Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to inform applicants to the Faith New Deal Pilot Fund of the result of their application.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The £1 million Faith New Deal Pilot Fund focuses on strengthening engagement between national government, local government and faith groups. The fund was formally launched on 9 September 2021 and bids closed on 14 October 2021.
We received a large number of applications for the fund and officials are in the final stages of the assessment and moderation process. The results will be announced shortly.
I encourage applicants to monitor the Government’s web pages for further updates: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-levelling-up-housing-and-communities
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 ban Section 21 no-fault evictions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to bringing in a Better Deal for Renters to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. The Government's consultation, 'A New Deal for Renting: Resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants' sought views on how the new system should operate. This received almost 20,000 responses, which we are carefully considering as we develop our response. We will publish a response to the consultation as well as a White Paper detailing our plans for reform of the private rented sector later this year. The White Paper will provide further detail on repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the results of the Local Government Association survey of councils, conducted before the emergency of the Omicron covid-19 variant, on the impact of returning exclusively to in-person local authority meetings.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Department is reviewing the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond shortly. Any permanent change would require primary legislation, and would depend upon Parliamentary time being available.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 bring forward legislation to enable local authorities to undertake remote meetings following the guidance issued on 8 December 2021 to work from home.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Department is reviewing the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond shortly. Any permanent change would require primary legislation, and would depend upon Parliamentary time being available.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the charity CDP on the proposed Whitehaven coal mine.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Due to the quasi-judicial nature of his position, it would not be appropriate to comment on this application at the present time, as to do so might appear to prejudice the Secretary of State’s decision.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including a net zero test in any planning reforms.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are considering how the planning system can further support our commitment to reaching net zero. As set out in the Net Zero Strategy, we will make sure that the reformed planning system supports our efforts to combat climate change and help bring greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
As part of our programme of planning reform we intend to review the National Planning Policy Framework to make sure it contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation as fully as possible.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 impact of returning to in-person council meetings on (a) the conduct of council business and (b) attendance at meetings by councillors and members of the public.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Department has not carried out any assessment of the impact of returning to in-person council meetings. The Local Government Act 1972 specifies that council meetings must take place in person at a single, specified, geographical location, and being 'present' at such a meeting involves physical presence at that location.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the eligibility criteria for future rounds of the Community Ownership Fund, if he will consider the equity of granting community groups leases with no break clauses.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million fund over 4 years to support community groups across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community
Round 1 of the fund closed in August 2021 and we will shortly be announcing the first projects to receive funding. We will conduct a review to learn from the first bidding round and amend future rounds accordingly, to make sure that the Fund has the reach and impact intended to support communities.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the criteria for future rounds of the Community Ownership Fund will be changed so that community assets are defined in line with Section 88.1 of the Localism Act.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million fund over 4 years to support community groups across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community.
We will conduct a review to learn from the first bidding round and amend future rounds and assessment criteria accordingly. Currently, the fund will support a range of asset types and ownership models, providing the applicant demonstrates their community value.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to determining eligibility for future rounds of the Community Ownership Fund, if he will include the potential future use of an asset within local communities as a criteria for funding.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million fund over 4 years to support community groups across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community.
We will conduct a review to learn from the first bidding round and the assessment criteria accordingly. Currently, applicants are required to demonstrate the value of the asset to local people and that the asset can run sustainably for the long-term benefit of the community.