Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the role of volunteer-led family support services in supporting the objectives of the Best Start in Life and Family Hubs programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The government is investing £900 million to enable local authorities to deliver Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services over the next three years and recognises the important role that volunteer-led family support services will play in this programme of work.
The department has published guidance to local authorities on delivery expectations for Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services including clear expectations that local authorities will work in partnership with the voluntary, community and faith (VCF) sector to deliver the programme.
The guidance explains that partnership models will vary by area but could include VCF organisations having a formal role in governance arrangements, being commissioned to deliver services; delivering Best Start network sites or outreach services, offering specialist or trusted services to communities that would otherwise not engage and supporting local resilience and system capacity through community‑led delivery models. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-start-family-hubs-and-healthy-babies-guidance-for-local-authorities.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local councils in enforcing the 90-day rule for short-term lets in London; and whether he plans to strengthen enforcement powers where breaches are identified.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, as amended by section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015, allows properties in London, which are liable for council tax, to be let out on a short-term basis for a maximum of 90 nights per calendar year without this being considered a material change of use for which planning permission is required. If these criteria are not met planning permission is required.
The government remains committed to implementing the short-term lets registration scheme, which was legislated for in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, as soon as practicable to support sustainable tourism and local communities.
Responsibility for developing the scheme lies with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and it entered its user testing phase in October last year.
DCMS is assessing legislative vehicles to extend the scheme's legal powers, to support local authorities with enforcement of the 90-nights rule.