Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an announcement on the local government finance settlement to ensure that councils are notified of that settlement before Christmas 2021.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Department intends to publish the next provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to ensure that assessments of the areas to be tackled by the Government's levelling up agenda are conducted on a geographical basis no larger than a Middle Layer Super Output Area; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Levelling up is about addressing disparities within and between regions. It means empowering local leaders and communities to seize their own destiny; boosting living standards, particularly where they are lower; spreading opportunity and improving public services, particularly where they are weak; and restoring local pride across the UK. The Government is taking a data-driven approach to assessing geographic areas, ensuring that we are focusing our efforts on the places that need the most support. Each place and its requirements are unique, and therefore the support it receives must reflect this.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the supply of specialist housing for the elderly.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Offering vulnerable people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them live independently and feel more connected to their communities. This Government is committed to the provision of suitable homes for older people, including extra care housing, which contributes to levelling up across communities. Housing-with-care allows individuals to choose where they want to live, with whom, how they can best be supported, and what happens in their home. Both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care provide capital funding to incentivise their supply. Our planning rules already mean councils must consider the needs of older people when planning for new homes. In 2019, we published guidance to help councils implement the National Planning Policy Framework policies.
We 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, where 10 per cent of delivery over the course of the programme will be used to increase the supply of much needed specialist or supported housing, including retirement housing. The Department of Health and Social Care are also continuing to subsidise new supply of specialist housing for older and disabled people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) Fund.
The Government's plan for health and social care, announced on Tuesday 7 September, also recognised the important role of housing, and supported housing in particular, in providing care and support to people in the community.
We continue to work closely with the older people's housing sector and across Government to look at how we can further support its growth. I look forward to engaging with representatives in the sector further and value their insight.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide guidance to local authorities on planning provision for extra care housing communities,
Answered by Christopher Pincher
This Government is committed to the provision of suitable homes for older people, including extra care housing, which contributes to levelling up across communities.
Our planning rules already mean councils must consider the needs of older people when planning for new homes. In 2019, we published guidance to help councils implement the National Planning Policy Framework policies.
We continue to work closely with the older people's housing sector and across Government to look at how we can further support its growth. I look forward to engaging with representatives in the sector further and value their insight.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that in areas where social and affordable housing is built, investment is simultaneously provided to develop local services within the same community.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
I recognise the importance of ensuring new housing development is supported by the provision of infrastructure. Contributions from developers play an important role in delivering the infrastructure and affordable housing to support communities and local economies.
The Planning for the Future White Paper proposes introducing a new 'Infrastructure Levy', to replace the existing system of developer contributions. Through the Levy, local authorities will have greater flexibility to determine how contributions are spent to shape and support both existing and new communities. The Levy will also deliver more of the infrastructure these communities require by capturing a greater share of the uplift in land value that comes with development.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impact of the price cap of First Homes on the (a) variety and (b) local suitability of homes produced for the scheme under Section 106 obligations.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
It is important that the price caps for First Homes retain an element of clarity and consistency to support consumers, developers and mortgage lenders who may operate across multiple local areas. The two-tier price cap system the Government has instigated provides this clarity, while the values of £250,000 in England and £420,000 in Greater London have been set to ensure that at least 25% of all properties purchased by first-time buyers in every local authority in England and greater London would be captured.
Local authorities have the flexibility to lower these price caps if appropriate for their local housing markets or, crucially, to raise the minimum discount required to either 40% or 50%, to ensure that high-value areas are able to capture a greater variety of housing types and sizes.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional financial support the Government plans to provide to property developers to support the development of First Homes.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government does not plan to provide any additional financial support to property developers to support the development of First Homes through the planning system. First Homes will be delivered via developer contributions and First Homes exception sites. National Planning Policy was altered on 28 June 2021 to require that at least 25% of all the affordable homes funded through contributions by developers are First Homes, and to replace entry-level exception sites with First Homes exception sites. This will result in no change to property developers' financial contributions to affordable housing and no additional financial support will be provided
We will also announce further information on the delivery of 1,500 homes via a pilot shortly, which will involve some financial support being provided to developers in the form of grant payments.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made on the financial impact of First Homes on property developers, including the receipts for sale of First Homes.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Our assumption is that First Homes will have minimal financial implications for property developers. This is because First Homes will only change the tenure mix that developer contributions are spent on, not the overall value of those contributions. In future, 25% of all affordable homes delivered by developers as part of their obligatory contributions will be First Homes.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impact of sales of First Homes on the sales of other forms of affordable housing including shared ownership.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In our Equality Impact Assessment (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/975121/EQIA_First_Homes.pdf) we have published the implications we expect First Homes to have for other affordable home schemes.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impact of First Homes on (a) developers’ ability to provide other forms of affordable housing through Section 106 obligations and (b) the total number of such affordable homes provided under a given development plan.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In our Equality Impact Assessment (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/975121/EQIA_First_Homes.pdf) we have published the implications we expect First Homes to have for other affordable home schemes.