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, which Minister in his Department is responsible for faith community engagement.
Answered by Paul Scully
As with all departmental business, the Secretary of State maintains overall responsibility for the work of the department, and I support the Secretary of State on faith community engagement.
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 his Department has made of potential data protection risks for applicants to the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Michael Gove - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is being undertaken by DLUHC, as part of its due diligence work.
This assesses privacy risks to applicants and sponsors under UK data protection law.
A Privacy Notice has been published, which informs data subjects how their personal data will be used.
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 proportion of Ministerial replies are sent to hon. Members from his Department within 20 working days as suggested in the Guide to Handling Correspondence, published by the Cabinet Office in July 2021.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. Data on the timeliness of responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers is published on Gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers.
Data for 2021 will be published by the Cabinet Office 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, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of measures announced by his Department on 21 July 2021 on the availability of mortgages to purchase leasehold homes in medium and lower-rise buildings without an EWS1 form; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
An EWS1 form is not a statutory or regulatory requirement, nor a safety ‘test’. Not all lenders ask for an EWS1, but when or whether they do remains a commercial decision. The measures in the January Statement provide a clear framework for proportionate risk assessments whilst encouraging lenders to base their risk management on the presumption that medium- and low-rise buildings are safe, unless there is evidence to the contrary.
We will continue to work with lenders to enable them to accept forms of assurance other than EWS1s, such as a comprehensive fire risk assessment. We will also continue to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process. The Department publishes quarterly data on the number of EWS1s required on mortgage valuations by the seven largest lenders, including for medium- and low-rise buildings 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 further steps he plans to take to ensure the availability of mortgages on leasehold homes.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of loans and deposit requirements are commercial decisions for lenders, made on their own risk appetite, considering factors such as market conditions and the funding they possess. The Government does not seek to intervene in these. We do, however, recognise that having a wide variety of affordable mortgage products on the market is important to a sustainable and healthy demand; and we discuss this with the industry regularly.
Whilst one lender may be unable to offer a mortgage in a particular case, this would not preclude a customer from being offered credit elsewhere. There are a wide variety of mortgage products available in the UK and it can be useful for customers to shop around and speak to a mortgage broker in order to find the best possible product.
We are also taking forward a comprehensive programme of leasehold reform to bring an end to unfair practices, including those which may affect mortgage availability. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 will put an end to ground rents for most new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. We also understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.
Furthermore, with relation to our work on building safety, we have withdrawn the consolidated advice note which had been wrongly interpreted by lenders and fire risk assessors and drove an overly risk averse and cautious approach. We have also supported the publication of the British Standards Institutions' new PAS 9980 guidance for assessing risk in external walls. This guidance provides a methodology for a more proportionate and consistent assessment of risk posed by the external wall of a building.
We have also confirmed that those at fault, not blameless leaseholders, will be the ones who pay to fix unsafe cladding. This will further remove risk for lenders and help restore common sense to the market.
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 correspondence from the Right hon. Member for East Ham of 15 September 2021 on the application to the Building Safety Fund by Blinky Ltd on behalf of 5 Eastern Quay Apartments.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department received a letter dated 11 January concerning the Eastern Quay Apartments and a response has been sent.
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 limited partnerships are included within the definition of associated persons in the draft Building Safety Bill; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We acknowledge that this issue was raised in Lords Committee and Government is considering the matter.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February to Question 126535 on European Social Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund, if he will list the types of organisations his Department plans to consult to inform the launch of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund prospectus in the Spring.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have engaged widely with stakeholders across a range of sectors and from all four nations of the UK. In summer 2021 we held roundtables with stakeholders from the following sectors: Local Business, Environment and Sustainability, Rural, Skills, Employment, Communities & Place and Voluntary & Community.
In England, Scotland and Wales, local government will be given responsibility for developing an investment plan for approval by the UK Government, and for delivery of the Fund thereafter. To inform our plans, we have engaged widely with: local authorities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland including District Councils, County Councils, Unitary Councils, Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority, since local authorities will deliver the funds and submit investment plans for their area (UKG will have oversight of the Fund in Northern Ireland). We have also engaged strategically through the Local Government Association, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Welsh Local Government Association, Northern Ireland Local Government Association and other Government departments.
In Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland we have also engaged constructively with the devolved governments.
Finally, and drawing on the information set out in the UK Shared Prosperity Pre-Launch Guidance, each lead local authority is encouraged to start identifying a diverse range of local stakeholders, appropriate groups and organisations to represent cross-sector voices.
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 plans he has to consult (a) organisations which deliver European Social Fund programmes, and (ii) other organisations on a prospectus for the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Fund’s interventions will be planned and delivered by local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales, working closely with local partners. In Northern Ireland, UK Government will have oversight of the Fund. Places will be empowered to identify and build on their own strengths and needs at a local level.
Throughout the UK, access to local insight and expertise is essential for each place to identify and address need and opportunity, and respond with the right solutions for each place
The Government has been engaging with key stakeholders on the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund since 2016, including holding a series of regional engagement events across the UK.
Since the publication of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Heads of Terms at Spending Review 2020, officials have engaged widely on the UKSPF, across a wide range of sectors and organisations. We will continue to engage stakeholders as we develop the full Prospectus ahead of launch further in Spring 2022.
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, if he will set out the allocation (a) that each nation would have received through European Structural Funds in the event that the UK had remained in the EU and (b) that each national will receive through the Shared Prosperity Fund in each of the next three years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
UK-wide, funding for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will ramp up to £1.5 billion per year by March 2025. Alongside commitments to support regional finance funds across the UK via the British Business Bank, this upholds the UK government’s commitment to match EU structural fund receipts for each nation.
All areas of the UK will be receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula rather than a competition. This recognises that even the most affluent parts of the UK contain pockets of deprivation and need support.
The Government will publish a full Prospectus with further detail on the fund later in Spring.