Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that deprived areas of Essex will be supported through proposals in the Levelling Up White Paper.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Levelling Up White Paper sets out how we will spread opportunity more equally across all parts of the UK, including Essex. The government’s plan is underpinned by 12 ambitious missions that will serve as an anchor for policy across government, as well as catalysing innovation and action by local partners.
On ‘Levelling Up Essex’, ‘Everyone’s Essex’, and other local strategies, the government recognises that levelling up is a collective endeavour. Success in closing spatial disparities across Essex will rely on input, buy-in and partnership with local stakeholders.
The White Paper highlights how Essex is already benefiting from investments to boost living standards, spread opportunity, restore local pride and empower local leaders. These include the government’s commitment to develop a new integrated, high-tech healthcare campus to replace the ageing Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, as well as providing a new Institute of Technology at South Essex College. Basildon, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea will also receive expert support from the High Street Task Force.
To date, Essex has also benefited from £19.9 million from the Levelling Up Fund to support the fishing industry at Leigh-on-Sea and to enhance the visitor offer along Southend seafront. Essex County Council, Thurrock Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council have also received a combined £5.6 million from the Community Renewal Fund to help support local areas to pilot imaginative new approaches, including a pilot with Harlow College to support economically inactive, unemployed and employed adults, and a project to develop the capacity of Harlow-based organisations through the Harlow Local Procurement Portal.
Communities in the East of England are set to benefit from the Thames Freeport and Freeport East, and government is also backing the Thames Estuary Growth Board. Government has invested £23.7 million through the Towns Fund to regenerate Harlow and address transport connectivity challenges within the town, with a further £60.9 million from the Fund awarded to Colchester, Grays and Tilbury.
Going forwards, local authorities in Essex will also be able to bid for further funding through the second round of the Levelling Up Fund and use the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to further support Levelling Up priorities in the region. Finally, the White Paper sets out for the first time a clear framework for devolution in England, supporting areas to develop devolution proposals which demonstrate effective leadership and sensible geography.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting (a) Levelling Up Essex and (b) other local levelling up strategies as part of his plan to level up the country.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Levelling Up White Paper sets out how we will spread opportunity more equally across all parts of the UK, including Essex. The government’s plan is underpinned by 12 ambitious missions that will serve as an anchor for policy across government, as well as catalysing innovation and action by local partners.
On ‘Levelling Up Essex’, ‘Everyone’s Essex’, and other local strategies, the government recognises that levelling up is a collective endeavour. Success in closing spatial disparities across Essex will rely on input, buy-in and partnership with local stakeholders.
The White Paper highlights how Essex is already benefiting from investments to boost living standards, spread opportunity, restore local pride and empower local leaders. These include the government’s commitment to develop a new integrated, high-tech healthcare campus to replace the ageing Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, as well as providing a new Institute of Technology at South Essex College. Basildon, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea will also receive expert support from the High Street Task Force.
To date, Essex has also benefited from £19.9 million from the Levelling Up Fund to support the fishing industry at Leigh-on-Sea and to enhance the visitor offer along Southend seafront. Essex County Council, Thurrock Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council have also received a combined £5.6 million from the Community Renewal Fund to help support local areas to pilot imaginative new approaches, including a pilot with Harlow College to support economically inactive, unemployed and employed adults, and a project to develop the capacity of Harlow-based organisations through the Harlow Local Procurement Portal.
Communities in the East of England are set to benefit from the Thames Freeport and Freeport East, and government is also backing the Thames Estuary Growth Board. Government has invested £23.7 million through the Towns Fund to regenerate Harlow and address transport connectivity challenges within the town, with a further £60.9 million from the Fund awarded to Colchester, Grays and Tilbury.
