preventing landlords under new residential long leases from requiring a leaseholder to pay a financial ground rent
This is the first part of seminal two-part legislation to implement leasehold and commonhold reforms in this Parliament. This is a long-term reform programme; it is complex with many interdependencies and will take time to get the detail right. Once it is enacted the effect will be felt for generations and so we are determined this work considers all the implications and impacts with care.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of amending the Party Wall Act 1996 to compel homeowners undertaking works subject to the Act to serve a party wall notice.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Anyone intending to carry out any of the works mentioned in section 2 of the Party Wall Act 1996, must inform all adjoining owners. The Act contains no enforcement procedures for failure to serve a notice. If work starts without a notice being given, an adjoining owner can seek to stop the work through a court injunction or seek other legal redress.
The Department has not carried out an assessment of the average legal costs of pursuing a civil court injunction to enforce compliance with the Act or the potential merits of amending the Act. The Act provides for surveyors to be paid the reasonable costs of drawing up an award. However, if the building owner or the adjoining owner feels that a surveyor’s costs are unreasonable, they may ask for a breakdown of costs, e.g. the hourly rate and number of hours of time being charged for.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) average legal costs of pursuing a civil court injunction to enforce compliance with the Party Wall Act 1996 and (b) extent to which those costs prohibit homeowners from reaching a resolution.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Anyone intending to carry out any of the works mentioned in section 2 of the Party Wall Act 1996, must inform all adjoining owners. The Act contains no enforcement procedures for failure to serve a notice. If work starts without a notice being given, an adjoining owner can seek to stop the work through a court injunction or seek other legal redress.
The Department has not carried out an assessment of the average legal costs of pursuing a civil court injunction to enforce compliance with the Act or the potential merits of amending the Act. The Act provides for surveyors to be paid the reasonable costs of drawing up an award. However, if the building owner or the adjoining owner feels that a surveyor’s costs are unreasonable, they may ask for a breakdown of costs, e.g. the hourly rate and number of hours of time being charged for.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) challenges disabled (i) renters and (ii) buyers face on the private housing market and (b) adequacy of support available to disabled people in finding suitable properties with accessible features.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Government is committed to helping disabled and older people to live independently and safely. People of all ages and all tenures can apply to their local authority for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which is a capital grant administered by local authorities in England that can contribute towards meeting the cost of adapting an eligible person’s home. Since 2010 Government has invested over £4 billion into the DFG (2010-11 to 2021-22), delivering an estimated 490,000 home adaptations. We have developed a range of consumer guides to help make buying, selling and renting more straightforward to navigate.
Government consulted on options to raise the accessibility of all new homes, recognising the importance of suitable homes for disabled people. We are currently considering responses and will publish a government response and set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) average cost of appointing a surveyor for the purposes of drawing up a party wall award and (b) extent to which this cost prohibits homeowners in settling disputes.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Any surveyor appointed under section 10 of the Party Wall Act 1996 is undertaking a statutory role. In all cases, surveyors appointed or selected under the dispute resolution procedure of the Act must consider the interests and rights of both owners and draw up an award impartially.
The Department has not carried out an assessment of the average cost of appointing a surveyor for the purposes of drawing up a party wall award. The Act provides for surveyors to be paid the reasonable costs of drawing up an award. However, if the owner or the adjoining owner feels that a surveyor’s costs are unreasonable they may ask for a breakdown of costs, e.g. the hourly rate and number of hours of time being charged for.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2022 to Question 98458 on Trees: Biodiversity and Climate Change, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving greater weight to (a) climate change and (b) biodiversity for those seeking to grant Tree Preservation Orders.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Trees are at the forefront of the Government’s plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and to help to bend the curve of biodiversity loss. We are committed to increasing tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament.
As stated in the answer to Question 98458, our guidance sets out that local authorities may wish to take nature conservation importance or climate change response factors into account when assessing the amenity of a tree or woodland, but that these factors alone would not warrant making an Order. The guidance also sets out that Orders should be used where the removal of the tree or trees would have a significant negative impact on the local environment and its enjoyment by the public.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 impact of the (a) The Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012 and (b) guidance issued on 6 March 2014 on (i) Tree Preservation Orders and (ii) trees in conservation areas with regards to their ability to improve biodiversity and mitigate climate change issues.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
This Government recognises the biodiversity and climate mitigation value of trees. We committed in the England Trees Action Plan to spend over £500 million of the Nature for Climate Fund on trees and woodland in England between 2020 and 2025. The England Tree Action Plan also committed this Government to publishing guidance on managing woodland for a changing climate.
The planning practice guidance, as published on 6 March 2014, sets out that local authorities may consider taking into account the importance to nature conservation and climate change response when assessing amenity value. Information on the impact of tree preservation policy and legislation on biodiversity is not held nationally, as information on trees covered by Tree Preservation Orders is held by the local authority who made the decision.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
Whether it is his policy that Local Nature Recovery Strategies should be given consideration by local authorities in all planning decisions.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Environment Bill currently before Parliament provides for a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities to have regard to the conservation of biodiversity. This strengthened duty includes a requirement to have regard to relevant Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Our planning reforms will reinforce the implementation of these measures, to capitalise on the potential of Local Nature Recovery Strategies and biodiversity net gain as we seek to make the system clearer and more positive.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What steps he is taking to ensure that (a) environmental impact assessments and (b) strategic environmental assessments are prioritised as part of the Government's planning reforms.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
As set out in our Planning White Paper, we recognise the vital role environmental assessment plays in ensuring the environment is embedded in decision-making.
Leaving the EU gives us the opportunity to reframe these assessments to ensure they are delivering for the country – supporting decision-making and helping us meet the commitment of the 25 Year Environment Plan to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
If he will increase the level of the top-up to the local business grant funds scheme made available to local authorities to support small businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
So far, over £10.2 billion has been paid to over 832,000 businesses through the Small Business Grant and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants. Over £40 million has supported 2,447 business premises in Richmond Upon Thames and an additional £2.1 million is available to them as part of the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund. My officials continue to monitor the roll-out of the scheme and levels of demand.