Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much levelling up funding his Department has allocated to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
BCP Council have received a variety of levelling up support since 2019, including through some specific awards such as:
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support high street businesses in Bournemouth.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Bournemouth is the recipient of a £21.7 million Town Deal which incorporates several projects that are indirectly supporting High Street businesses. Boscombe High Street is receiving £328,000 of investment via the Town Deal for local shop owners to improve their store frontage and breathe new life into the area by improving the appearance of buildings, public spaces and areas.
In 2023, Bournemouth received nearly £20 million from the Levelling Up Fund for seafront regeneration projects including the installation of digital communications along the promenade to encourage pop-up businesses in a key tourist area. Bournemouth has received over £4 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, of which £2.5 million will fund business support to businesses in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area including those in town and district centres.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support local councils with high debt levels.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local government in England will see an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion next year, or 7.5% in cash terms, an above-inflation increase, rising from £60.2 billion in 2023-24 to up to £64.7 billion in 2024-25. Councils must manage the costs of borrowing as part of their overall financial position, and should ensure that all borrowing is prudent, affordable, and sustainable.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act provides new powers for central government to step in when councils take on excessive risk through disproportionate debt. It will also provide powers to address risk from historic practices. We stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns about its ability to manage its finances or faces pressures it has not planned for.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding the Government has provided to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council since 2019.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Funding figures showing how much funding has been provided to councils via the settlement process can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-table-provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2024-to-2025.
The department does not hold details of total funding provided to councils by all Government departments.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether it is his Department's policy to create charter cities.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The department has no plans to create charter cities at this time.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
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 ensure that new housing in rural areas comes with necessary improvements to local infrastructure.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The provision of the right infrastructure at the right time is very important to new and existing communities, including those in rural locations. Where infrastructure is required as a result of new development, local planning authorities can require contributions from developers towards that infrastructure. Contributions can be sought through Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy.
To create a more efficient, effective and transparent system, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proposes a new Infrastructure Levy. This will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally, to largely replace the complex and discretionary Section 106 regime and CIL charge.
The Bill will require local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies. These will set out a strategy for delivering local infrastructure through spending Levy proceeds. They will create a more transparent process for local people on how funds will be spent and what infrastructure will be delivered to support development. It will be for local councils to decide which infrastructure projects they spend the proceeds on.
The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We intend to consult on this detail, prior to any publication of regulations.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department takes steps to ensure that the impact of littering on coastlines is taken into account when calculating funding for local councils.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22.
The allocation of this funding takes into account the different needs and resources of councils across the country, including the need for waste related services. Further information on how funding is allocated to local authorities is available here: http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/CalcFFs.pdf.
The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle anti-Semitism.
Answered by Paul Scully
Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we are taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. The UK became the first country to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism and we have encouraged councils and universities to do the same. We have provided funding for innovative projects, such as Holocaust Educational Trust, to reinforce messages of tolerance for our young people and teach them about the dangers of hate. We have provided over £65 million to date for the Protective Security Grant to help secure Jewish schools, colleges, nurseries, and community sites, including synagogues and we are also working to tackle antisemitism online through the Online Safety Bill.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many requests from residents of Bournemouth East constituency for financial support following the winter flooding have been granted; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
This Government has provided a range of financial support schemes to help individuals, businesses, farmers and local authorities return to normality after the winter's severe weather: these include Council Tax Relief, Business Rate Relief, the Business Support Scheme, and Repair and Renew Grants.
The Government deals with local authorities who administer support schemes on its behalf. It does not deal directly with residents and does not therefore hold information at constituency level in terms of requests for financial support that have been granted: that is a matter for the local authorities concerned. I can say, however, that Bournemouth Borough Council has received some £350,000 to repair local roads damaged by severe weather, a further £268,000 from the Department for Transport's Potholes Fund and my Department is aware that as at 25 June, the Council has received 70 claims for Council Tax Relief totalling some £14,000, one claim for Business Rate Relief and three applications from residents for Repair and Renew Grant to help build better flood protection into their homes. The Government retrospectively reimburses councils for the costs incurred from its flood recovery schemes.