Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in the UK on a route other than the Homes for Ukraine scheme can access the support services and the hosts can access funding for supporting families associated with that scheme.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Only Ukrainians arriving under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have access to that scheme’s funding.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating planning guidance on allowing windows of listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas to be replaced with double-glazed windows.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
There is no legislation or national planning policy which specifically prohibits the installation of double-glazed windows in listed buildings or buildings in conservation areas. Original windows can be central to the special historic or architectural character of a building or area and so each case needs to be considered on its own merits. Historic England, the Government's adviser on heritage, produces a range of guidance on this matter, including Traditional Windows: Their Care, Repair and Upgrading : https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/traditional-windows-care-repair-upgrading/heag039-traditional-windows-revfeb17/ .
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for additional means by which student accommodation providers can contribute to local authority finances.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Local planning authorities are able to collect developer contributions through the Community Infrastructure Levy and section 106 planning obligations. The levy is a set charge on most new development to help address the cumulative impact of development by funding infrastructure provision anywhere across the authority's area.
Different charges can be set for different types of development, based on viability evidence. In Bristol for example, the levy charge for student accommodation is currently £148 per square metre citywide, while the charge for other residential development in Bristol is either £103 or £74 per square metre, depending on location. Local planning authorities can also seek a bespoke section 106 planning obligation, where appropriate, to mitigate the impact of a specific development.
An Infrastructure Funding Statement, detailing an authority's request, receipt and use of developer contributions, is required to be published annually.
We are exploring replacing the existing system of developer contributions with a new Infrastructure Levy, which would also be chargeable on this type of development.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether building management firms applying to Building Safety Fund can include their time spent making an application and have this reimbursed by the Building Safety Fund, for example by listing the application writing costs under Professional fees or similar.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Yes, building management firms can be reimbursed for the reasonable costs of works directly related to the replacement of unsafe non-ACM cladding systems.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 28 October 2021 to Question 59830 on EWS1 forms, if the Government will take further steps to ensure that mortgage lenders do not request EWS1 forms for flats in buildings below 18 metres in height, in line with government guidance.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government strongly supports the expert group's view that EWS1s should not be required for buildings under 18 metres and continues to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process. Government continues to engage directly with lenders on this issue.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 9 November 2021 to Question 67182 on Buildings: Fire Prevention, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of mechanisms to minimise disruption and ensure that cladding, insulation and other elements of a building are only removed once for remediation, including in circumstances when the funding for that remediation is from two or more sources, such as the Building Safety Fund and residents directly, and which may cover separate elements of the work.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Building owners are responsible for the safety of their building, including keeping residents informed of any building safety work they are undertaking and for making sure that any disruption to residents is minimised. There is no requirement by Government to plan or fund other works unrelated to the removal of unsafe cladding in order for Government-funded remediation to take place.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government will take to ensure the delay in the Planning Inspectorate report on the Silverthorne Lane development in Bristol does not have a negative impact on the construction of the Oasis Academy Secondary School, in the event that approval for the development is granted.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The proposed school, the Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, has a current target for opening in 2025, subject to planning permission being granted. It is to be funded by the Department for Education to address a shortage of secondary places in central and east Bristol. The Planning Inspectorate is liaising with officials in my department on programming, and speaking with officials in the Department for Education in order to achieve the target.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 merits of providing additional guidance to prevent leaseholders from being liable for 100 per cent of the remediation costs for replacing dangerous cladding in cases where they only own part of a flat through Help to Buy or similar shared ownership schemes.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government's position is that building owners and industry should make buildings safe without passing on costs to leaseholders, including shared owners and those who have purchased through the Help to Buy scheme. In line with this, building owners should pursue all routes to meet costs. For example, through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work. The Government remains committed to protecting leaseholders from unaffordable costs and will continue to examine what more can be done to protect and support all leaseholders, including shared owners and those who have purchased their homes through Help to Buy.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the reasons are for the delay in the publication of the Planning Inspectorate report on the Silverthorne Lane development in the St Philips area of Bristol.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Following the closure of the Inquiry into the Silverthorne Lane development the Inspector is now preparing her report and recommendation for Ministers to consider. The Inspector has had to seek further evidence from parties on revisions to published guidance made after the close of the inquiry. When her report is submitted, the target date for determining the application will be published.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what provisions are in place for British nationals who are in the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy or will be in the UK under the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme and who wish to be resettled in a specific place as a result of the availability of existing support systems.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All British nationals and their families who were evacuated are being provided with the same bridging accommodation and wrap-around support as everyone else. For example, we have provided all British Nationals with cash cards to give them subsistence support whilst their Universal Credit claim is processed. British Nationals and their families are provided with bridging accommodation for as long as is needed.
We continue to work at pace to agree the right long term support offer for British Nationals and great care is being taken in the matching process to meet the needs of the families as far as possible.