Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to page 128 of the Levelling Up White Paper, published on 2 February 2022, CP 604, what progress he has made on streamlining grants to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Levelling Up White Paper recognised that the number of different local growth funds has become difficult for Councils. We have taken steps to address this.
For example, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocated multi-year funding, enabling local decision makers to target the priorities in their local places. The Levelling Up Fund consolidates several previously separate funds to provide cross-departmental capital investment in local infrastructure.
At Budget we also announced new trailblazer deals for Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities. Central to these deals is a commitment for both authorities to benefit from a new, department-style single settlement from the next spending review.
We are committed to reforming the broader current landscape, to deliver a simpler and more transparent funding system for local authorities across the UK. We will set out our next steps in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many hereditaments were granted rate relief under the Non-Domestic Rating (Telecommunications Infrastructure Relief) (England) Regulations 2018 in each of the financial years 2017-18 to 2021-22.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Based on National Non-domestic rating returns (NNDR) data can be found at the following link, relief has been awarded as follows:
| 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | TOTAL |
In Year | £0 | £0 | -£26,256 | -£30,654 | -£1,992,529 | -£2,049,439 |
Adjustments to amount of relief provided in respect of previous years | £0 | £0 | -£14,043 | £4,193 | -£2,181,550 | -£2,191,400 |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
| -£4,240,839 |
Adjustments in respect of previous years can refer to any of the five years of the scheme. Four hereditaments received telecoms relief in 2019-20, three in 2020-21 and twenty-one in 2021-22.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much business rate relief was granted for new optical fibre telecommunications in each of the financial years between 2017-18 and 2021-22.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Based on National Non-domestic rating returns (NNDR) data can be found at the following link, relief has been awarded as follows:
| 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | TOTAL |
In Year | £0 | £0 | -£26,256 | -£30,654 | -£1,992,529 | -£2,049,439 |
Adjustments to amount of relief provided in respect of previous years | £0 | £0 | -£14,043 | £4,193 | -£2,181,550 | -£2,191,400 |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
| -£4,240,839 |
Adjustments in respect of previous years can refer to any of the five years of the scheme. Four hereditaments received telecoms relief in 2019-20, three in 2020-21 and twenty-one in 2021-22.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 differential impacts of removing mandatory housing targets on households of different ethnic backgrounds.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Local authorities have a wide range of powers to require landlords to remedy serious hazards, including overcrowding, in privately rented homes, and our forthcoming reforms to the private rented sector will strengthen these powers.
We are carefully analysing the responses to the consultation, and any subsequent changes in policy will be confirmed when the Framework is updated in due course. The proposals in the consultation are not, at this time, government policy.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps he has help reduce the level of household overcrowding among UK households of (a) Bangladeshi and (b) Pakistani heritage.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Local authorities have a wide range of powers to require landlords to remedy serious hazards, including overcrowding, in privately rented homes, and our forthcoming reforms to the private rented sector will strengthen these powers.
We are carefully analysing the responses to the consultation, and any subsequent changes in policy will be confirmed when the Framework is updated in due course. The proposals in the consultation are not, at this time, government policy.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason his Department informed the Inter-Faith Network on 31 March that its funding was to be cut from 1 April; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This department has provided funding to the Inter Faith Network since 2006/07. There are currently no plans for the department to fund the organisation in 2023/24.
The Government considers a wide range of factors when deciding which projects to fund.
The department monitors all funded organisations throughout the lifecycle of their project for the purposes of assessing delivery against workplan targets, compliance and evaluation, in line with best practice for the management of public funding.
Details of ministerial and senior official meeting are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has any plans to support the Inter-Faith Network.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This department has provided funding to the Inter Faith Network since 2006/07. There are currently no plans for the department to fund the organisation in 2023/24.
The Government considers a wide range of factors when deciding which projects to fund.
The department monitors all funded organisations throughout the lifecycle of their project for the purposes of assessing delivery against workplan targets, compliance and evaluation, in line with best practice for the management of public funding.
Details of ministerial and senior official meeting are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when officials in his Department had a (a) physical meeting, (b) virtual meeting and (c) a telephone call with the Inter-Faith Network in the last year.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This department has provided funding to the Inter Faith Network since 2006/07. There are currently no plans for the department to fund the organisation in 2023/24.
The Government considers a wide range of factors when deciding which projects to fund.
The department monitors all funded organisations throughout the lifecycle of their project for the purposes of assessing delivery against workplan targets, compliance and evaluation, in line with best practice for the management of public funding.
Details of ministerial and senior official meeting are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 effectiveness of the work of the Inter-Faith Network; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This department has provided funding to the Inter Faith Network since 2006/07. There are currently no plans for the department to fund the organisation in 2023/24.
The Government considers a wide range of factors when deciding which projects to fund.
The department monitors all funded organisations throughout the lifecycle of their project for the purposes of assessing delivery against workplan targets, compliance and evaluation, in line with best practice for the management of public funding.
Details of ministerial and senior official meeting are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to reply to the letter dated 13 January 2023 from the Rt hon. Member for East Ham, ref ST102443.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
A response was issued to the Rt. Hon. Member on 27 March 2023.