Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether freeholders will receive compensation for the loss of marriage value under the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill’s provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders. Leaseholders pay ground rent on top of their property purchase price and service charges, yet there’s no clear service provided in return.
This will be the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. Our reforms to enfranchisement valuation ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.
The Ground Rent Bill is focused entirely on the issue of ground rents. Service and management charges are beyond the scope of this Bill. The role of ensuring that the fabric of the building is maintained and safe for residents is an essential part of the relationship between freeholder, leaseholder and in some cases a managing agent. The cost of complying with these obligations is usually recoverable from the leaseholders through the service charge fund. In most cases the lease will allow the freeholder to recover the actual costs of the works, and the freeholder may also pass on the cost of managing or overseeing the works.
The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest improvement in building and fire safety for a generation. The Building Safety Bill contains measures to protect leaseholders by providing a legal requirement for building owners to prove they have tried all routes to cover the cost of essential safety works, along with evidence that this has been done. If this does not happen, leaseholders will be able to challenge these costs in the courts.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will amend covid-19 restrictions to permit congregations to sing hymns in churches.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Places of worship play an important role in providing spiritual leadership and bringing communities together, however their communal nature makes them particularly vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus.
Congregational singing is under restrictions due to the increased risk of transmission through small droplets and aerosols. This means that those partaking in these activities are at higher risk of transmitting the virus and thus, spreading infection even if the individual is vaccinated.
On 17 May we entered step 3 on the Prime Minister's roadmap, reintroducing indoor singing in a place of worship for a performance or rehearsal, for a group of up to 6 amateur signers. This is in line with all amateur choirs and singing groups. Outdoors, the congregation may join in with singing in multiple groups of up to 30. Congregation members should continue to follow social distancing rules.
There are currently no plans to allow congregational singing indoors, with or without masks, before Step 4 of the roadmap in England, which would be no earlier than 19 July.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government's press release of 10 February 2021, Government to bring an end to unsafe cladding with multi-billion pound intervention, when he plans to publish guidance on the 5-point plan to assist leaseholders living in buildings of 18 metres and over where fire safety concerns have been identified.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how his loan scheme for funding fire safety remediation works for buildings under 18 metres will operate in cases where the £50 per month payment by leaseholders will not meet the cost of the works needed even if it continues right up the end of the lease term.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government will fund the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18m. Buildings above 18m can be very high, some taller than 30m. We know as buildings get taller there is greater risk which is why, in line with longstanding expert advice, we are making sure that these buildings are remediated urgently.
In lower rise buildings, with a lower risk to safety, leaseholders will gain new protection from the costs of cladding removal through a financing scheme, so that leaseholders will never pay more than £50 a month. We will be publishing further details of the financing scheme.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish further details of the loan system to ensure that required fire safety remediation works can be carried out in buildings under 18 metres without leaseholders having to pay more than £50 per month.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
On 10 February, we announced a generous finance scheme, which will provide leaseholders in buildings of 11-18m with access to finance for cladding remediation costs, and a commitment that their monthly cladding repayment costs will not exceed £50 a month. Further details of the financing scheme will be made available as soon as we are able.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the rules which will allow 30 people to attend a funeral will also apply to the formal consecration of a tombstone as part of observance of Jewish faith traditions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Roadmap out of lockdown published on 22 February set out the government’s four-step roadmap by which Covid-19 restrictions would be lifted. The Jewish Stone Setting ceremony comes under the rules governing wakes and other post funeral commemorative events. As such, six people are permitted to attend such a service at present. When we reach step 2 (not before 12 April) that limit will increase to 15, while at Step 3 (not before 17 May) it will rise again to 30.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Housing of 30 September 2020, Official Report columns 439-40, when he plans to implement a legal requirement that homes created under permitted development rights to convert offices and warehouses to residential use must meet the same space standards as those applying to newly built dwellings.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We laid regulations before Parliament on 11 November which introduced a requirement that all homes delivered through permitted development rights meet, at a minimum, the nationally described space standards. This requirement will come into effect on 6 April 2021 and will apply to applications for prior approval submitted on or after that date.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
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 potential effect of proposals in the Planning for the Future White Paper, published in August 2020 on prioritisation of brownfield over (a) greenfield and (b) agricultural land.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government continues to prioritise brownfield redevelopment. The reforms put forward in our White Paper Planning for the Future made clear that local authorities need to give preference to the re-use of suitable brownfield and under-used land wherever possible, as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. Brownfield redevelopment is being boosted by funding such as the £4.5 billion Home Building Fund, the £4.1 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund, and the £400 million Brownfield Fund.
We recognise the importance of greenfield and agricultural land. The Framework makes clear that local authorities should recognise the character and beauty of the countryside and the benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services, including woodland and our best and most versatile farmland.
The White Paper consultation closed on 29 October 2020 and we are currently considering the responses received. The Government will publish a response which will set out any decisions and associated proposed implementation.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Planning for the Future White Paper published in August 2020, what procedure he proposes will be used to enable local communities to scrutinise individual development proposals in each of the proposed Growth, Renewal and Protected zones after a local plan is in place.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We have consulted on these proposals and have welcomed responses from all interested parties. It is important that we analyse the consultation feedback thoroughly, and we will respond formally in due course.
Effective community engagement would be at the heart of changes which we have proposed. Input at the stage of preparing plans and design codes would ensure real influence over both the location and design of development. Communities would continue to have a say where the details of proposals are being applied for, and where planning permission continues to be required.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will amend the planning system to strengthen the requirements on the amount of outdoor space to be provided with new housing developments.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The importance of including open space in development is clear from our policy and guidance. The National Planning Policy Framework encourages developments that promote health and well-being, with a high standard of amenity for existing and future users. It says that planning policies should assess the need for different types of open space in each area, and then seek to accommodate it. In their report the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission made nature one of their priority themes and noted that green spaces should be integral to the urban fabric. We welcome their recommendations and look forward to responding to their report in due course
The supporting National Design Guide shows how high quality and attractive open spaces can be integral to new development, to encourage physical activity and promote health, well-being and social inclusion.