Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to give local authorities primary responsibility for building inspections.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) registers and sets competency standards for all building inspectors. As part of that work, it is clear that there are capacity issues across the sector. We have invested £16.5 million to support capacity building in local authorities and continue to encourage all authorities to invest in this area.
We will keep the powers of building inspectors under review and are working to see if there are ways in which they should be strengthened. For all higher risk buildings, the BSR remains the building control authority.
The role of local authorities within the building control system is linked to recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report. The Government is carefully considering all such recommendations, and we will respond by March.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the (a) resourcing and (b) powers of Local Authority building inspectors.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) registers and sets competency standards for all building inspectors. As part of that work, it is clear that there are capacity issues across the sector. We have invested £16.5 million to support capacity building in local authorities and continue to encourage all authorities to invest in this area.
We will keep the powers of building inspectors under review and are working to see if there are ways in which they should be strengthened. For all higher risk buildings, the BSR remains the building control authority.
The role of local authorities within the building control system is linked to recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report. The Government is carefully considering all such recommendations, and we will respond by March.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require a minimum height for letterboxes in new build homes.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Guidance on letterplate specifications are already referenced in Approved Document Q (ADQ), but the Government has recently published a Frequently Asked Question alongside ADQ on gov.uk (Frequently asked questions - GOV.UK), providing guidance on letterbox and letterplate positioning.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of hostile architecture on persons experiencing rough sleeping.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
Rough Sleeping levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected. This Government is committed to addressing this and delivering long term solutions.
We have set up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, to bring together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
We are committed to providing the services rough sleepers need to leave the street and the support they need to prevent a return to rough sleeping.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 58 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, what plans she has to include (a) parish and (b) town councils in (i) consultations and (ii) subsequent work by her Department on moving towards simpler administrative structures for local areas; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of her Department's consultation with such councils on those plans as of 18 November 2024.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Government recognises the importance of town and parish councils for the role they play in empowering the communities they represent. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is involved in regular engagement with the sector.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the potential impact of planning policy on target reductions in the UK carbon account, in the context of section 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today, and the planning system can play a powerful role in helping to mitigate and adapt to its effects. Our recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework consultation sought views on how best to reflect climate change adaptation and mitigation in strengthened planning policies. The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to improve the terms of employment as a local authority planning officer.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Proactive planning is vital to delivering the housing we desperately need and to support economic growth. The Government recognise that local authority planning departments face capacity and capability challenges due to prolonged underfunding of services and that this has placed significant strain on the planners that provide these services.
Within weeks of taking office, the Government consulted on increasing planning fees to put planning services on a firmer footing and to reflect the real costs. We have now gone further and committed an additional £46 million in the spending review to fund 300 additional planners in local government and to support local planning authorities to deliver the essential reforms to local plans and development management.
Planning officers play a vital role, and I wrote to the President of the RTPI to underline the value we place on them and the work they do.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to reform (a) planning policy and (b) permitted development rights to support the high quality retrofit of existing buildings.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Improving energy efficiency and decarbonising buildings is a crucial element in our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. The National Planning Policy Framework encourages the reuse of existing resources, including through the conversion of existing buildings. It also expects local authorities to support applications for energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements to existing buildings, where these do not already benefit from permitted development rights. We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 13 December 2023 on Planning – Local Energy Efficiency Standards Update, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reversing the effects of that Statement.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Written Ministerial Statement my honourable friend has asked about sets out that local authorities may set higher energy efficiency standards than the planned Building Regulations. Local authorities must, though, ensure that development remains viable and that the performance targets of increased standards are expressed in the same terms as are used in the Building Regulations.
The Written Ministerial Statement was recently the subject of a judicial review. The judgement from the High Court may be appealed and, while legal proceedings are ongoing, I cannot comment further.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to respond the consultation on Future Homes and Buildings Standard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024, and a government response has not yet been issued. We fully support the need for low carbon homes, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation and will publish the government response in due course.