Going forwards, local authorities in Essex will also be able to bid for further funding through the second round of the Levelling Up Fund and use the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to further support Levelling Up priorities in the region. Finally, the White Paper sets out for the first time a clear framework for devolution in England, supporting areas to develop devolution proposals which demonstrate effective leadership and sensible geography.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving specific powers or funds to county councils outside of a formal devolution deal, where requested, as part of the Government's levelling up agenda.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Devolving specific powers or funds to an individual local authority is dependent on agreeing a devolution deal with government, informed by the devolution framework published in the Levelling Up White Paper. As well as those which establish new institutions, all devolution deals which establish new institutions or confer new powers will be subject to Parliamentary approval to the necessary secondary legislation in order to be implemented; and deal implementation will need to be prioritised and scheduled accordingly.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 has taken to (a) assess and (b) take account of the level of need in local communities when determining the areas of focus in the Government's Levelling Up White Paper.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper provides a clear plan to level up every corner of the UK, by addressing the spatial disparities that exist within and between regions. The White Paper sets out a detailed policy programme to deliver on the 12 levelling up missions and wider levelling up objectives, particularly in those places that have been left behind.
Essex will benefit from a number of policies targeted at local communities, as set out in the White Paper. For example, Basildon, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea are part of the next group of local authorities to receive expert support from the High Streets Task Force to regenerate their high streets. Essex is also one of the areas set to benefit from the greatest uplift in funding compared with 2021-22 from the updated allocation formula for the Supporting Families programme. A new Institute of Technology, specialising in delivering higher technical education, will be developed in partnership with South Essex College.
Additionally, the ONS is making publicly available a Levelling Up Subnational Data Explorer aimed at local users and decision makers, making it easier for them to extract insight from a wide range of local authority level data on economic and social outcomes in their area. This will ensure future policies continue to be targeted at areas with the highest need.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to ensure that local authorities can place statutory notices with digital-only news outlets, particularly in communities that do not have printed news outlets.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is mindful of the potential effect that any changes to the existing publicity requirements for statutory notices might have on transparency and local democracy, as well as the potential effect on the sustainability of the local news sector as a whole. We recognise the continued importance of print local newspapers to the communities they serve and that there will continue to be a need to reach out to people who cannot digitally access information. We currently have no plans to change the statutory duty to publish statutory notices.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what financial support is available for local authorities to build new homes for social rent.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing and are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme which will provide around 32,000 homes for social rent – more than double the homes for social rent in the previous Affordable Homes Programme. Local authorities are eligible for this Programme and we want to see them playing a key role in its delivery.
To further support local authority delivery, the Government has taken a number of steps to support them to deliver new homes. In March 2021 we announced a package of reforms to give councils more freedom in how they can spend the money from Right to Buy sales on replacement homes, including homes for social rent. In May 2021, Homes England launched its Local Government Capacity Centre to provide councils with practical support to build their development skills and capacity. This is on top of the removal of Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap in 2018, providing local authorities greater flexibility to borrow for house building.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much the Government has invested into the Harlow Enterprise Zones and Science Park since that project was announced.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
A total of £27.5 million has been invested into the Harlow Enterprise Zones. This has come from various central government funding streams including £3.53 million from the Getting Building Fund, £5 million from the Department for Transport Local Pinchpoint funding and £1.245 million of revenue funding granted to Harlow Enterprise Zone to cover set up and early operational costs.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding the Government has provided to the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town project since it was announced.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
£3.6 million of a total allocation of £171.2 million in infrastructure funding, and £2.9 million in Garden Communities funding, has been provided to date to the appropriate local authorities for the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town project.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding the Government has provided to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in Harlow since 2018-19.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Over £1.065 million funding has been allocated to Harlow district council to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in 21/22.
Overall, the Government has committed over £750 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year further demonstrating the Government's commitment to end rough sleeping this Parliament and fully enforce the Homelessness Reduction Act.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Government's review of the Planning for the Future White Paper, if he will make it his policy to allow local authorities to place statutory planning notices with digital-only news outlets to cover their statutory duty.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Secretary of State is taking time to review departmental programmes and engage with key stakeholders, and will be considering the best way forward in relation to proposals to reform the system. Community engagement in planning should be transparent and more accessible for communities across England, and the Secretary of State's considerations include how engagement can be improved, including through statutory notices. An announcement on our proposed way forward for the planning system will be made in shortly.