Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
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 plans to take to ensure that (a) charities and (b) community interest companies that have contracts with local authorities have an adequate level of unrestricted funding to continue to fulfill their core functions.
Answered by Luke Hall
Local authorities have been outsourcing and using shared service arrangements for many decades. Almost all councils have some service areas provided externally, with varying contract management arrangements.
Local authorities are accountable to local people, and it is for them to determine how best to deliver effective services for their communities. Decisions over tendering and contracts are for councils to make, following their own due diligence process.
Next year’s settlement for local government responds to the pressures councils are facing by providing access to the largest increase Core Spending Power since 2015, an estimated 4.3 per cent real terms increase of £2.9 billion.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department will take steps to ensure that people who present as homeless to a local authority are found accommodation in that local authority area.
Answered by Luke Hall
We are clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, avoid placing households out of their borough. However, in some areas where there is a limited supply of suitable accommodation, we are aware that it is sometimes necessary to place households in accommodation outside of the local area. This is set out in legislation and guidance which local authorities must have regard to.
The guidance is clear that where possible the authority should seek to retain established links with schools, doctors, social workers and other key services and support.
If a local authority places a household into accommodation in another local area, they are required by law to notify the local authority of any placement, to minimise disruption to schooling, healthcare and other support. In July the previous Homelessness Minister, Heather Wheeler MP, wrote to all local authorities to remind them of the need to send notifications when placing families out of their area.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many dwellings in planning class C3 have been converted to houses of multiple occupancy class C4 without a planning application since the change to regulations on 1 October 2010.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government has no plans to remove the permitted development rights that allow for change of use between class C(3) dwelling houses and a class C(4) houses in multiple occupation. We do not hold data on the number of dwelling houses that have converted to houses in multiple occupation since 1 October 2010. Paragraph 53 of the National Planning Policy Framework confirms that the use of Article 4 directions to remove national permitted development rights should be limited to situations where it is necessary to protect local amenity or the well-being of the area.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has any plans to revert to the regulatory regime for planning consent for small houses of multiple occupancy that pertained from 6 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government has no plans to remove the permitted development rights that allow for change of use between class C(3) dwelling houses and a class C(4) houses in multiple occupation. We do not hold data on the number of dwelling houses that have converted to houses in multiple occupation since 1 October 2010. Paragraph 53 of the National Planning Policy Framework confirms that the use of Article 4 directions to remove national permitted development rights should be limited to situations where it is necessary to protect local amenity or the well-being of the area.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to enable and encourage local authorities to adopt article 4 directions in respect of houses of multiple occupation by making that process more efficient.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government has no plans to remove the permitted development rights that allow for change of use between class C(3) dwelling houses and a class C(4) houses in multiple occupation. We do not hold data on the number of dwelling houses that have converted to houses in multiple occupation since 1 October 2010. Paragraph 53 of the National Planning Policy Framework confirms that the use of Article 4 directions to remove national permitted development rights should be limited to situations where it is necessary to protect local amenity or the well-being of the area.