Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the default measure of housing supply derived under the standardised methodology can be bypassed where a Local Plan has been submitted under the transitional arrangements which meets its objectively assessed need; whether increased weight can be attributed to the emerging plan in respect of a five-year housing land supply; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Local planning authorities who submitted their local plans by 24 January this year are not bound to use the standard method. Instead their assessment of housing need should have been generated using policy in the previous National Planning Policy Framework. Under this, authorities were still expected to identify their full housing needs.
The revised Framework retains the pre-existing policy that weight may be given to emerging policies (including the land supply policies) according to how advanced the plan is, the extent to which there are any unresolved objections and the degree of consistency between the emerging policies and national planning policy. In the case of plans submitted during the transitional arrangement, these are policies in the previous framework.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the merits of awarding material planning status to adopted local plans which are awaiting full inspection and which meet the objectively assessed need; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
A local plan cannot be adopted by a local planning authority until it has been tested at examination by an independent Inspector and found to be sound.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework is clear that authorities may give weight to relevant policies in emerging plans according to their stage of preparation; the extent to which there are unresolved objectives; and the degree of consistency with the Framework.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the figures published by the Office for National Statistics on 20 September 2018 on the determination of a suitable housing figure in Local Plans that are currently at Regulation 18 and Regulation 19 stage and have not been assessed by the (a) Government Inspector and (b) Secretary of State.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
In the Government response to consultation, published on 24 July 2018, we stated that following September’s release of figures, we would consider revising the outputs associated with the standard method for calculating local housing need to ensure they are consistent with our aims to get more homes built. We will consult on the specific details of any proposed change as soon as possible.
The standard method only applies to local plans submitted to the Planning Inspectorate after 24 January 2019. Any plans submitted on or before that date can use their own method for calculating their housing requirement. Where household projections form part of that evidence, the impact of changing projections will need to be considered locally. But this does not automatically mean that housing assessments are rendered outdated every time new projections are issued.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what purpose the Government plans to use silica sand extracted from sites in Kent.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.
National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that areas with comparatively small deposits of silica sand contribute to local and national needs for the mineral in a sustainable way.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.
National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance the Government provides to mineral planning authorities on calculating the need for silica sand extraction over the period of a Minerals and Waste Local Plan.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.
National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of trends in the demand for silica sand in south-east England in the last 10 years in order to predict future demand.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.
National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide financial support to encourage a range and variety of local businesses to operate on the high street.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Government is committed to supporting diverse high streets with a broad range of retail and service businesses, and has taken a number of important steps to make it easier for people to start and expand a business. At Budget 2016 we announced the biggest ever cut in business rates – worth £6.7 billion across the next five years – with business rates reductions for half of all properties starting from April 2017. The Government is permanently doubling the level of Small Business Rate Relief and increasing the thresholds to benefit a greater number of property occupiers. Eligible properties with a rateable value of £12,000 and below will receive 100% relief. This means that 600,000 small businesses will pay no business rates at all, including local high street shops.
We have implemented sensible planning reforms that are benefiting businesses on the high street, including allowing retail and business start-ups to open without planning permission and lifting planning restrictions to increase flexibility of use on high streets. This also supports pop ups or meanwhile use that can give starts ups the chance to test out an idea, raise the profile of a product or market test an item.
We have also launched digital high street pilots across Gloucestershire which are supporting Small and Medium Enterprises to upskill and make the most of the digital revolution. We look forward to sharing the learning from those pilots shortly.
The Government is also championing, through the annual Great British High Street Awards, the hard work of local businesses and communities around the country who are turning their high streets around. Winners get the chance to share a £100,000 prize pot which includes training from Google and Twitter. Examples of these high streets can be found on the Great British High Street portal at: www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk. We also part-funded the “Love Your Local Market” campaign between 2012 and 2016 to promote markets and help businesses get started in a low cost and supported way.
In addition, we are currently developing a package of measures to create a fairer and more transparent parking environment that encourages consumers to use their local high streets.