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Written Question
Regional Planning and Development: Finance
Tuesday 16th April 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

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 a comparative assessment between the adequacy of his Department's funding for economic development in the Canary Wharf area and (a) Chesterfield Borough Council and (b) Derbyshire County Council.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Homes England is tasked with accelerating house building and regeneration in all areas of the country.

Selection criteria include value for money for the taxpayer, the potential for early delivery, clear local support, and projects that support policy priorities such as brownfield development, diversification, and innovation. All investments are made following a thorough due diligence and approval process to ensure value for money for taxpayers. Fuller details of selection criteria can be found here.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Registration
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who will have access to information on the Privately Rented Property Portal; and whether he plans to take steps to protect the privacy of tenants’ information stored on the Privately Rented Property Portal from other Departments and enforcement agencies.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Landlords and Letting Agents: Databases
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps is he taking to (a) promote the use of the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents and (b) remind local authorities of their responsibilities in respect of this tool.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Mortgages
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of (a) the number of private rented sector properties with an outstanding mortgage and (b) the cost per landlord of measures in the Renters' Reform Bill in the (i) short, (ii) medium and (iii) long term.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Evictions
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the timeframe for court digitisation being sufficiently progressed to allow for implementation of a ban on section 21 no fault evictions.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Homelessness
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the reasons for private rented sector tenants becoming homeless.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Landlords and Letting Agents: Databases
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many entries are on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents as of 21 March 2024.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Business: Floods
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many businesses applied for a Business Recovery Grant following Storm Babet flooding in October 2023; and how many of those applications were (a) approved and (b) rejected in each local authority area.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Local authorities are responsible for delivering the scheme in line with the guidance provided by Department for Business and Trade as administrators of the Business Recovery Grant (BRG) scheme.


Written Question
Parish and Town Councils
Tuesday 18th April 2023

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in whom the power to decide whether to abolish a town or parish council resides; and on what basis that authority or organisation may choose to exercise those powers.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, the community governance review is the mechanism through which principal authorities can alter, create or abolish parish councils. Local electors can petition their principal council to undertake a community governance review.

The 2007 Act provisions require the principal council to consider local opinion, including parish councillors and local electors, to help inform their judgement in exercising those powers.


Written Question
Parish and Town Councils
Monday 17th April 2023

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, under what processes a (a) town and (b) parish council may be abolished.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 devolved the power to create, modify and abolish parish councils to principal authorities through the community governance review (CGR) process, and allowed the public to trigger a CGR by collecting signatures for a petition.